Jan 2, 2010; Arlington, TX, USA; Ole Miss Rebels offensive tackle Bobby Massie (79) blocks against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium. The Rebels beat the Cowboys 21-7. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Sports Illustrated has given the reigns of the website’s main mock drafting duties to Banks and it’s always a good day when I see he’s released his mock draft predictions/throw-names-on-a-dart-board-and-hope-one-sticks mock predictions. His latest mock draft, which was released last week on April 4^th, and that you can read by clicking on this link, is his 4^th 2012 NFL mock draft and he plans to do three more until the start of the draft for a total of 7!

So, how about we take a run down to see who he has slated going to the Giants as of April 4^th and just how that pick has differentiated over time since his first 2012 NFL mock draft back on January 27.

With Bank’s mock draft version 4.0 he has the Giants selecting OT Bobby Massie from Eli Manning’s Alma Mater Ole Miss. The 6’6, 316 pound offensive lineman is the same player Banks mocked to the Giants in his mock draft version 3.0. The only time Banks didn’t go with an OT for the Giants’ draft pick was his second mock draft, where he went with Stanford’s tight end Coby Fleener. In his very first 2012 NFL mock draft Banks went with an OT from Florida State in Zebrie Sanders.

So, to recap, four mock drafts, three times an offensive tackle was picked and then a tight end the other time. Tight ends and offensive line have been running themes when it comes to mock drafts and the Giants and it would be a surprise if the Giants didn’t come away from the draft with at least one of those positions, if not both, filled. But is Massie the man? Last week in TWIMD I featured one of my favourite mock draft writers Scott Wright, who runs the excellent website Draft Countdown and he had the Giants picking an OT that didn’t really excite me much. Going back to his mock I looked for Massie’s name and saw that Wright had him going in the second round of the draft, 54^th overall to the Lions.

So, one mock has Massie at 32 while another has him at 54. Interesting so I checked out some more mock drafts. Mel Kiper over at ESPN Insider has Massie being taken by the Jets at 47 overall in the 2^nd round and Mike Chiari of the Bleacher Report has him going to the 49ers in the first round at 30^th overall. Plus Massie was already mentioned in this feature as a possible Giants first round pick, 23rd overall to be exact, back in August of last year and you can check out the analysis of that mock draft by clicking here.

From the scouting reports and the analysis these mocks have provided it looks like to me that Massie has the potential to be a first round talent offensive tackle but still needs some work to develop his skills, which makes him a good value pick in the 2^nd round but a little bit of a reach if taken in the first round. That assessment also seems to jibe with the scouting report from withthefirstpick.com where they project Massie going anywhere from the late 2^nd round to the early 4^th round and in one of their team mock draft articles have him going to the Dolphins at 42^nd overall in the second round.

As a first round pick I think Massie would be a solid but not great pickup but as a 2^nd round pick I would call it a great selection. See how fickle drafting in the NFL is and just how fine the line between boom and bust is? That’s just one of the reasons why going over mock drafts is so much; you never know what is going to happen and the only thing I can fully predict with 100% certainty is that Andrew Luck and RGIII will be the first two players, in some order, taken later this month.

Until then I’ll keep mock draft talking here at GMEN HQ and hope some of you readers decide to jump in on the fun. For now what do you all think about Massie? First round talent? Should the Giants take him? Sound off in the comments section below.

Jan 2, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Stanford Cardinal offensive tackle Jonathan Martin (55) during pre-game warmups prior to the 2012 Fiesta Bowl against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cowboys won 41-38 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

And the mock draft featured in this week’s TWIMD, the latest one posted by Scott Wright at Draft Countdown, one of my go-to and should be yours too, NFL draft related websites, brought me back to reality. In his newest mock draft posted on his website on March 30^th, Wright has Kuechly be taking in the top half of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, who pick 12^th overall.

That’s the area of the draft I feel Kuechly will probably get drafted and there’s no way the Giants will trade up to pick a linebacker, which means my dream of seeing Kuechly and Mark Herzlich teaming up once again in the NFL to stop opposing offenses won’t become a reality. Oh well, this isn’t the first time the Giants probably won’t draft a college prospect I really want and it won’t be the last!

Of course just because a mock draft says the Giants won’t be picking the guy I want doesn’t mean it might not happen. A mock draft is just a mock draft and, after all, anything can happen! Alright now that my crush on Kuechly has reached its unhealthy pinnacle lets move onto to a player the Giants might be targeting and could potentially get with the 32^nd overall pick in the upcoming draft according to Wright at DraftCountdown.com: OT Jonathan Martin from Stanford.

You’ve probably gotten used to reading about players from Stanford the Giants might take in this feature but usually it’s tight end Coby Fleener or other offensive lineman such as Bobby Massie or Mike Adams. Martin’s name is new to TWIMD and one that could very well be uttered by Commissioner Roger Goodell at the podium in connection to the Giants’ first round draft pick.

Giants fans know that the team’s O-Line could use a re-haul and youth infusion and it might be time for the Giants to once again invest a first round pick to improve their O-Line, something that hasn’t happened since the drafting of Luke Pettigout in the 1999 NFL Draft. Last year’s starting RT Kareem McKenzie won’t be returning to the team, which means his spot will probably be filled by former 2^nd round pick Will Beatty who’ll be returning from a season ending eye injury. Beatty had his fair share of ups and downs throughout the season last year and he by no means has a lock on a starting job.

That means any rookie OT that might be drafted by the Giants, especially one early in the draft, could potentially see a lot of playing time early on and Martin may be that man, even if Wright isn’t completed sold on him. Just read what he had to say about Martin in his write up about from his most recent mock draft:

“Jonathan Martin is a bit overrated and doesn’t necessarily stand out as either a pass protector or run blocker but the base physical tools are there and with top blockers at such a premium these days someone may roll the dice much earlier than this.”

Overrated, not a pass rusher or run blocker that stands out? Then what is he? A guy in pads that stands up once the football is hiked? Wright doesn’t really provide as ringing endorsement for the man that was in charge of protecting the presumptive #1 pick in the 2012 draft Andrew Luck but that has never stopped a team from drafting someone early when they shouldn’t have, just because they had him atop their draft board. It’s just that the Giants never operate that way.

Our FanSided buddies NFL Mocks have some pros in regards to Martin’s play from their profile on him such as Martin having “good upper body strength”, and that he’s a “very smart kid.” That’s not really enough information to base drafting a first round pick off of and Martin’s performance at Stanford’s Pro Day didn’t help matters either, as he didn’t do more than 20 bench press reps; making other draft pundits think out loud that Martin would be better suited to right tackle and not left tackle or even guard.

I hope the Giants stay away from Martin but I’m no Jerry Reese. What do you say GMEN HQ readers? Is Martin’s reputation as Luck’s blindside protector going to cause a team to draft him high in the draft? Will the Giants be a team that considers him at the top of the offensive tackle position for the draft and take him? If you don’t think Martin should be a Giant who are some other OT prospects you’d like the Giants to draft? Let us know in the comments section!

Apr 22, 2009; New York, NY, USA; ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. during the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

In the early stages of the rise of mock drafts Kiper was the man many people viewed as an NFL Draft guru. Whatever he had to say was heard by his disciples as gospel and he’s still a very popular man to this day in the world of NFL mock drafts and the actual draft itself after landing an on-air personality gig for ESPN during its televised draft coverage.

Even though I’ve switched my allegiances from Kiper over to NFL Network’s Mike Mayock I know there are still many Kiper fans out there so I thought I’d take a look at his most recent mock draft to see who he has the Giants taking with their 32^nd overall draft pick in the upcoming 2012 NFL Draft for this week’s version of ‘This Week In Mock Drafts.’

Kiper’s mock drafts are a part of the ESPN Insider brand so if you don’t have access to their site then you can’t read his article, so don’t click on this link if you’re not an insider. Don’t worry Giants fans we got you covered later in this article for his analysis on the Giants’ pick.

In his most recent mock draft, version 3.0, that was published before the big trade that saw the Redskins mortgage their future for the present and let it be known that RG3 will be a Redskin, Kiper has taken the route many mock draft prognosticators have taken and mocked a tight end to the Giants.

The tight end that Kiper has going to the Giants, as of right now, is the same one that was featured in a previous installment of ‘This Week In Mock Drafts.’ And that would be Stanford’s tight end, Coby Fleener.

This is what Kiper has to say right now about Fleener going to the Giants:

“The Super Bowl was great for the party, but the Giants took a hit on the personnel side, where they lost a pair of tight ends to injury. Fleener has overtaken Dwayne Allen of Clemson as the top tight end on my board, and the Giants need one. He has great hands, will run a lot better than people think and knows how to work in a pro-style system, lined up on the line of scrimmage. He’s a great red zone target. The Giants also need offensive line help, or could target a linebacker here, but Fleener makes a lot of sense.”

The scouting report from our fellow FanSided brethren over at NFLMocks.com on the 6’6, 247-pound tight end, project Fleener as a late first round to 2^nd round draft pick and compare him to Kevin Boss, Marcedes Lewis and Tony Scheffeler.

FanSided also went on to say about Fleener that he’s a, “big play threat at all times…can line up in the slot and run pretty good routes…good at finding holes in zone coverage…impressive body control and ability to catch the ball in his soft hands…”

Those were the nice things they had to say but they also had some concerns about Fleener that revolve around his age (he’ll be 24 during his rookie campaign), his lean build that might not lead to him holding up in the blocking game, questions about whether he’ll be able to handle not being the go-to receiver in an offense and that’s he’s not very dynamic once the snap goes off.

Every rookie is going to come into the professional football ranks with holes in his game so Fleener should be able to work on his game as he progresses. If the Giants do take Fleener he’ll have to work on his game much sooner, especially if they don’t sign a veteran free agent tight end, because he would shoot up to the top of the tight end depth chart in New York because of injuries to Ballard and Beckum.

It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Giants do take a rookie tight end in the first round since they would potentially be in the running to start as a rookie and make a big impact in a pass heavy offense.