New York Jets Draft Preview: Wide Receiver

The Jets have lacked a real down field threat since parting ways with Braylon Edwards, and even then their down field attack was mediocre. Plaxico Burress was not the receiver the Jets were hoping they were getting. He did have a good season in the red zone but how many catches did he make of twenty yards or more? Santonio Holmes will need help if the Jets are to have a solid air attack.

 It is possible that the Jets could use their first round pick to get a receiver that is a big target for Sanchez to throw to deep. With the 16th pick in the draft the Jets will have their choice of receivers, except for Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon (projected 6th overall).

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Michael Floyd ( 6-3 224 lbs.) out of Notre Dame, if available, is a great down field receiver with very strong hands. Floyd had some problems with Notre Dame in his first few year that led to a leave of absence from the team, but it looks like Floyd has turned his attitude around. He is a good deep route runner and he can also go up and get the ball with the best of them. Floyd had 100 catches for 1,147 yards, and 9 touchdowns for the Irish last year.

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Kendall Wright (5-10 190 lbs.) is a pure athlete. Wright, who comes from Baylor University, is a smaller receiver than Floyd, but he is a speedy receiver who can easily get behind the secondary, and can run under any ball thrown. Wright could be a Victor Cruz like receiver, he can run the inside routes, but he can be a deep threat at any point, and out of any set. Wright finished last season with 108 catches for 1,663 yards, and 14 touchdowns. That is impressive.

If the Jets are looking for a receiver a little later than the first or second round there are other good receivers out there. Nick Toon (6-2 215 lbs.) out of Wisconsin would be a good pick for the Jets, or Ryan Broyles (5-10 192 lbs.). I know Broyles tore his ACL during last season, but he had 83 catches for over 1,000 yds and 10 touchdowns before he went down. He will go in the third or fourth round for sure. If the Jets don't have a receiver after the second round and Broyles is available, they should take him with no hesitation.

I would like to see the Jets add some depth to their receiver core. Santonio Holmes, and tight end Dustin Keller will not be able to carry the load for the entire season, and Plaxico Burress is gone. Adding another target for Sanchez, and I keep saying Sanchez because he will be the starting QB in 2012, the Jets will be a real threat through the air, and that can open up the running game.

New York Giants Draft Preview: Wide Reciever

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This is the third installment in the series of posts breaking down the Giants position by position for the upcoming NFL Draft.  The next position up is Wide Receiver.

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The depth chart for the Giants at WR includes Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Domenik Hixon, Jerrel Jernigan, Ramses Barden, Isiah Stanback and Dan DePalma.  The Giants also have Michael Clayton who is currently still an unrestricted free agent. 

Going into this season, the Giants will employ one of the best receiving tandems in the NFL in Nicks and Cruz.  Cruz could experience a rough path this season, at least at the start, as teams now start to focus game plans on him more than last season when he really came out of nowhere.  Another thing on the agenda for the Giants will be to find that third weapon with the departure of Mario Manningham.  The front office is hoping that the available in house options of Jernigan and Barden are ready to assume bigger roles and step up much like Cruz last season.  Do not put it past the Giants to throw these guys into the fire and let them work.  Eli Manning has a knack for developing receivers and turning them into valuable weapons. 

This is a huge opportunity for Barden.  The Giants selected him in the 3^rd round in 2009 out of Cal Poly.  The Giants were hoping he would replace the void of size and a red zone threat after Plaxico Burress was sent to jail.  Barden has not yet shown his full potential whether it is because of injuries or just not enough of an opportunity.  But in limited action he has flashed good hands and obviously has the size. 

Jernigan has experience working the slot in college at Troy University.  A full training camp and off-season under the watch of the coaching staff will do him a lot of good. 

Hixon will also have his fair share of opportunities to take over the third receiver role, but cannot have much trust put into him.  He is coming off his second ACL surgery in as many seasons, so a slow easy process of working him back into the lineup will probably ensue this season to help ensure there are no setbacks.  Last season, Hixon had the first crack at securing the third receiver job until the knee injury ended his season and opened the door for Cruz.

The last time the Giants selected a WR was last years draft with Jernigan.  Before that it was Barden, both 3^rd round picks.  The Giants could use another receiver this year even if it is just for depth because both Mario Manningham and Devin Thomas left via free agency and played key roles on the team.  Thomas was also the main kick return man for most of the season, something the Giants could look for in the WR they have on their board.  The Giants are not going to break their philosophy of taking the best player available, but there is a good chance that player could be a WR.

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Two potential targets for the Giants are Kendall Wright out of Baylor and Stephen Hill of Georgia Tech.  Currently, both are rated to get taken before the Giants selection at 32.  It would be a pretty safe bet though that if either of them fall that is the player the Giants will select.  More realistic options later in the draft include New Jersey product Mohamed Sanu from Rutgers Keshawn Martin from Michigan State.  Adding a WR definitely would not be a bad thing for the Giants, so I will rate the necessity of adding a WR at a 6 on a scale of 1-10 because of the ability Eli Manning has to develop what they already have.