Giant Pre-Draft Visits This Thursday

Ralph Vacchiano of nydailynews.com, known to have his hand on the pulse of Giant draft thoughts, reveals to us that the G-men have a pre-draft workout scheduled today for the following, local talent:

Virginia LB Denzel Burrell (South Orange, NJ)
William & Mary S David Caldwell (Montclair, NJ)
Virginia DT Nate Collins (Port Chester, NY)
Rutgers FB Jack Corcoran
Rutgers TE Shamar Graves
Rutgers T Kevin Haslam
Penn State LB Jerome Hayes (Bayonne, NJ)
Kean University (Union, NJ) DT Darryl Jackson
Rutgers S Zaire Kitchen
William & Mary DT Sean Lissemore (Dumont, NJ)
Temple TE Steve Maneri (Saddlebrook, NJ)
Notre Dame C Eric Olsen (Staten Island, NY)
Stony Brook (NY) DT Chris Perri
Buffalo TE Jesse Rack (Maspeth, NY)
Duke LB Vincent Rey (Far Rockaway, NY)
Monmouth (NJ) University RB Dave Sinisi

Keep in mind that the Giants, as with all teams, get to hold 30 pre-draft visits with draft prospects (we know linebackers Rolando McClain and Sean Lee have already been scheduled and/or have visited with Jerry Reese and the crew). With rumors that the Giants have interest in trading up to the top 10 (likely to cost at least a 3rd round pick and maybe more) in an effort to bring in McClain or C.J. Spiller, the question remains whether Rolando McClain is really a good fit for Perry Fewell’s defense or if the Giants are better served drafting Sean Weatherspoon in Round 1 or TCU linebacker Daryl Washington in Round 2 and converting one of these guys to middle linebacker?

Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to love about Rolando McClain, he is a leader, a true thumper in the middle, and he is widely considered to be the best linebacker in the draft. But, the success of Perry Fewell’s defense will likely depend on speed and versatility, and the knocks on McClain go to speed and his ability to be a true 4-3 middle linebacker as opposed to his inside backer position in the 3-4 defense that he starred in with Alabama.

Weatherspoon is big enough to handle the middle and his speed and coverage ability make for a very good fit, ditto for Penn State’s Sean Lee and TCU’s Daryl Washington. Weatherspoon will be available for the G-men at No. 15 (or in a potential trade down) OR the G-men could add a stud offensive lineman (think Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Iupati, or any of the top tier tackle prospects like Anthony Davis) and grab Lee or Washington in Round 2.

In a deep draft, extra picks make sense; it is obvious that the Eagles are getting younger, the Giants could use an extra pick or two to add depth on both lines, in the secondary (Grant is a good veteran, but he is a stop-gap type of player and Philips is an unknown returning from I..R.), and, obviously, holes need to be plugged at the linebacker spot.

My vote:
Stay put at pick 15 in Round 1 or trade down, I hope Jerry doesn’t give away picks to add McClain, a great player who may not be a good fit for this defense.

Big Bens’s Long Summer:
In other news, Big Ben faces the prosecutorial chopping block and it looks like this could be a long summer for Steeler fan, word has it that the case has been forwarded to the D.A. but that a decision won’t come on whether to prosecute the case for perhaps several months. Eli may be a bit boring, but I’ll take it over continued allegations of sexual misconduct. Stay Blue!