Giants Grab LB Goff in Round Five

With the draft’s top-rated inside linebacker Dan Connor dropping all the way to the Panthers in the third round, the Giants opted to wait to address their LB needs until the fourth and fifth rounds.

In the fourth they traded up for Bryan Kehl of BYU. In the fifth, they sat tight and were happy to land Vanderbilt middle linebacker Jonathan Goff.

Goff, 6-2, 245, was a three-year starter and a physical sideline-to sideline player. A very productive athlete, Goff had a great senior season in 2007, earning All-American honorable mention after posting 113 tackles. During his career at Vandy, Goff collected 307 tackles (202 solos), with 6.5 sacks and three interceptions.

“He’s a very, very fine football player,” Vandy head coach Bobby Johnson said. “You know when he goes out there he’s going to play well. He does everything. He is good in his pass drops. He is good against the run. He’s the kind of guy who just goes out and makes plays for you.”