This Week In Mock Drafts
Everyone knows the old saying, “Another day, another dollar.” Well, since I don’t get paid anything to write for GMEN HQ, let’s start a new saying on my behalf, “Another Monday, another ‘This Week In Mock Drafts.’”
Catchy, right? Let’s see how quickly we can get that to be used in everyday online conversation. I imagine by the year 2019, at least one other person besides myself will use it in their everyday conversations. My money is on me.
Since today is Monday, that means I’m back for another rendition of the uber-popular mock draft feature, ‘This Week In Mock Drafts.’
This week’s mock feature takes a look at Darius J. Pendergrass’ 2012 NFL mock draft over at RealSportsHype.com, dated May 5, 2011. As usual the focus is on who he has mocked to the New York football Giants, because, well, this is a New York Giants blog.
Mr. Pendergrass has predicted the Giants will be picking 20th overall in the 2012 NFL draft, meaning that he thinks the Giants will be making an appearance in the post-season next season. In fact, they’ll be taking the NFC’s second wildcard spot. Who does he have winning the NFC East? The Dallas Cowboys. How about the Eagles? Not making the playoffs at all. And, like a lot of 2012 mocks, the Redskins pick first overall where they get the honor of taking current top draft pick du jour, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.
After last week’s feature on WalterFootball.com, the first site I covered for a ‘This Week In Mock Drafts’ feature here at GMEN HQ that predicted the Giants would make the play-offs, Pendergrass makes it two weeks in a row. I hope it’s some sort of a trend.
Onto the picks…
With the 20th overall selection in Pendergrass’ 2012 NFL mock draft the Giants will pick, according to Pendergrass, running back Knile Davis out of Arkansas. With Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs making for a formidable duo you wouldn’t really think that running back would be a need. After all, the two of them combined last season to rush for 2058 yards and 15 touchdowns.
However, we don’t really know if the current Giants running back depth chart that consists of Jacobs, Bradshaw and Danny Ware will still be around by the time the 2012 NFL Draft takes place.
Bradshaw and Jacobs had unsettled contract situations going into the lockout and nothing could be done about that. The most likely scenario is that Bradshaw will be given a nice but affordable contract and a chance to be the true number 1 running back on the team and that Jacobs will be coming back if he takes a pay cut and a probable demotion to number two on the depth chart behind Bradshaw. Again, this is all speculation, and we haven’t even played this season yet. So everything I said could be completely wrong and we won’t know what happens until the season starts and is played. Who knows, the Giants might go out and sign someone like Ronnie Brown during free agency… Probably not though.
Davis, who’s listed at 6’0 and weighs 220 pounds, racked up 1322 yards on 204 carries for the Razorbacks while scoring 13 touchdowns during the 2010 NCAA college football season.
Davis is considered an “every down” back, who, if still on the board could be one of those “best player available” types that the Giants usually end up going for, over filling need positions. It’s just the way GM Jerry Reese operates. But, as we mentioned earlier, depending on what happens after the lockout and the production of the running backs next season, running back might just be a position of need. Davis, along with Alabama’s Trent Richardson, a potential Heisman candidate, who Pendergrass had mocked to the Kansas City Chiefs earlier in the draft at 14 overall, are two of the top running backs that could be available for the Giants.
The Giants didn’t do much to address their running back situation during the 2011 NFL Draft as the only running back they took was Da’Rel Scott out of Maryland in the 7th round. So, even if the Giants don’t go running back in the first round they might take a running back earlier than the 7th round during next year’s draft. Again, anything is in play when the season hasn’t started and the draft is just a little under a year away still.