SB Nation New York - 2011 NFL Mock Draft: Final Projections For Giants

2011 NFL Draft Projections: Final Look At Mock Drafts For Giants

2011-04-28T17:39:57Z

I am as tired of mock drafts as you likely are, but here is one final look at what mock drafters think the New York Giants will do in the 2011 NFL Draft when it begins Thursday night. The Giants have the 19th selection in the first round.

For months, most analysts have had the Giants as pegged as taking the best lineman -- most likely and offensive one -- available. That is still the majority opinion, but there were some interesting developments when scouring the mock drafts of the top analysts on Thursday morning.

Two highly-regarded analysts (Mike Mayock and Todd McShay) came to the conclusion that the Giants will draft Alabama running back Mark Ingram in the first round. Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News, the most accurate of all mock drafters the past five years, has the Giants taking offensive lineman Nate Solder of Colorado. That is a name that has not surfaced in connection with the Giants' top pick for a while.

Mike Mayock (NFL Network)

Round 1: Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama

Note: Amazingly, this is the first time Mayock has ever put together an official mock draft. His mock is filled with surprises. Considering Mayock's reputation in the draft community, now I'm questioning everything I thought I knew about what could happen in the first round.

Rick Gosselin (Dallas Morning News)

Round 1 -- Nate Solder, OT, Colorado

Wes Bunting (National Football Post)

Round 1 (19th overall ) -- Gabe Carimi (OT) Wisconsin
Round 2 (52nd overall) -- Mason Foster (LB) Washington
Round 3 (84th overall) -- Jurrell Casey (DT) USC

Mocking The Draft (Dove)

Round 1 -- Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College

Football's Future

Round 1 -- Mike Pouncey, G/C, Florida
Round 2 -- Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State

Walter Football

Round 1 -- Castonzo
Round 2 -- Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech
Round 3 -- Luke Stocker, TE, Tennessee

(This is a seven-rounder).

ESPN (Kiper)

Round 1 -- Castonzo

ESPN (McShay)

Round 1 -- Ingram
Round 2 -- Tandon Doss, WR, Indiana
Round 3 -- Casey

(This is a seven-rounder).

Draft Countdown

Round 1 -- Castonzo
Round 2 -- Mikel LeShoure, RB, Illinois
Round 3 -- K.J. Wright, OLB, Mississippi State

SB Nation

Round 1 -- Castonzo

2011 NFL Mock Draft: SB Nation Gives Castonzo To Giants In Final Mock

2011-04-25T15:45:26Z

In the early days of mock drafts in anticipation of the 2011 NFL Draft which begins this Thursday Anthony Castonzo, the highly-touted offensive tackle from Boston College, seemed to be the consensus pick for the New York Giants. In recent weeks that has changed a bit, as many analysts see Castonzo going earlier, perhaps to the Detroit Lions at No. 13 or New England Patriots at No. 17.

In the end, though, the final SB Nation Mock Draft find Castonzo [full profile] as the selection for the Giants. This mock includes projected trades, but find the Giants predictably staying at No. 19, and with the movement around the board by other teams Castonzo is still on the board at No. 19. SB Nation's Brian Galliford calls Castonzo's name rather than UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers, Florida OG/C Mike Pouncey, Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi or Alabama running back Mark Ingram.

In doing so, he calls Castonzo "an excellent fit for the Giants."

Do you agree?

-- The first round of the 2011 NFL Draft starts at 8 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, April 28th and SB Nation has everything you need to prepare for it - NFL mock drafts, draft projections, scouting reports, the full NFL draft schedule and more. Check it all out at SB Nation's NFL Hub and our NFL Draft blog Mocking the Draft.

2011 NFL Mock Draft: Offensive Line Still Focus For Giants

2011-04-15T14:18:34Z

Offensive line remains the focus for the New York Giants in mock drafts found across the Inter-Google. That has been the case for months now, and does not appear to be changing with the 2011 NFL Draft less than two weeks away.

This week seven of the 10 mock drafts shown below have the Giants taking an offensive lineman. Also as has become customary, Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo (four selections) and Florida guard/center Mike Pouncey (three) are the players most often selected for the Giants.

We will only have to wait a couple more weeks to see if the mock drafts prove to be on target.

This Week's Mock Drafts

Walter Football -- Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College
Draft Tek -- Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
Sideline Scouting -- Castonzo
CBS Sports (Rang) -- Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois
CBS Sports (Reuter) -- Castonzo
Ourlads -- Mike Pouncey, OG/C, Florida
SI.com (Banks) -- Mike Pouncey
NEPatriotsDraft -- Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa
NFL.com (Kirwan) -- Mike Pouncey
NFL.com (Brooks) -- Castonzo

2011 NFL Mock Draft: SB Nation Chooses Akeem Ayers For Giants

2011-04-12T14:56:02Z

The SB Nation Mock Draft pendulum has swung back in the direction of UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers [full profile] when it comes to the New York Giants. SB Nation selected Ayers for the Giants in its most recent mock draft, released Tuesday morning.

SB Nation’s Brian Galliford explains the pick:

Pedestrian off-season workouts have dropped Ayers down mocks a bit, but you’ll see him start to sneak up over the next couple of weeks. His versatility and upside make him a perfect fit in Perry Fewell’s defensive system.

I happen to agree. I selected Ayers for the Giants in the Big Blue View Community Mock Draft, and Florida guard/center Mike Pouncey in the SB Nation football writers mock at Mocking The Draft.

In this draft, Pouncey (15th to Miami) and offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo (13th to Detroit) are both off the board. The other name increasingly associated with the Giants here, Illinois defensive tackle Corey Liuget, was still on the board.

I like the Ayers’ selection, though. He is the top 4-3 outside linebacker on the board, and the need for the Giants is greater at that position than at defensive tackle.

NFL Mock Draft 2011: Pouncey, Castonzo Remain Atop Board

2011-04-08T23:54:34Z

Florida OG/C Mike Pouncey and Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo remained the top selections for among mock drafters for the New York Giants this week. In seven of this week's 10 selected mocks, one of those two players was the choice for the Giants with the 19th selection of the first round.

Penn State center Stefen Wisniewski was Draft Tek's choice for the Giants, and defensive tackles Corey Liuget of Illinois and Muhammad Wilkerson of Temple also were selected once each.

The general consenses appears to be that the Giants will fortify one of their two lines in the first round, most likely their offensive line.

This Week's Mock Drafts

ESPN (Kiper) -- Mike Pouncey, OG/C, Florida
ESPN (McShay) -- Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College
Draft Tek -- Stefen Wisniewski, C, Penn State
CBS Sports (Rang) -- Pouncey
CBS Sports (Reuter) -- Muhammad Wilkerson, DT, Temple
National Football Post -- Pouncey
Great Blue North Draft Report -- Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois
Walter Football -- Castonzo
NFL.com (Brooks) -- Castonzo
NFL.com (Wyche) -- Pouncey

2011 NFL Draft: A Surprise For Giants In SB Nation Mock Draft -- Derek Sherrod

2011-04-04T14:20:21Z

For this week’s SB Nation NFL Mock Draft it sort of seems like SB Nation’s Brian Galliford dumped all the names in a hat, shook ‘em up and grabbed at random. That isn’t meant as a a knock, it is just meant to illustrate that there seems to be a considerable amount of movement this week.

How does that concern the New York Giants? Well, SB Nation’s selection for the Giants is Mississippi State offensive tackle Derek Sherrod — a name I have barely seen connected to the Giants and one rarely chosen for them in mock drafts.

Sherrod [full profile] does fit the general consensus that the Giants will go offensive line with the 19th selection of the first round. Normally, though, he isn’t the guy folks seem to think of in these mock drafts.

Left on the SB Nation when this pick was made? Florida OG/C Mike Pouncey, Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi, Colorado tackle Nate Solder, Illinois defensive tackle Corey Liuget and UCLA outside linebacker Akeem Ayers. Sherrod might not be a “wrong” selection here, but current pre-draft buzz would indicate that any of those players is a more likely pick by Giants General Manager Jerry Reese than Sherrod.

— See SB Nation’s Mocking The Draft for full draft coverage.

2011 NFL Mock Draft (Giants Update): Offensive Line Still Main Focus

2011-04-01T14:20:09Z

We are into April now, and with the real 2011 NFL Draft just a few weeks away it is time to get serious about focusing in on who the New York Giants might select with their first-round pick, No. 19 overall. It is pretty obvious from scouring the mock drafts this week that the consensus remains that Giants General Manager Jerry Reese will use his first pick on the best available offensive lineman.

Seven of the 10 mock drafts I selected this week have the Giants taking an offensive lineman. Of course, there is no consensus on which one. Florida G/C Mike Pouncey was the selection in two mocks, as was Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo. Penn State center Stefen Wisniewski, Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder and Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi were also selected for the Giants in mocks listed below.

In the community mock draft at Big Blue View, I went in a completely different direction recently, selecting UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers [full profile] for the Giants. The most recent SB Nation mock draft chose Illinois defensive tackle Corey Liuget [full profile] for the Giants.

Mock Drafts

Draft Tek -- Stefen Wisniewski, C, Penn State [full profile]
SI.com (Banks) -- Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois [full profile]
Walter Football -- Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College [full profile]
Pro Football Talk -- Anthony Castonzo
CBS Sports (Rang) -- Mike Pouncey, OG/C, Florida [full profile]
CBS Sports (Reuter) -- Muhammad Wilkerson, DT, Temple [full profile]
Optimum Scouting -- Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama [full profile]
New Era Scouting -- Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin [full profile]
NE Patriots Draft -- Nate Solder, OT, Colorado [full profile]
Ourlads -- Mike Pouncey

-- See SB Nation's Mocking The Draft for complete coverage of the upcoming draft.

2011 NFL Mock Draft: Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois to Giants, Says SB Nation

2011-03-28T15:34:31Z

A bit of a changeup this week in the offensive line-dominated discussion about what the New York Giants will do with the 19th pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft this April. SB Nation has chosen a lineman for the Giants in its most recent mock draft, but this time it is one from the defensive side — Illinois defensive tackle Corey Liuget.

Liuget is a 6-foot-3, 300-pound tackle who is considered a mid- to late first-round draft selection. Here is a full profile of Liuget from Big Blue View.

Here is what SB Nation said in explaining the selection of Liuget:

The defensive line has always been a top priority for the Giants. The team isn’t exactly lacking for depth at defensive tackle, but that’s where the value lies here, and Liuget is talented enough to get playing time immediately, anyway.

In all honesty, this would not be a stunning selection for the Giants. It goes against the popular belief that they will draft the best offensive tackle available, but it makes sense. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell attended the Illinois Pro Day, and reports were that he came away raving about Liuget.

The Giants will very likely lose Barry Cofield, their best defensive tackle in 2010, to free agency. Veteran Rocky Bernard has been unimpressive in his two seasons in New York. That leaves the Giants with only Chris Canty and virutally untested Linval Joseph, last year’s second-round draft pick. So, there is value here — and a chance to play immediately.