This Week In Mock Drafts
Since there were zero negative comments on last week’s first installment of ‘This Week In Mock Drafts’ here at GMEN HQ that must mean that absolutely nobody hated the column… at least not enough to complain about it. Know what that means? Means you’re in for another ‘This Week In Mock Drafts’ article.
Last week’s inaugural New York football Giants related look at mock drafts focused on Chad Reuter of NFLDraftScout.com and CBSSports.com and his thoughts about the upcoming 2012 NFL Draft. Yes, it’s only June. Yes, it’s still 2011. No, the NCAA college football season hasn’t started yet. And, yes, the NFL players are still locked out. But there are still 2012 mock drafts out there to report on and I’ll be doing just that until there are no more.
2012 NFL mock drafts are a crazy thing to be talking about this early. We know that. College hasn’t started yet. Top prospects haven’t lived up to their draft statuses yet, breakout players haven’t broken out yet, there aren’t any major injuries that have occurred as of yet, etc. We know that Jim Tressel resigned and won’t be coaching at Ohio State next season, sorry, he won’t be coaching at THE Ohio State, but that’s about all we know when it comes to NCAA football, at least as of now.
The other thing we know is that all these mock drafts that are being released so early will probably be meaningless by the time the actual draft takes place, in whatever shape or form it takes place. That doesn’t make the process of mock drafts any less fun though.
Perloff calls the potential 2012 NFL Draft class, “loaded with talent at the offensive skill positions”, and that’s a good thing for the Giants as he has them drafting offensive tackle Mike Adams out of Ohio State.
Adams is a 6’8, 305 pound lineman who last year was named to the All-Big Ten first team but is also one of the Ohio State players who’ll be suspended to start off the 2011 NCAA football season because he was caught in the whole memorabilia for tattoos scandal.
If you ask me, giving away merchandise for tattoos isn’t that big of a deal, especially since college players don’t get paid, unless they go to USC, all the while the NCAA and universities make millions of dollars off them. What Adams did might have been against the rules but they were some wonky-ass rules to begin with.
Anyway, let me get back on topic. Giants, draft, Mike Adams… Got it! Okay. Adams is a talented O-lineman who would be a welcome addition to the Giants’ offensive line, and, who could potentially fight off someone like Kareem McKenzie for their starting spot, especially if Adams bulks up and adds a bit more strength to his physique. The Giants are all about taking the best and most talented player available and have a strong enough veteran-filled locker room to handle taking on someone like Adams.
This is what the Giants’ current starting offensive line looks like:
Left Tackle: David Diehl
Left Guard: Rich Seubert
Center: Shaun O’Hara
Right Guard: Chris Snee
Right Tackle: Kareem McKenzie
The youngest of that starting corps is Chris Snee, who’s 29, and is the only one of the five not in his 30’s. The offensive line wasn’t addressed during the most recent draft until the Giants took OL James Brewer out of Indiana in the 4th round. With the starting five of the GMEN O-line getting older and more prone to injuries it’s really no surprise that Perloff would look for the Giants to take an offensive lineman.
Perloff has the Giants taking Adams with the 20th overall pick in the first round and that means that he believes the Giants won’t be making the playoffs next season. Yet again, another prognosticator not thinking highly of the Giants and their playoff hopes. Based on his mock draft, Perloff has both the Redskins and Cowboys missing the playoffs, as he has them selecting 10th and 11th, respectively, while giving the NFC East division crown to the Philadelphia Eagles, who he has picking 26th.
Other notable tidbits include Perloff giving the number one overall pick to the Buffalo Bills, who he has taking uber-stud Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, and a Super Bowl that features the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the New Orleans Saints.
There’s a lot of time between now and April 2012, so who knows what will happen between now and then. Adams’ stock might drop or rise, the Giants might bomb and have a horrible year and pick really high and find someone better than Adams, or perform extremely well and pick too low to select Adams, or Adams might try his hand at the supplemental draft, if one is allowed to take place, and not even be there for the Giants to select next season. Nobody knows. That’s half the fun in analyzing mock drafts though! See you next week for another installment of ‘This Week In Mock Drafts.’