The New York Giants expected to be atop the NFC East this season after a 9-7 syear and narrowly missing out on the playoffs. They are only two years removed from their second Super Bowl victory in seven seasons. As per usual, Tom Coughlin has come under scrutiny which means he should be competing for the Lombardi Trophy the following season.
Their biggest issue this season has to be the rate at which this offense turns the ball over, mainly from their quarterback Eli Manning. He is only four interceptions from throwing 30 through 16 games. This isn’t unfamiliar territory for the Giants with Manning, this is the third time in his 10 year career to throw 20 or more picks. Much like the Cowboys this team needs to look at the quarterback position.
Does drafting a quarterback change all their inadequacies on offense? No, but what it does is try to alleviate some of them. Manning has thrown 170 interceptions in career at an average of 17 per season and no team can overcome that without a dominating defense. The Giants don’t possess this type of defense. You shouldn’t expect them to draft a quarterback to take over now but to sit and learn.
Early Round Quarterbacks: Derek Carr (Fresno State), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M), Blake Bortles (Central Florida) and Zach Mettenberger (Louisiana State). My dark horse could be AJ McCarron (Alabama).
Defensively the Giants are in need of a linebacker or cornerback early on. The Giants have three cornerbacks that are signed through the end of the year. Terrell Thomas, Aaron Ross and Trumaine McBride could all be elsewhere after the season. After next season, both Prince Amukamara and Corey Webster could also leave the team. That would put a premium at the position for the 2014 draft.
Early Round Cornerbacks: Darqueze Dennard (Michigan State), Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (Oregon), Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) and Jason Verrett (Texas Christian).
The other position that will need addressing is the outside linebacker position. The Giants brought in Jon Beason from the Panthers to try and shore up the position. He slid inside to middle linebacker leaving a weakness on the outside. Keith Rivers who signed a one year deal may not return and Spencer Paysinger will also be a free agent by season’s ending.
Early Round Linebackers: CJ Mosely (Alabama), Khalil Mack (Buffalo), Anthony Barr (UCLA), Ryan Shazier (Ohio State) and Kyle Van Noy (Brigham Young). Team Needs: QB, OLB, CB, DE, RB, TE, OT