Giants boast solid group of draftees: Day 2

TGI draft expert Jim Sabo breaks down each of New York’s seven draft picks. In this article, Jim covers day one of the Giants' draft.

    Round Four – Barry Cofield DT Northwestern

    OVERALL LOOK – Cofield is a smart and athletic player who reminds us a little of Kendrick Clancy. He could be that type of player. Since Clancy and Kenderick Allen are gone from last year, they needed to add another defensive tackle. They are raving about the progress of Jonas Seawright, but it remains to be seen how much of a contribution he will make. Cofield is solid insurance. His Combine performance was exceptional. There were 25 defensive tackles that worked out at the Combine and Cofield was the best. He was better than Brodrick Bunkley (Eagles) and Haloti Ngata (Ravens), both first round picks. At 6-4, 304, he ran a 5.00 forty, better than the 5.15 average for the DT group. His vertical jump was excellent showing good leg explosion, which is important for a DT. His 10 and 20 yard splits were the best of all DTs, again showing short area quickness, which is very important for a DT. He was the best in the 20 yard shuttle and very good in the three-cone drill. He did 35 reps, which was well above the DT average of 29. 

    OURLADS’ TAKE – As you can see Cofield is a great athlete for his size. So why did he last until the fourth round? Simple. He did not play up to his athletic numbers. He is blessed with great ability, but for whatever reason we didn’t see it often enough on the field. He can go one of two ways with the Giants. He can choose to put his great skills to work for him or he can continue along his current path and be just another player who may or may not make it as a reserve. He has the ability to be better than Clancy. He could be as good as Cornelius Griffin if he wants to. The choice is his to make. He has athletic skills, and just needs to be coached on proper techniques and motivation.

    PROS – Cofield was a three-year starter. He is explosive off the ball. He has the strength to push the pocket from the inside. He has exceptional lateral quickness.

    CONS – He has shorter arms and smaller hands than ideal for a DT. He will play high and get driven off the ball too often. He gets turned and walled off. He gets wired to blockers at times and he lacks effort in long pursuit despite his speed. He gets lazy at times. 

    REACH, STEAL, NEED or VALUE – Again, we have a dual outcome. Cofield is a need pick, but he has the skills to be a steal. Time will tell based on how much he wants it. He has a lot of things to work on and overall he is a bit of a gamble, but one worth taking in Round Four because of his high ceiling. It wouldn’t surprise us to see him either push for a starting spot or be relegated to the practice squad. 

    PASSED OVER TALENT – The talent in this draft was starting to thin out at this point. The strength of the draft in Round Four was offensive lineman. G Rob Sims (Seahawks), OT Ryan O’Callaghan (Patriots) and OT Jonathan Scott (Lions) were all on the board as well as DT Orien Harris (Steelers). With another choice coming up five picks later it was good to ignore OL because there were several still available. Harris would have been a consideration, but they went with the player with the better upside.

    Round Four – Guy Whimper OT East Carolina

    OVERALL LOOK – Guy Whimper is a player without a lot of experience. Some may question his fourth round selection, but the word on him is favorable. He needs a lot of technique work, but he has exciting skills that could translate into a very good left tackle. Again they took an athlete who ranked 5^th of 43 offensive linemen at the Combine. We love athletic offensive linemen. At 6-5, 304, he ran a 4.96 forty, which was the second fastest of all offensive linemen behind only Chris Chester (Ravens), a converted TE. Any OL 40 time under 5.00 is exceptional. His agility events were also excellent. He finished second again in the three-cone drill to Chester. He has tremendous movement skills. He did 26 reps, which is better than the OL average of 24. 

    OURLADS’ TAKE – Let’s face facts. They need to eventually replace Luke “False Start” Petitgout. In Guy Whimper, they may have found their man. This could turn out to be an outstanding pick. He has that much upside. We believe he can be red-shirted for a year, coached up and sooner or later they may have something. They will need to have patience with him. He is not a sure thing, few players ever are, but he is worth the investment.

    PROS – Whimper is a classic developmental size and speed prospect. He has good feet and change of direction. He has the ability to stay with multiple moves and the ability to handle speed rushers. He has raw talent that could be molded properly with good coaching. He has first step quickness. He should upgrade their depth while he learns. He has left tackle feet. He has good agility, body control and lateral quickness.

    CONS – He is raw. Whimper’s technique and mechanical blocking skills need work. He needs to improve his pull and do a better job of follow through on his run blocking. Like Cofield, he must want to improve.

    REACH, STEAL, NEED or VALUE – This is their most intriguing and potentially exciting pick. He could pay huge dividends. This is another value pick in the fourth round that could turn out to be a steal. Even though he won’t be ready for a while, we really like this pick. We have suffered long enough with Petitgout, but we will have to endure one more year, at least, until Whimper is ready. This is not Jeff Hatch.

    PASSED OVER TALENT – Offensive linemen O’Callaghan and Scott were still on the board. S Pat Watkins (Cowboys), TE Jason Pociask (Jets), RB Jerome Harrison (Browns) and CB DeMario Minter (Browns) were also available. The Giants went for the home run with Whimper and we like that. We believe his upside, though not immediate, is higher than the others who were available. 

    Round Five – Charlie Peprah S Alabama

    OVERALL LOOK – Although the Giants say he will be tried at both safety and corner, we believe his ultimate position will be free safety. He is smart, has leadership ability and is a player. He’s not the best athlete, but he plays the game the right way. At the Combine, he was average. He finished 19^th of 43 in our Combine ranking. He was 5-11, 206, slightly below average safety size. His vertical and broad jumps were in the middle of the pack. He ran a 4.69 forty with 4.63 being average for safeties. He did 15 reps at 225, slightly below the safety average of 18. He did excel in one area and that was agility. His 20 and 60-yard shuttles were superb, indicating great quickness and change of direction.

    OURLADS’ TAKE – Peprah was a guy we had in our later rounds as a potential pick for the Giants. We like the way he plays and they can always use more competition in the secondary. He is smart, reliable and dependable. He directed traffic in the Alabama secondary. He will play special teams and he has the smarts to accept coaching. He can make it as a reserve with perhaps starting potential down the road. When a team hits on a player like him it is really big.

    PROS – He is a disciplined wrap up tackler. What is impressive about him is that he doesn’t get bounced around in run support like many safeties do. He does have corner cover skills. He recognizes and reacts to run/pass situations quickly and instinctively. His short area quickness allows him to make quick adjustments. He can play zone with good awareness, vision and ball reaction. He can go up and catch the ball at its highest point. He has great special teams skills.

    CONS – His biggest weakness is that he lacks great speed, but he did run better at his pro day workout than he did at the Combine. Unfortunately pro day workouts are usually held at sites favorable to the player.

    REACH, STEAL, NEED or VALUE – More than anything this is a need pick, but this is the time to really concentrate on need. His dominant quality is quickness. We like that he is a hard worker. Put those two qualities together and they may have a player.

    PASSED OVER TALENT – There were still players on the board that we liked. Peprah’s Alabama teammate, DE Mark Anderson (Bears), drifted farther than he should have, but another DE would not have been practical. TE Charles Davis (Steelers), RB Wali Lundy (Texans) and WR Mike Hass (Saints) were also there. We would not have argued with any of these players, but we can’t argue against Peprah either. 

    Round Seven – Gerrick McPhearson CB Maryland

    OVERALL LOOK – In Round Seven, you cross your fingers and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. As we said earlier a 7^th round prospect just needs one great skill to work with and McPhearson’s dominant skill is his straight-ahead speed. At the Combine he finished 6^th out of 39 corners in athletic ability. At 5-10, 196, he is slightly undersized. He tied with two others for the best vertical jump at 41.5 inches, which is outstanding. Vertical jump is a great equalizer when covering taller receivers. He ran an official 4.47 at Indy with 4.52 being the CB average. We know he is faster than that. It has been reported that he has run in the high 4.2 range, which is blazing. He is the fastest DB in Maryland history.

    OURLADS’ TAKE – We just finished with a cornerback with poor ball skills, Will Allen. The difference is Allen was a first round pick and McPhearson is a 7^th round pick. We are pleased they took another corner to compete. He should become an exceptional gunner on special teams. We love his speed. He seems like a humble kid who is willing to learn. He lasted until the 7^th round because of his poor ball skills. With concentration and work on the Jugs gun, he should improve.

    PROS – McPhearson’s greatest quality is his speed. He is a true burner. He is also a great leaper. He looks like he is more than just a straight-line runner. He appears to be fluid in his turns. He exhibits good body control and balance in his plants. He can stay with receivers in man or press. He will drive on the ball in front of him. He has the range to cover the field. To go with his outstanding leaping ability, he has the body control to play the ball.

    CONS – Most of his weaknesses surround his poor ball skills. From what we have seen, we question his awareness, anticipation and instinct. Those are things coaches can work with. He is not real strong in run support. In his defense he had a shoulder injury in 2005 and that may have caused him to be an inconsistent hitter. He doesn’t use good techniques and gets sloppy at times. He needs to work on man coverage techniques as well as zone awareness.

    REACH, STEAL, NEED or VALUE – McPhearson is a value pick in Round Seven. We had him rated at least two rounds higher than he went. If he is willing to learn he has the skill to make it. If not, he will be another great athlete who could not channel his talent into becoming a productive pro.

    PASSED OVER TALENT – The 7^th round is a crapshoot. Sure there were other players they could have selected like troubled CB Dee Webb (Jaguars). Webb has better skills but he is a gamble due to serious off-field issues. G Will Montgomery (Panthers) was there, as was intriguing WR/TE prospect Marques Colston (Saints). They rolled the dice on a great athlete and it’s hard to criticize them for picking McPhearson.