Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: COGiantFan on March 27, 2017, 02:40:56 PM
Or maybe the Giants learned, from past years, and are using disinformation to avoid having someone they really want snatched away by someone trading up ahead of them.

Hey, a guy can dream.

CO: You and me both.  Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 27, 2017, 11:52:30 AM
I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the McCaffery pick.   What does McCaffery bring to the team that isn't already covered by Vereen and Perkins?

Rich: IMO, if he is still there at pick 23, he will be the best player available (because the few whom I believe are better players will be long gone).

He can run, he can block, he can catch, he is smart, he is tough, he is strong, he knows the route-tree, he can get open . . . and most importantly he makes plays. 

I would take him over all but a very small handful of players who are available for the NFL draft this season, and with a much higher pick.

Bob

Quote from: Vette on March 27, 2017, 10:56:57 AM
Yeah, I don't get this either. I would expect seven other positions picked before Linebacker. Do any of you draftnics have Cunningham ahead of McCaffrey or Garett Bolles in your First Round Grades?

Ed: I'm no draftnik, but in my book McCaffrey is far ahead of Cunningham and Bolles.  He's a PLAYER.  IMO there will be stiff competition for his services on draft day, and maybe some intrigue and skulduggery, too.  I think the Patriots and the Packers both want him big-time (and maybe McAdoo too?  Who knows!).  Bob

Rich:  If true, I wonder whether the Giants might not want to play him on the outside (i.e., cover the TE, rush the passer from the flanks).  Bob

Matt: All of this (including the technical work) is first-rate stuff.  Thanks very much for taking the time to do it. Bob

Joe:  To work from Rich's excellent example, at the start of the draft, the five players across the top row are all the "best player available" so if you pick first, you pick one of those. 

Technically, even the players on the top row have been ranked, and they have a number to show it (3,2,6,1 and 5, respectively).

USING the chart is easy.  Ranking the players is hard.

LOL

Quote from: londonblue on March 18, 2017, 08:22:34 AM
My cousin Danny is an ESPN analytics geek and he keeps saying Garcia or Lamp are the ones he'd take. When he first said this to me Garcia was R4 and Lamp R2 now they are projected to R2 and R1 respectively reflecting the NFL scout buzz. He likes Magnuson as a mid round T and Asiata and Siracusa as mid round guards. Of all the TEs he likes Engram best and Leggett in the mid rounds. Interesting to see how they stack up in Ceri's analysis when he does his review.

london: Tell your cousin that one guy here (me) really like his picks and thinks he knows his stuff.

I agree much more with his picks than with the picks of the so-called "experts" that have been flying around here this week.

Bob

Ramczyk is a decent player.

Could go either way in the pros.

IMO.

Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 14, 2017, 05:12:25 PM
Good stuff Bob
For those not as well versed on the draft
I believe Bob is referring to
QB Deshaun Watson-  One of the top tier QB prospects in a class that has been described as weak (at least that is who I think Bob is talking about)
and
LB Jabrill Peppers- a slightly undersized but impressive LB prospect.

Rich: Yes and yes.  Sorry about that. Bob

Quote from: afan56 on March 14, 2017, 04:41:08 PM
Bob, you know I respect your opinion, so which one will be the star? 

a: If I had to pick one of those guys without reference to the needs or circumstances of the team I would choose Watson.

If it turns out as Rich suggests the Giants IMO would pick Ramczyk.  My list does not contain him.  No way he gets to 23, not because he's a sure thing, but because he can play tackle. Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 14, 2017, 01:39:46 PM
I think they tend to be more accurate (in terms of roughly where players are taken).  Anyway what I have noticed is that players that seemed out of reach prior to the draft often seem to be mocked as available on 23.  Depending on the draft one of these three players are being projected as being available at 23

TE David Njoku
OT Garett Bolles
OT Ryan Ramczyk

Rich: I did the same exercise and came up four names: Njoku, Bolles, Peppers and Watson

I believe the probability that at least three of them will be there is about 90 percent.

Now for the difficult part: I also figure two of them are likely to be busts..... so......   LOL   Bob

Quote from: Vette on March 11, 2017, 10:51:47 AM
Unfortunately, the position the Giants are in is that they need O-Line help in my my opinion. If they agree and the rest of the teams in the draft believe so too then they tipped their hand. The first round pick really needs to be BPA. Not BPA at two positions. Two because if Hankins walks they need two. Before Newhouse was lost the #1 was DT. Now, it looks like a tie to me. 

Ed: Just guessing (from the circumstantial evidence) but I now believe the Giants intend to "compete" strongly to retain Big Hank.

If they felt he was a goner (due to other teams overpaying) they probably would have signed at least one free-agent OL they lost (to the Raiders/Broncos) or allowed to walk (Newhouse).

Bob

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on March 11, 2017, 10:22:49 AM

Bottom Line

Elflein is a smart, tireless worker with a winning background and experience at all three interior offensive line spots. While his feet are just average, his core strength and wrestling background could make him a favorite of teams looking for more strength at the center position. Elflein will have occasional issues in pass protection, but his strength as a run blocker and ability to play with excellent hands and plus body control should make him one of the first interior linemen to come off the draft board.

Jolly:  Great post.  You make an outstanding case for Elflein.  Now I'm going to feel bad if the Giants take McCaffrey. LOL

Before I got to your final paragraph (reproduced above), I did note your earlier remark about his wrestling experience and was already on-board. 

Wrestling experience is an outstanding quality to possess for good interior offensive line play, because the officials now uniformly allow holding by interior linemen.

Bob

Rich: Nice report; the ideal move would be trade down a few spots then take him, but we both know that's not likely to happen.

Nevertheless, the Giants should not pass up Christian McCaffrey if he is there at pick 23. 

I really don't care who else is available.

Passing on McCaffrey IMO would be equivalent to the teams who passed on Zeke Elliott last year.

Bob

Now that the combines are over, here are the players some "experts" are projecting to the Giants, either at pick 23 or (in the case of Casserly) after a trade up to pick 18:

Charley Casserly, NFL.com - Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin (Projected trade up with Titans to No. 18 pick)
Dane Brugler, NFLDraftScout.com - Garett Bolles, OT, Utah
Rob Rang, The Sports Xchange - Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Emily Kaplan, MMQB - O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
Peter Prisco, CBS Sports - Haason Reddick, OLB, Temple
Will Brinson, CBS Sports - Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
Bucky Brooks, NFL.com - Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

(1) Assuming all of the above players are available at pick 23, who is your first choice?
(2) Assuming the Giants don't trade up and Ramczyk is gone, now who is your first choice?
(3) Which player do you think THE GIANTS will actually take? (could be anyone one, whether or not he's on the list)
(4) Which player, if taken by the Giants, would cause you to throw the remote at your TV set?

Bob

PS. My answers: (1) Ramczyk; (2) McCaffrey (sorry, he's too perfect a fit to pass up); (3) McCaffrey (the Giants love "legacy" picks; his dad was a Giant); (4) none would bother me, assuming they can't re-sign Hankins.