New York Giants draft grade from last year (Kiper): New York Giants: GRADE: C- I would have gone differently with the Giants' draft. Cornerback Aaron Ross has very good ball skills but not great catchup speed. I was surprised they didn't take left tackle Joe Staley because they need someone who can protect Eli Manning's blind side. The Giants took offensive tackle Adam Koets in the sixth round and even passed on left tackle Jermon Bushrod. If they had taken Staley, they could have drafted Eric Wright from UNLV instead of WR Steve Smith. I would rather have had Staley and Wright, but Smith is a good receiver and will be someone who holds onto the ball. Zak DeOssie was a really good long snapper in college and, at worst, will be a backup linebacker in the NFL. Kevin Boss (fifth round) is a natural pass-catching tight end with speed and has a chance to make an impact in the passing game. Safety Michael Johnson was a good pick in the seventh round but needs to be more physical. One year later 7 of the 8 players were on the active roster for their super bowl win and were key contributors. Sometimes, just sometimes, teams actually know more about what they're doing than Mel Kiper and co.........
Problem with this whole the Giants had a crappy draft the Giants also had a better QB , sorry to say (Not VY's fault no receivers) as well as line O and D and mucj better backs. So this analogy holds no water.
I wouldn't say Eli is a better QB...I think he's HIGHLY overrated and he played a minimal part in their championship run. The defense won the superbowl. Vince will probably be better than Eli, even with our current receivers.
Close...he gave us a C. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/columns/story?columnist=kiper_jr_mel&id=3357479
His brother thinks otherwise and I do believe Eli will only improve. He's already stated that he believe the G-men will be perennial contenders. It'll be interesting this year to see what contribution Manningham will make. The G-men did a much better job in the draft this past weekend. Personally, Eli only needs to be a solid QB because the O is built around the run. He was mistake free, cool, calm and collected when it mattered most during the run. That what I appreciate most is his level-headedness no matter what the circumstances. This intangible alone will continue to carry him thoughout his career. Consideration of such intangibles is sorely under-rated, imho. The road to that SB was not easy and he proved to be a great leader.
