New York Giants Select RB David Wilson

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With the 32^nd pick in the First Round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the New York Giants selected Running Back, David Wilson of Virginia Tech.  The Giants were in need of a running back after Brandon Jacobs left this off-season and signed with the San Francisco 49ers, so drafting Wilson not only added talent but filled a need.  This is the earliest the Giants have taken a running back since drafting Ron Dayne out of Wisconsin in the first round in 2000.

Wilson is 5’9” tall and weighs 206 pounds.  Wilson has big-play ability, which is something the Giants rushing game sorely lacked this past season.  He had runs of 51, 68 and 57yards long in the last three seasons at Virginia Tech.  Another thing the Giants liked is the overall production Wilson had.  Last season he ran for 1,709 yards and nine touchdowns, breaking the 100 yard mark in 10 separate games, tying the Virginia Tech single-season record.  He also added 22 receptions of out the backfield for 129 yards and a touchdown.  All in all, Wilson ended the season with 2,253 all purpose yards and was a first team All-American. 

That may be what the Giants actually covet most and could be the big reason why the Giants selected Wilson.  He is a more than capable return man, going for 1,324 kickoff return yards and two touchdowns in his three years at Virginia Tech.  Wilson offers the Giants another option to the backfield and can bring some excitement to the return game as well, two areas in which the team struggled in last season. 

Wilson should be able to come in and compete for the backup job behind starter Ahmad Bradshaw right away.  He provides the team with depth and more insurance incase Bradshaw is unable to make it through the season and his feet begin to act up again.  The potential is there for Wilson to be very successful with the Giants as the main backup option and primary kick returner. 

There are some things that Wilson will have to work on, as like any rookie coming into the NFL out of college.  As Tom Coughlin said, “Needs some work in some of the other areas – pass protection and that kind of thing, as do a lot of these young guys.  And also the question comes up about ball security and we’ll remind him of that right away.” Wilson’s had problems with sometimes holding onto the ball, fumbling seven times last year, losing the ball four of the times.  Luckily for him, Coughlin has been pretty good at fixing that problem with running backs in the past.

“He’s the kind of guy that we felt would add very much to our present situation in terms of big play potential,” Coughlin said.  “He’s one of the guys that has the speed and maneuverability to make the big play and that’s what was very important to us at this time.”

“We’re looking at the fact that Brandon [Jacobs] is no longer here and we do have to try to balance that out,” Coughlin would later add.  “We believe that you do have to have multiple runners or at least two that can effectively take the field at any time, and this young man we thought was one of those that can be a big play threat.”

Jerry Reese would admit that there were many options available for the Giants when they were on the clock that they were not expecting to be there.  But he was quick to say that Wilson was their guy.  They had him as the second rated running back behind Trent Richardson and when their pick came around Wilson’s name was atop the board.  Reese seemed to be very happy with the pick while being interviewed afterwards.  “

“Terrific football player,” Reese said.  “This guy loves to play football.  He is fast, he is productive, he can do anything you want him to do.  He can catch the ball and return kicks.  He is a good piece to put in our running back stable.” 

There are not many people who can rival the athleticism of Wilson, who is able to do more than a dozen back flips.  The Giants actually have one of the few people who can in Jason Pierre-Paul who is a renowned acrobat in his own right.  The Giants have fared pretty well so far with Pierre-Paul and can only hope Wilson can bring the same type of impact. 

Here are the videos of Wilson and Pierre-Paul showing off their athleticism.