BBH Draft Preview 2014- Offense (COMBINED)

[Jaime]

I have Cody Latimer in the sixth round #187 overall on my Mock. I must preface this by saying at that point in time, Latimer did not work out at the combine due to foot surgery. Which makes him a bit of an unknown. Read encouraging reports about his overall game, but his speed and health were an unknown. Well he got healthy alright ran in the upper 4.4's on his Pro day, and wowed everybody with his performance in the field drills & other measurables!
This prospect is soaring up the board. Latest mention has him somewhere in the second round, who'd a thunk that?

Evans is moving up as well, very doubtfull he'll be there for us. The problem that's rearing its ugly head, is that the quarterback class is getting exposed as overrated. Herd discussion on ESPN draft show, there may not be a QB taken in the top 20, which is just plain bad news for us. We (Giants) need a couple QB Prospects to be selected ahead of us, thereby forcing OT & WR Prospects down to us at #12 overall.

[UKGiantsFan]

RUNNING BACKS

The talent available
Not a great year for RB

[JoeP]

I would wager that Tre Mason will be there for the taking in the third round.

TC and I only want to know one thing, can Tre Mason pick up the Blitz effectively?

[MightyGiants]

Lorenzo Talliaferro sounds like an intriguing prospect and as you said a nice safety net if one of the better prospects don't fall to the Giants with their other day 3 picks

[MightyGiants]

What are you thoughts on STORM JOHNSON Ceri?

[UKGiantsFan]

What are you thoughts on STORM JOHNSON Ceri?

If I'd put two targets up for the 5th round he would have been the other one but I'm not sure of his 'fit' to our offense. The other guys I mentioned as targets have all been successful running the ball between the tackles whereas he is mainly an outside runner who can catch the ball and make decent yardage with it. Neither Snee or Schwartz are suited to the ZBS system he ran behind. I'm also a bit concerned at how high he runs and how loosely he holds the ball (coughed it up 5 times last year, losing 3).

[bamagiantfan]

I'd like Evans with the 12th pick, if available. That said, I think there will be strong options in Rounds 2, 3, 4, and possibly 5. The WR depth is very strong in this draft and after a team selects one they will certainly have to think twice before they grab a second one (save Carolina). I could see a WR slide occurring after round 2, and thru round 3 before WR selections pick up again in round 4. This could result in some productive players available late.

I look forward to "Part 2" of your WR review where I expect most of those players will be discussed.

[bamagiantfan]

I like Terrance West a lot. However, don't see the Giants making much more investment in the RBs this season. They will take one late and probably sign another but if we follow the dollars they will want to see Jennings and Wilson performing on the field, and hope they do that for a few years.

[DesG89]

Lache Seastrunk and Ka'deem Carey are conspicuous in their absence from your preview. I take you don't like what either bring to the table or you believe they don't fit what you think the new offense will be

[Jaime]

Ceri, I have Charles Sims in Rd. 4 #113 overall in my mock. Thinking he'll be a good rotational RB for us. I was not aware that he had a problem with blocking. Some of his fumbles were attributable to second effort. Both of those areas should be correctable with coaching and practice. The negatives aside, Sims technical upside & physical style makes him a good value for us. I don't put much stock in Wilson, & Cox looks disappointing. We should be able to sign a Cap friendly Vet. Yet, a mid-round selection will behoove us, especially with the distribution of talent in the RB class.

[UKGiantsFan]

Lache Seastrunk and Ka'deem Carey are conspicuous in their absence from your preview. I take you don't like what either bring to the table or you believe they don't fit what you think the new offense will be

Carey was reportedly given a 2nd round grade by the NFL's Draft Advisory Board and whilst he has great feet, vision and unexpected power for his size he's not a threat to break a big play, isnt much of a blocker or receiver and his workload the past two years is way too high for a smaller back. He's also had multiple OTF issues and his Combine workout was so poor I can't help but think his evaluation grade was made on the expectation that he'd at least prove to be average athletically! He might fit what we want but even dropping to day three (which is where I think he'll go) I'd steer well clear.

Seastrunk was reportedly given a 3rd round grade by the NFL's Draft Advisory Board but there are lots of things I didn't like when I looked into him further i.e. injury history, an offensive scheme that saw him run a high % of the time against nickel defenses not 7 or 8 man fronts,  failure to do anything of note against good defenses and fact it looks like he's an outside type runner with bad vision, etc and you'll understand why I have concerns.

Ceri, I have Charles Sims in Rd. 4 #113 overall in my mock. Thinking he'll be a good rotational RB for us. I was not aware that he had a problem with blocking. Some of his fumbles were attributable to second effort. Both of those areas should be correctable with coaching and practice.

I remember lots of people making the same positive noises about David Wilson. Two years on he still can't block worth a damn and can't hold onto the ball either. It isn't as pronounced an issue with Sims but even with coaching you can't make his hands any bigger and that more so than any tardiness in his ball carrying technique appears to be a bigger reason why second effort leads to fumbles. 

[Cid in Dupont]

I'm hoping for Gaffney.  He is an absolute battering ram.  Oh yeah, he's smart & block too.  Lot's of upside.

[Chris]

Ceri, I hope all is well with you.

I've seen Andre Williams linked to us in the later rounds. Most likely because of the strong BC connection. 

Any thoughts on him as a possible fit?

[Philosophers]

Ceri - I'm glad you wrote about Mason's blitz pickup blocking.  The few times I watched him, he looks like he absolutely loves to pick up the blitzer and really puts as you said his helmet into the chest of the oncoming blitzer.  Additionally, he looks to sink into his stance so he doesn't get pushed back.  I think he gets drafted in the second round.  Unlike a lot of guys who may get picked ahead of him, Tre Mason actually played really well in the big games against the best competition.  I like that attribute a lot.

[UKGiantsFan]

Ceri, I hope all is well with you.

I've seen Andre Williams linked to us in the later rounds. Most likely because of the strong BC connection. 

Any thoughts on him as a possible fit?

I'm not sure what to think about Williams. On the one hand he has good vision, can find a crease and is gone plus is physically impressive & blocks very well in pass protection,. On the other hand he has so many plays where he looks slow to the line of scrimmage and was really poor at converting 3rd & short situations (just 50%) that you wonder how quick he is out of the gate and how many of those big plays were due to the massive holes he ran through. More disconcerting to me is that he got injured every single year and has absolute bricks for hands in the passing game!! Having seen a revolving door at the RB position due to injury I'd sooner not bring in someone who could never make it through a season unscathed in college!