Complete Draft Recap: 2014 New York Giants
Michael Stewart | NY Giants Rush Contributor
Round 1: Odell Beckham Jr. (WR): Once again the Giants and General Manager Jerry Reese reach in round 1 with the selection of Odell Beckham Jr. The deepest position in the 2014 NFL draft was arguably at Wide Receiver and the fact that the Giants did need to add a WR with the departure Hakeem Nicks made sense.
However; unless Sammy Watkins was available, why the selection of Beckham, especially in the 1st round and why at #12? If Jerry Reese was convinced that Beckham was their man, then why not trade back for an additional pick and still select him later in round 1?
As I mentioned earlier, this is the deepest draft in many years and the addition of an extra pick would have helped the Giants. Please understand that this is not a reflection on Beckham, but more on Reese as it was believed that the Giants wanted a big WR to compliment Cruz and Randle and to also be a threat in the red zone.
WR’s such as Kelvin Benjamin, Jordan Matthews, Allen Robinson, Martavis Bryant, Devin Street, Brandon Coleman and L’Damian Washington are big and could have been available from the late 1st through the 5th. – Grade B
Round 2 Weston Richburg (OC): You would think that the selection of Richburg is a solid selection in the 2nd round, think again! In the 2014 draft, the Center position was arguably the weakest position as not one center was projected to go in the 1st round. Based on all information provided, I believe not one center was rated more superior over the other; which translates that the Giants could have waited in the later rounds to find a center equally as talented as Richburg.
Travis Swanson (3rd round) Marcus Martin (3rd round) Bryan Stork (4th round) and Russell Bodine (4th Round) are all rated fairly even. Still on board were Cyrus Kouandjio (OT), Moses Morgan (OT), Stephon Tuitt (DE/DT), Timmy Jernigan (DT), Troy Niklas (TE).
All of these players who were rated higher at their respected positions than Richburg. – Grade C+
Round 3 Jay Bromley (DT): Jay Bromley was rated at #19 at the DT position by NFLscouts.com and was projected to be a 6th round selection. So why would the Giants and Jerry Reese select him not only in the 3rd round, but also ahead of Will Sutton (DT, rated #9) and Louis Nix III (DT, rated #2)?
If Reese wanted a replacement for Linval Joseph; then why Bromley over Sutton and Nix III? Let’s forget Daniel McCullers (6’8/360) was also available in the later rounds as he was taken in the 6th round. – Grade C