First off, a reminder- you have to get on Twitter and start following us for info in between posts. Twitter is essentially a micro blog format and allows us to post quick thoughts before they hit on the site. Most importantly, Twitter is THE medium for following the draft. Twitter is going to be the place where we are going to pass along Wonder’s quick analysis, including ideas like Giants drafting the ‘Headcase (Linebacker Vontaze) Burfict,’ who went on to ~120 tackles in his first season and the Pro Bowl in his second season… Undrafted. Ridiculous. Nobody picked up the lottery ticket in the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th round.
Speaking of Wonder, we had a chance to catch up with the football savant this week and give a sneak peak on Twitter to what he is seeing in the 2014 Draft. His Top 10 players are:
1. DE Jadevon Clowney – too much upside despite the risks.
2. OL Greg Robinson– This was the OLman that Wonder was raving about for the Giants in December. We were busy tweeting him when the rest of the clueless media was months behind. Note how Dottino was talking Richardson while we were talking Robinson. Everyone has now caught up and the chances of him being at #12 where the Giants pick is remote.
https://twitter.com/UltimateNYG/status/418522516748251136
3. OL Jake Matthews– Probably the safest pick in the draft, as his upside very high and his downside is not as great as the rest on this list.
4. OL Taylor Lewan– If he is at 12, go get him! We will discuss all of these players in greater depth, but the best way to understand Lewan is that while he may not have the athleticism and upside of a Robinson, he will be solid for 10 years.
5. LB Anthony Barr– One of two special LBers coming out of this draft. More explosive than Mack.
6. LB Khalil Mack– He can be a terrific LBer but some of the hype on him is overdone. Still, very excited about having him if available at 12.
7. WR Sammy Watkins– Wonder can love WRs but I just don’t like them in Round 1. If you desperately need a WR, Round 2 is good enough.
8. TE Eric Ebron– We will have an entire post on this player. How do we state this simply?… ERIC EBRON WILL COMPLETELY TRANSFORM THE NY GIANTS OFFENSE. YOU WILL NOT RECOGNIZE THE UNIT ONCE McADOO HAS INTEGRATED HIM INTO THE SCHEME. SKY HIGH ON EBRON.
9. CB Justin Gilbert– Another of Wonder’s guys, if available at 12 you get him. He is going to be special. Contrast to Amukamara, whom Wonder was unenthusiastic about. Amukamara turned out to be exactly what he is, a solid CB, but not the Top 10 CB that Giants fans thought they were getting when he “fell” to them. We said on the day of the draft that there was a reason why Prince fell. Gilbert will be (barring injuries of course) the special CB that Amukamara was thought to be by Reese, fans et al.
10. WR Mike Evans– Not really fast, but BIG, goes up, gets the ball, protypical size, great red zone target.
Simple elementary math. All we need is for 2 teams to %&*@ up and take one of those “reach” QBs. Then by definition one of these Top 10 players will be there for the Giants. Of course there are other highly touted players that the first 11 teams can pick. But these are the bonafide picks who have Wonder’s blessing. Having heard everything thus far from Wonder, in terms of NEED, I would prefer one of the OTs, then Ebron, then one of the LBers, then the CB. For me, I have zero interest in a WR early, so I’d like to see more than 2 QBs go before the Gmen, and possibly another mistake by some team taking a late 1st Rounder or 2nd Rounder (think Ted Ginn Jr. or Tyson Alualu) before the Giants.
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