Wonder was sick, but has gotten better in time to do his work on the 2012 NFL Draft. The amount of preparation it takes to do this is monumental. Anyone that has the energy and time to do it deserves a medal. Anyone that has the courage to subject themselves to the verification process and be held accountable in 3 and 5 years deserves a medal. Anyone who does this is welcome to join the Draft Project. Pete and Wonder have put in this effort for the past two years. Their work will get verified in the 2013 offseason. We owe a debt of gratitude to them for all of their efforts.
These evaluations are not easy. Our guys don’t have the ability to interview the players and make determinations based on medical and psychological tests. Ryan Broyles is one example. The kid got injured. Depending on the medical he could be a 1 or a 7. But for most of the rest, the projections are far more decisive.
Wonder believes that the 2012 Draft is not great. But here comes the fun part- Wide Receiver in 2012 is very deep. It is NOT top heavy. Deep yes, top heavy no. Wonder adds that “Andy’s Rules” for WR have never been more true here in 2012. Why? Because the metamorphosis of the NFL to a pass happy league make the talent go to WR in high school and college. So the 6’2″ 235 lb LBer becomes the 6′ 2″ 215 lb WR. In the old days, these monster WRs were few and far between. Now in 2012, the draft is chock full of them. In high school and college they are learning how to run and catch the ball. So the crop is simply larger; enough with aspirations can make it to this point. We have 29 guys this year that can be drafted at WR. And considering that Wonder intentionally does not grade anyone in Round 1, that means there is a lot of opportunity for a team like the Giants looking to get another WR on the roster. There are 18 guys with a 3 (solid starter) or 4 (replaceable starter) rating. You can practically close your eyes and pick a good one in R3 or R4.
There are many guys listed that I’d love for the Giants to draft. But there is one that jumps out for me via Wonder’s description- Devon Wylie. He is only rated a 4 replaceable starter, but that is because he is a slot WR. When he is referred to as ‘a fast Wes Welker,’ you’ve got my attention. Having a guy like that, with Cruz and Nicks plus Eli in his peaking prime, and every Sunday can be a show. He’s not rated that high because he is not an every down player, but on 3rd down it gets fun. And considering there are a handful of these guys: Joe Adams, Keyshawn Martin, Travis Benjamin, Jarius Wright, not to mention some later round guys too, it is going to be VERY easy to see the NY Giants pick up a WR that will help this team. When you consider this assessment of a deep WR draft that is not top heavy, it fits for why the Gmen would not need to chase Mario. Whether it is a slot WR or simply another big prototypical 6’2″ 215 lb WR who can be groomed to be the backup to Nicks (who gets more than his fair share of injuries), the Giants rate to do well at this position in late April. Reese has two R4 picks. Use one of them here, as the depth should mean something is around at that spot.
Note: these #s are not set. The Rankings are not done either, as the board has not been finalized yet. But the comments and relative value for where they should get picked from 1 to 200 are good placeholders until next week. Press the zoom “+” key three times after you have clicked on the link.
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