2012 New York Giants Draft Grade

Posted by on May 4th, 2012


The Super Bowl Champs sat at 32 with a plethora of options, what they did with that 32nd pick wasn’t that surprising, but the fact that they were able to do so well, at the end of every round was what was so shocking.

Not that the Giants are bad at drafting, on the contrary they usually do very well, but the fact that they were able to get such high end talent without moving at all.  Let’s see what I thought with my 2012 New York Giants Draft Grade.

It started with explosive running back, David Wilson.  The Giants had a need at running back and they hope that Wilson can come in, split time with Ahmad Bradshaw, and eventually take over as the every down back on the squad.


Wilson is a compact, strong back with outstanding athletic ability, good balance and great flexibility.

Is an explosive player, great speed, excellent quickness and a strong one cut ability that allows him to plant his foot and go.

He isn’t the ideal size of a back you want, and doesn’t give you a different type of back from Bradshaw in size, but their running ability and style is slightly different.

Doesn’t do a great job of protecting himself from taking big hits, and isn’t the best at holding onto the football.

I was only surprised by the person they picked, not the actual selection.  I am gonna guess they wanted Doug Martin to give them a different type of a back, but Wilson is an explosive, game changer, or at least has a chance to be.

I think he will offer big plays, but isn’t ready to be an every down weapon, yet.

They continued to address their offensive needs? with the selection of Rueben Randle.

Randle is a big, thickly put together WR who is really moving up draft boards, and could get drafted in the late first round based on the team needs of some in front of them.

Randle is a very solid route runner, who plays big and physical with corners, and uses his size to create separation, since he doesn’t have top end speed to separate in his route running.

More importantly for the Vikings, Randle is a red zone threat that has good hands and doesn’t let the ball come into his body when making catches.

Works well on intermediate and short routes, and can make plays after the ball in his hands.

His lack of speed will cause some people to believe he will never truly be a number one receiver, which may be true, but when he has the ball he tends to make plays.

Then in round 3 they decided to address an actual need at cornerback with the selection of Jayron Hosley.

Smallish, quick cover corner, who has great change of direction and is good at flipping his hips and staying with his man.

Excellent in zone work because of his strong read and react on throws and is good in his breaks on the ball.

Needs to get stronger, isn’t overly long or physical, and can get caught peeking in the backfield to often and get beat because of it.

In the fourth round they addressed one of their biggest needs, and did it with one of the rawest prospects at the position in the draft in Adrien Robinson.

Robinson is an overly athletic, linear route runner.  He has strong blocking potential and a good frame for the position.

The problem is his athleticism isn’t overly useful right now because he isn’t sudden in his parallel or lateral movements yet.

He has so much potential, it was a very Giants like pick to take him this early, and allow him to develop as a route runner and player, which is why they took him, because that is what they do.

Why did I like the Giants draft so damn much?  Because of what they did in rounds 4 and 6 with the selections of Brandon Mosely and Matt McCants, two of my favorite offensive line prospects in the entire draft.

Mosely is a big, former TE who has good feet and athletic ability, long arms, big hands that uses both well for being newer to the position. Possesses good range in his drop step, but can over extend in trying to get to his defender.  Has to get stronger in his upper body, but more importantly in his trunk and base.

Mosely is a very intriguing prospect because of how raw he is at the position, and that is something that you can take advantage of if you have the ability to be patient, which the Giants do right now.

In McCants you have a prospect with prototypical left tackle size and frame with room to add weight, who uses his frame to keep defenders at bay and push them past the QB.  He has good, fluid movement out of his stance and quickness and exhibits good coil and snap in and out of his stance.

Needs to add weight and get stronger at the point of attack and played against lower level competition.

He is a big bodied kid who needs a year or two to develop, but once there, could be an elite level left tackle.  He has all the necessary tools, and has shown the desire to work hard and get better, the question is, and can he get strong enough to ever make it and if there is any coach that will be able to get that out of him, it’s Tom Coughlin.

To end the draft the Giants added Markus Kuhn to the stable of defensive linemen they already have.

He is a big kid, with good lateral movement and the ability to take on single blocks, shed them and make plays.

Not overly explosive, or strong and doesn’t have a ton of time for growth because of his age, he will be 26 in his rookie year.

Has the chance to be a solid rotational player that the Giants can have come in and make plays a couple of times a game when needed, but isn’t going to be a starter or push for elite playing time.

Overall:  If I could make the Cardinals trade drafts with one team, it would easily be the Giants.  I love the picks of Mosely and McCants and believe that both of them have a chance to make a mark in this league.

Randle looks to be a solid number three receiver next to Nicks and Cruz.

Hosley looks to have the ability to become an every down player in the league, and really the only question marks are those of Wilson and Robinson and whether they can harness all that potential and turn it into solid production.

When you add all of that up, you get a Great draft.

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