Pierre-Paul is the Pick

The Giants were in love with Spiller, Pierre-Paul, and McClain and ended up with Pierre-Paul, the talented, but inexperienced pass-rusher from South Florida. Derrick Morgan was the safer choice, by far, which only shows how strongly Jerry Reese, Tom Coughlin wanted to add the speed and athleticism of Pierre-Paul off the edge. The Giants could have grabbed Sean Weatherspoon, filling their biggest need, but is Weatherspoon that much better of a player or fit than Sean Lee, Daryl Washington, or Jamar Chaney in Rounds 2 or 3?

Cue the Osi trade rumors please. Expect Jerry Reese’s phone to be pretty busy with potential calls coming from Carolina, Miami, and the Rams. I still think Umeniyora is highly valued by Giants brass and any offer needs to be a multiple pick deal, starting with a high 2nd round pick this year. Dealing Umeniyora doesn’t make sense unless the Giants feel Pierre-Paul can contribute right away, at least on third down passing situations, and that is a huge risk to take unless the return is just too good. With that being said, Jerry Reese and John Mara have both publicly come out and said Osi is going nowhere.

2nd Round Targets: I can see the Giants trading up a few spots in round 2 only if they think Sean Lee, Daryl Washington, or Jamar Chaney won’t be around at pick no. 46, the 14th pick in round 2. Just depending, I could also see the G-men grab the best defensive tackle (Brian Price/Cam Thomas/Linval Joseph/Lamarr Houston) or the best offensive lineman (Roger Saffold comes to minds) in round 2 if one of the aformentioned middle linebackers are off the board.

Jason Pierre-Paul comes with the dreaded “upside” label, though the Giants were not the only team with a high grade on Pierre-Paul. Jerry Reese expects Pierre-Paul to play in 2010, but you have to figure Pierre-Paul will be used mostly on 3rd down, in pure passing situations. After struggling to get after the quarterback in 2009, Reese and company desperately wanted to reinvigorate the pass rush so Pierre-Paul makes sense given the Giants high grade on him. Am I worried the Giants grabbed a t rue “boom or bust” pick in Round 1? Yes, but the upside makes sense and perhaps Jerry Reese’s pro-active move will pay huge dividends in the near future (Kiwinuka enters his contract year and you never know with Umeniyora, if he has a big year, he is going to want a new contract with new money), so on several levels, welcome Jason Pierre-Paul.

Stay Blue!