• Ohio State linebacker Etienne Sabino, as per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
• LSU tight end Chase Clement, as per Jenny Vrentas of the Newark-Star Ledger.
• Virginia Tech linebacker/safety Alonzo Tweedy, as per Vrentas.
• Charleston Southern cornerback Charles James, as per Vrentas.
• Mount Union linebacker Charles Dieuseul, as per Vacchiano.
• Virginia Tech Wide Receiver Marcus Davis as per @bigbluebloggers

The Giants started the draft process with 77 players on their roster, and drafted 7 more, which left them at 84 and room for 6 undrafted free agents. Not sure if the Giants have another move in the back of their collective minds, or if they will go ahead with 89.

19. New York Giants – Bjoern Werner DE/ Florida State – We begin with the home town team which is great because there has been a certain consistency to the Giants mock drafts up until now. The Giants more glaring needs are at CB, OL, and DE. If Texas FS Kenny Vaccaro is available I would have to say that’s the pick, but he has to get past the Dallas Cowboys who desperately need safety help and pick at (18) just before the Giants. Another option for the Giants would be Florida State CB Xavier Rhodes. Other drafts have Rhodes going as high as 12 to the Dolphins so his availability may not even be an option for the Giants. Finally is OLB/ILB Jarvis Jones from Georgia. Jones was considered top ten worthy before half the NFL got scared off from a diagnosis of Spinal Stenosis. If team doctors to medically clear him, he is an explosive a football player as the Giants could ask for and he would play at a position of weakness in the defense. Another position of weakness is DE after the loss of Osi to the Atlanta Falcons. Bjoern Werner really fits the mold of what the Giants look for. His size and weight are nearly identical to what Jason Pierre Paul’s were when he was drafted. They also share some other similarities of which I have spoken at length about in earlier mock drafts. DE’s and DT’s are not hard to come by in 2013; neither are OL for that matter. I’ll mention it again, if Rhodes or Vaccaro falls to the Giants, it’s a no-brainer. I don’t see that happening and therefore am keeping with my pick of Bjoern Werner.

18. Dallas Cowboys –. Kenny Vaccaro, S/Texas – Dallas let Gerald Sensabaugh walk this off season and only have Barry Church coming back off an Achilles injury. The need for a safety has to be a priority for the Cowboys. Vaccaro is a top 12 talent that falls to the Cowboys because of team need. If he gets past the Rams, Dallas will jump at the opportunity. There are also rumors that the Cowboys have fallen in love with North Carolina DT, Sylvester Williams. Williams will help fill a hole at both DT and in DE. I have Williams falling all the way to the Vikings.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers – Jarvis Jones OLB/ Georgia – The National Football Post reported Georgia OLB Jarvis Jones’ neck injury is “starting to look like it might be a non-factor on draft day,” and “there is little chance he falls out of the top ten.” Teams like the Steelers, who run like a well-oiled machine year in and year out are the type of franchise that are encouraged by taking a chance on a guy like Jones. Where so many other teams will pass on him due to his medical red flags, the Steelers, will do their due diligence to find him healthy and a heck of a football player. The release of James Harrison, who just signed in Cincinnati, also makes this move more likely.

16. St. Louis Rams – DeAndre Hopkins, WR/ Clemson – The rams booked two pre-draft workouts with Hopkins, much in the same way they did with Brian Quick last year. Quick was able to be taken in the 2nd round, where I don’t think that Hopkins would make it that far. Hopkins could fill a much needed hole for the Rams as their primary receiver and a guy who can grow in this offense, something Sam Bradford has yet to ever really have. Jeff Fisher may also look for any top offensive lineman that may fall out of the top 15. More and More skill position players will find themselves drafted in the first round, than had been predicted because though they are typically very risky, they also carry the most immediate rewards for their perspective teams.

15. New Orleans Saints – Barkevious Mingo, DE/ LSU – Mingo has been a favorite of Rex Ryan and the Jets, but as we inch closer to draft day, I believe their other needs will be addressed. Tennessee, San Diego, and Miami could all be going with an O-Lineman so Mingo has the potential of falling if the Jets don’t take him. Instead he’ll end up with a different Ryan in New Orleans and immediately put him in as a starter. Mingo has some of the best workout numbers of any prospect during the combine, but there is a fear he is a workout warrior and not a football player.

14. Carolina Panthers – Sheldon Richardson, DT/Missouri – The Panthers statistically had a top 15 defense in 2012 finishing 10th in the league for yards per game allowed. Richardson, who stands 6’2”, 294lbs., became Mizzou’s first-ever All-SEC designee, as he was named to the 2nd-team for his outstanding play. His presence should help solidify Carolina’s front seven.

13. New York Jets (Via Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Jonathan Cooper, OG/North Carolina – I was certain the Revis deal was going through, but for the Jets sake, I had hoped for more than the #13th pick in this years’ draft. This is where newly hired GM John Idzik will earn his paycheck. My best guess is San Francisco moves up to #13 in order to grab Stanford TE Zach Ertz. San Fran has more picks than any other team in 2013, and Idzik knows he needs to fill more holes than what 1 player can do. He will trade down in the draft to acquire, heck I hope 2-3 picks! If the Jets decide to use this pick, the most recent news thinks the Jets will go with an OL with one of their top 2 picks. That’s great and makes a lot of sense. They can watch and see who may fall from grace into their laps at this point. I anticipate hopefully one of the two top guards to still be available, Cooper or Warmack. I understand the Jets are moving to a west coast offense. This should further influence them to solidify the line since Mark Sanchez had a tough time staying upright when he knew the system he was playing in. Cooper is an uber-talented guard and NFL’s Gil Brandt was quotes as saying he’s “the most purely athletic guard I can remember seeing” coming out of college. Cooper plays with “light feet, great balance,” and also showed a “nasty streak,” consistently “looking for contact.” Cooper is considered by some to be the best guard prospect in the class.

12. Miami Dolphins – Menelik Watson, OT/ Florida State –This kid is very intriguing. He has only played 2 years of football after coming over from Manchester England, but is considered by NFL.com’s Gil Brandt as a “very good offensive lineman.” Pursued by the likes of Oklahoma, Oregon, Auburn, Cal and Rutgers, Watson elected to sign with Florida State where he emerged as a starter in just his second season of playing the sport. The Dolphins have given Watson a lot of attention heading into the draft including two private workouts for the English native.

11. San Diego Chargers – Lane Johnson, OT/ Oklahoma – The new regime of GM Tom Telesco, HC Mike McCoy, and OC Ken Whisenhunt have a lot of work to do to keep the Chargers relevant. Johnson did 28 reps of 225lbs at the combine and with his strength will help Philip Rivers try to redeem himself after getting sacked on 50 of his 587 drop backs. The Bolts’ most glaring need is at left tackle, where Jared Gaither up and quit last season, and Johnson will also help fill the void on the right side where Louis Vasquez played before he departed to Denver. D.J. Fluker could also be a great pick here

10. Tennessee Titans – Chance Warmack, OG/Alabama – Warmack is on the radar for a lot of teams. The question has now become “when to draft a guard?” There is a growing concern that taking a guard early is a bad idea. Who says? I get that guards historically have never been drafted high, but their value is different in today’s more pass happy NFL. CBS Sports has Warmack as the second best prospect in this years’ draft behind only Luke Joeckel. Whatever lineman falls out of the top ten will be wearing Titan blue next year.

Keep an eye out for the top 9 picks tomorrow and we’ll keep you updated on all the latest news.

Follow me @Jferguson631

League spokesman Greg Aiello announced Tuesday Morning that the 2013 regular-season schedule will be released this Thursday, April 18, at 8 p.m. ET.

Stay right here for news and analysis of the upcoming season

The Giants will start their voluntary offseason workout program on Apr. 15.

OTA workouts: May 22-23, May 29-31 and June 3-7

Giants mandatory minicamp: June 11-13

The talk of course is all about who shows and who doesn’t, but barring injury rehabbing players most guys will be in attendance.  The one name that will cause the most buzz of course is Victor Cruz.  Cruz did show up at the Manning workouts last week and it would seem silly for Victor to choose not to show up again this week in New Jersey.  The one thing for me that points to Victor Cruz definitely planning on attending this week is the following story:

According to Ed Werder of ESPN, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz isn’t expected to report to next week’s voluntary workouts. Cruz still hasn’t signed his restricted free agent tender as he continues to wait for a lucrative long-term contract from the Giants.

While it’s true he hasn’t yet signed his tender, he is in no way “Waiting” for a lucrative deal….they have offered one, and the two sides are continuing to negotiate in good faith.  To use the fact that it’s not signed yet as the reason why he won’t show up Monday shows a complete misunderstanding of the process.  Couldn’t he be waiting to sign it while at the facility on Monday? Wouldn’t it show his commitment to the team to participate fully in the workouts?  It’s the new NFL after all where the players won’t even pretend to touch each other…there is no more risk of injury than there is in walking down the street.

So…Back to work Monday…The schedule is revealed Tuesday, and the draft begins the following Thursday in New York.

Victor is playing the game along with his agent(s) and the Giants in typical fashion are not panicking or talking publicly.  The fact that Victor went to Duke University to work out with Eli is all you need to know at this point.  He is planning on being a Giant.

The risks of injury, the risk of landing somewhere with no media attention (see Jeremy Lin). the risk of not having a top 5 QB is simply not worth a few more million a year that Victor will and has already seen in endorsements in New York.  The wealth and connections you gain by playing in New York and WINNING is worth more than any amount of money up front.  Look at Michael Strahan, Coach Coughlin, and even Brad Benson.  They are household names, they are revered in this town, and part of New York History.

Victor Cruz will benefit from staying in New York on every level as opposed to moving to Detroit, Houston, San Diego, or any other locale.  Relax Giants fans,Victor is a smart kid and will make the choice to stay for the benefit of all and make the Giants receiving corps the best in the business.

The NFL Schedule comes out on the 16th of April stay tuned to GMenHQ for instant analysis as soon as it is available.  Will it be another 6-2 start?

Every team already knows it’s opponents for the season and if they will play them at home or on the road.  For the Giants we know that trips to Dallas, Philly, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Carolina, Kansas City and San Diego are on the docket. With the home opponents being the Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles, Packers, Vikings, Seahawks, Broncos, and Raiders.

The preseason Opponents are Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Jets, and New England in that order with most dates and times still to be announced.

Who will be the opener?  Will they open at home or on the road? Will the Manning Bowl III be a primetime affair? (You can bet it will be).

Eight days to go until the suspense is over.

Our thoughts here at GMen HQ are that the Giants easily could move up and take a top notch offensive lineman if they feel they won’t get a chance to steal one at 19.  I don’t believe they will go with a position like Tight End as many had predicted before free agency and the signing of Brandon Myers from Oakland.  It seems that of they don’t move up and take an o-lineman that they will indeed pick defense again, and once again pick a pass rusher.  The organizational belief that you can never have enough QB’s or pass rushers will win out over any thought of taking another project at o-Line or linebacker.  Bjoern Werner as you can see below has emerged as the favorite at that position.  There has been talk of linebacker Alec Ogletree, but the D-line is what makes linebackers successful in this league.  The interior of the line has been addressed in free agency, JPP needs to return to form, and Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka will play various roles in the defensive rotation.

Overall we believe if the Giants stay at #19…it will be defense first.

However with the way the pre season runs these days in the NFL the only QB they will probably actually play any protracted amount of time against will be Luck and whomever The Jets trot out.  With Pittsburgh being the first game, and New England being the last we can guarantee Tom Brady might not even be in the building, let alone throw any passes.  The exciting match-up comes on a primetime affair televised on FOX between Eli Manning and Andrew Luck.  Luck is an emerging star with all the tools and in week two of the pre season he will probably play the entire first half.

Three AFC teams that the Giants don’t face again in the regular season in 2013, should make for a good opportunity to test a few things out and to get after a few QB’s with some talent….and The Jets

19. New York Giants – Bjorn Werner DE, FSU
We all know the Giants love to have pass rushers. They lost Osi Umenyiora this offseason and would love to replace him. They could really use a LB but with a talent like Werner on the board, I can’t see them passing him up.

I agree with Sayre that the Giants always seem to get a good value from their picks. It’s a staple for a solid franchise and the N.Y. Giants are just that. Werner brings a tenacious work ethic, and truly superior natural athletic ability. As i have mentioned in previous posts about Werner, he only picked up the game in high school. With some professional coaching, Werner could emerge as one of the better players available in the 2013 draft.

As long as his health checks out this summer, Patterson will join a deep defensive tackle rotation featuring Jenkins, Linval Joseph, Marvin Austin and Markus Kuhn.  Another solid value pickup here for the Giants who have had a very quiet and very successful offseason so far.

The Pre-Season Schedule gets released today for the NFL.  Stay tuned to GMenHQ for the announcement.

Barkevious Mingo, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker, LSU
Bjoern Werner, Defensive End, Florida State
Chance Warmack, Guard, Alabama
Cordarrelle Patterson, Wide Receiver, Tennessee
Dee Milliner, Cornerback, Alabama
DJ Fluker, Offensive Tackle, Alabama
EJ Manuel, Quarterback, Florida State
Eric Fisher, Offensive Tackle, Central Michigan
Ezekial Ansah, Defensive End, BYU
Geno Smith, Quarterback, West Virginia
Jonathan Cooper, Guard, North Carolina
Kenny Vaccaro, Safety, Texas
Lane Johnson, Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma
Luke Joeckel, Offensive Tackle, Texas A&M
Margus Hunt, Defensive End, SMU
Menelik Watson, Offensive Tackle, Florida State
Sharrif Floyd, Defensive Tackle, Florida
Tavon Austin, Wide Receiver, West Virginia
Xavier Rhodes, Cornerback, Florida State

Asomugha was an unqualified bust with the Eagles after signing as the top free agent on the market in 2011. His press-man coverage skill set was never ideally suited to the “Wide Nine” scheme prevalent in Philadelphia over the past two seasons. The 31-year-old bottomed out by allowing an eye-popping 120.6 passer rating on throws in his territory last season, according to Pro Football Focus.

The 9ers have been carved up by opposing QB’s in the last two post seasons.  Eli Manning and Victor Cruz made them look amateurish two years ago, and Joe Flacco made 55 million dollars off his performance against an over confident talkative secondary.  Will Asomugh actually be an upgrade, or was he just the best player on a very bad team in Oakland a few years back?  We will see.

Romo has never been comfortable with trusting his running game and it has led to some great fantasy performances, but only because the flawed fantasy scoring that doesn’t subtract more points for turnovers and points against the offense.  Tony has been durable playing 16 games in 6 of his years as a starter.  He has 121 turnovers vs 177 TD’s.

The question always is asked if you had one choice of a Qb to win one game who would it be? Rodgers, Eli, Brady, Peyton……the answer is debatable except for one common thread….it is never Tony Romo.

Dan Connor: 6’2″ 240lbs out of Penn State with 5 years experience.  A major upgrade and great free agent signing for the Giants.

Mark Herzlich: 6’4″ 245 now in his third season with the team and growing stronger and more valuable every day.

Mathias Kiwanuka: 6’5″ 265 entering his 8th year with the team.  He will no doubt be looked at as a hybrid player again this year with the departure of Osi.

Jake Muasau: 6’1″ 245 entering his second season with the team.  Jake played a bit in his rookie season and helps out on special teams.

Spencer Paysinger: 6’2″ 235 entering his 3rd year.  Spencer has taken the next step in his development.  He showed he can learn this position at this level and be trusted within his assignments.  He needs to show he can step in and take a spot this year in training camp.

Keith Rivers: Keith may still be the best move Jerry Reese ever made as a GM IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY.  When he was on the field lasy season you could see why everyone thinks he can be a stud, but too many injuries have cost him playing time, and that needs to change.

Jacquian Williams: 6’2″ 224 and pure speed.  Williams will also need to stay healthy and show how versatile he can be.  He can rush the passer, and cover anyone on the field.  This is the guy that could make the difference in this group.

That’s it…just 7 guys on the current roster.  Look for Connor and Herzlich to fight for the job in the middle if Blackburn doesn’t return.  RIvers, Paysinger, and Williams can rotate at the outsides depending on formations, and Kiwanuka is the wild card.  This will not be a linebacker laden draft for the Giants, but they might find one or two in the early rounds they think can compete

Luke Batton, LB, Kent State
DeWayne Cherrington, DL, Mississippi State
Lamar Mady, OL, Youngstown State
Miguel Maysonet, RB, Stony Brook
Brendan Melanophy, DB, Fordham
Trent Steelman, WR, Army
Brian Winters, OL, Kent State

With less than a month till the draft, the entire organization is busy evaluating and ranking players.

The line will start training camp as Beatty Boothe Baas Snee and ???.  Lets see the battle for right tackle be a good one this year.

More to follow as details become available.  Welcome back Kevin!

The Giants have extended an offer that exceeds $7 million per year while adding a “sizable amount” of guaranteed money, Gary Myers of the New York Daily News reported Saturday.

The offer would seem to be in the three- or four-year range, as Myers adds that it would still leave the 26-year-old Cruz another chance to land a big contract later in his career.

I understand Victor and his agents look at things from a current to future perspective.  What they believe they are worth now and going forward, but they really should sit back a moment and realize where they came from.  Victor was an un-drafted free agent who got an invitation to camp purely to give the Giants enough bodies to hold practices.  He had a decent camp, and then got injured.  He then had another decent camp….one great game vs. The Jets, who have become his personal highlight reel, and then a not so great beginning to his career.  Taking the jump from zero to 300,000 to 3 million would be pretty good in the short time he has been in the league.  Being offered 7 million, with guaranteed money, to play with Eli, in the only system he knows, with Hakeem Nicks and Rueben Randle to occupy defensive backs, and a chance to hit the jackpot one more time, is a windfall.

We all love Victor, but at this point the writing is on the wall….no one else can afford to pay him, and taking a chance that he can outlast the Giants while risking injury would be foolish.  Take the deal and stay beloved Victor…the time has come

League

With a website dedicated to 2-QB fantasy football leagues waking up on the Thursday morning of February 7^th to a tweet from Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus asking for participants in a 2-QB league mock draft was like waking up on Christmas morning ready to tear into all my new gifts. However, the tweet in question was an hour old (that’s like decades in the Twittersphere) by the time I had read it and by then it was too late as all the mock draft slots had been filled up. Oh well.

There was nothing I could do about that other than to see what some of the most renowned fantasy football experts out there would do in a 12-team 2-QB league format. And to tell you the truth I don’t know if I would have been ready to go up against those heavy hitters so I’m kind of glad I missed out.

Fast forward almost two weeks later and Clay tweeted out that the #GoingDeep mock draft trial 2-QB league he set up had completed its draft. I thought it would be interesting to see what the results were and how these particular fantasy football experts viewed quarterbacks in a 2-QB league format.

Before I delve deep into the mock draft results below I’ve posted the names of the twelve mock drafters that took part and if you click on each one of their names you’ll be directed to their respective Twitter accounts:

• Mike Clay
• Evan Silva
• Pat Daugherty
• Alex Miglio
• Bryan Fontaine
• Sigmund Bloom
• Jeff Ratcliffe
• Scott Spratt
• Tyler Loechner
• Adam Levitan
• Ryan Forbes
• Jim Day

As you can see from that list you’ve got a murderers’ row of fantasy football minds with writers from top-notch sites like Pro Football Focus, Footballguys and Rotoworld.

 

It’s almost time to look at the draft results themselves but before I do so now would be a good time to point out that it’s not a true 2-QB league. In this specific 2-QB league you are allowed to start up to two quarterbacks, one in the QB starting line-up slot and the other in the flex position. Really, you can look at it as sort of a 1.5-QB league. On top of that the scoring rules for quarterbacks is 0.03 points for every 1 yard passing (0.75 for every 25 passing yards) and 4 points for every passing touchdown.

By reading Clay’s Twitter timeline it looks like he was devaluing the QB position in this league when you compare it to other types of fantasy formats such as a 2-QB league in which passing touchdowns are worth 6 points and you get 1 point for every 25 yards passing. When I asked Clay on Twitter for clarification on the number of quarterbacks that you can start he replied saying that he had to make one of the QB slots a flex, “because of bye weeks.”

 

@2QBFFB No, you can’t handcuff people by forcing 2 QBs. Have to make it a flex because of bye weeks.

February 17, 2013 8:35 AM via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MikeClayNFL

Mike Clay

That makes sense when you think about it. In a league where there are 12 teams and starting two quarterbacks each week is mandatory you’re looking at 24 quarterbacks being drafted. At least. When you factor in bye weeks there aren’t enough QBs for each team to draft two starters and one back-up, as that would equal 36 quarterbacks in a league where only 32 start usually, minus bye weeks throughout the season.

However, that’s the main reason why I play in 2-QB leagues. I want more roster spots in my fantasy football world and I want to be the one that takes advantage of drafting three quarterbacks so that I’m prepared for bye weeks or just having two quarterbacks on my roster and not worrying about bye weeks at all. That could just be me though.

With all that in mind let’s finally probe into the draft results of this 2-QB mock draft by focusing solely on the quarterbacks that were drafted. Below you’ll find two spreadsheets.

One shows you the quarterbacks drafted in order, along with their current ADP:

The other spreadsheet shows each team’s QB depth chart:

A total of 216 players were drafted and out of that number 31 were quarterbacks.

The first quarterback taken off the board was Aaron Rodgers in the 3^rd round at 3.02. After that was Drew Brees at 3.11. Rodgers and Brees were the only quarterbacks taken in the first three rounds. The current ADP for Rodgers is 18.41 (mid-2nd round in a 12-team league) and for Brees it’s 30.41 (mid-3rd round in a 12 team league). Rodgers, drafted by Jim Day, at 26 overall, and Brees by Alex Miglio at 35, were both drafted slightly later than their ADPs. How can a league where you can start up to two quarterbacks only have two quarterbacks drafted within the first 36 picks? The answer has to do with the format of the league itself. QB points are devalued, not to mention that you only really have to start one quarterback if you want. What that means is that quarterbacks aren’t much of a difference maker in this league, even when you can start one in the flex position.

However, even with that in mind, quarterbacks were still being drafted early, with 16 quarterbacks drafted in total within the first six rounds of the draft. Each owner drafted their QB1 within the first six rounds with Jeff Ratcliffe being the last owner to draft a QB1, leaving him with Joe Flacco as his QB1.

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