New York Giants #MockOne third and fourth round selections
With the 74th pick in #MockOne the New York Giants select Martavis Bryant, WR, Clemson.
Jan 3, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Martavis Bryant (1) fights for the touchdown catch with Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Armani Reeves (26) in the 2014 Orange Bowl college football game at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants have a serious void at wide receiver with the loss of Hakeem Nicks in free agency to the Indianapolis Colts. The 6’4, 211lb receiver out of Clemson ran an outstanding 4.42 40 yard dash. He clearly has the size and speed of a traditional NFL wide receiver. Our hope is that once he gets into an NFL weight room Bryant is able to bulk up and that the Giants excellent coaching staff can help coach him up. Obviously, there are some red flags with Bryant, first being he has only had one full season as a dynamic starter in the NFL. Many draft pundits compare Bryant to New York Jets bust (at least until this point in his career) Stephen Hill. In some ways, I believe this comparison is a little unfair to Bryant who was more productive than Hill ever was in college. In the third round we just couldn’t ignore the gigantic upside Bryant presents and we felt like that outweighed the potential risk.
A couple of guys that we also looked at in the third round if they had dropped to us were tight ends Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (University of Washington) and Troy Niklas (Notre Dame). We also liked wide receivers Donte Moncrief (Ole Miss) and Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt). Last, but not least, we were really hoping one of the top centers, Weston Richburg (Colorado State) or Marcus Martin (University of South Carolina), would drop to us.
Sep 7, 2013; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Paul Richardson (6) prepares to make a reception as he is defended by Central Arkansas Bears defensive back Marcus Peters (19) in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field. The Buffaloes defeated the Bears 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
One other player that was hotly debated in our war room was Paul Richardson, WR, Colorado. The speedster clearly was very productive in college, but I believe hat Richardson is too similar to other receivers already on the Giants roster in Jerrell Jernigan and Victor Cruz.