With the 19th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the NY Giants select..

With the 19th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the NY Giants pick C/G Mike Pouncey out of Florida.  Pouncey is a very good lineman.  Draft analyst Pete Furman: “Not great, not his brother, but he will be a critical addition to a Giants OL that has weakened due to age.  The Giants have too many needs, and this pick gives them certainty.”  Seubert, O’Hara and McKenzie are one play away from being out of football, so this pick is not that difficult.    Draft analyst Wonder: “Pouncey can pull and move, the only Center worth a R1 or R2 pick in the draft.  Athletic, nasty, tough, won’t be awed by the NFL, can put on weight and be more dominant.”  I personally crave a LBer, but no one is available that makes sense at 19.  In the real world our first choice is to trade down to the end of the first round, take LB Martez Wilson and get another Late R2 pick in the deal (which can address more needs).

Speaking about the real world, the staff of UltimateNYG does not believe that Pouncey will be there at 19, which is another reason why the pick is actually easy. 

Wonder, for the record, offered this interpretation at 19 given who was there in this mock.  “Pouncey, Wilson, and then Houston.  Personally, for the Jints, I take WILSON.”  Wonder is getting sky high on Martez Wilson, the OLBer from Illinois.  “He can start at OLB and move into the middle over time.  The Giants should do absolutely whatever they have to to get him.  It goes back to what you said, Andy, a number of years ago, that the Giants have not had a LBer #1 in 27 years.  AND IT SHOWS.”

Pete understands the argument for LBer, one of the Giants many needs, but disagrees on the player.  “Wilson is a good LBer, but taking him that high is way too much of a reach.  As for Houston, did you see what the Georgia defense looked like?  I live in Georgia, I know Houston well and I am not a Houston fan.”

But both Wonder and Pete did agree unequivocally on Pouncey, and that is why he was selected.  He was the first word out of both analysts’ mouths, so it was pretty clear what the pick would be.  

We polled Wonder and Pete independently.  These two guys think on their own, and when they agree, look out.  Last year both of these analysts were sky high on Pouncey’s brother Maurkice, both rating him a coveted “1.”  As the draft project continues, I believe one of the conclusions we will see is that when our two analysts are both on the same page, that the accuracy of that assessment will go up.  This is one of the reasons why we get on record for the long haul.  Over an extended period of time, YEARS, we will be able to come back and look at what was said and get better insight into what skills we have, and similarly what skills we lack.  Another added bonus for all of the analysts that participate in the Draft Project is that they will be able see where their mistakes were and learn about how to become a better analyst through this verification process.