The New York Giants roller coaster ride of the 2006-2007 season ended with a fizzle. The once 6 and 2 team struggled down the stretch, making the playoffs as an 8 and 8 contender, only to fall in the opening round to division rival Philadelphia on a last second field goal. Injuries, poor play, an inconsistent QB all were a contributing factor.

We fast forward to the off season. Tiki Barber, the Giants’ most prolific running back in history, retires, along with long tenured GM Ernie Accorsi. New GM Jerry Reese is hired and before you can blink an eye, linebackers Carlos Emmons, Lavar Arrington are cut, linebacker Brandon Short is not resigned, kick returner Chad Morton is let go as is starting left tackle Luke Pettigout. All these moves add up to a huge and dramatic shift as far as team needs.

When the season ended, most, if not all Giants fans, felt, the need fell squarely in the secondary to address their woeful coverage team and at the WR position to replace the traded Tim Carter (sent to Cleveland for Reuben Droughns) and the aging Amani Toomer. That is no longer case. With the exiting of three linebackers, and an offensive tackle, the need paradigm has shifted. I have outlined my thoughts on the needs of the New York Giants and where they fall.

1. Linebacker – The clear number one need is linebacker and that is not arguable. With the 20th pick of the first round, the Giants will be able to grab themselves a pretty good one. Patrick Willis, although a MLB, is clearly the best of the bunch and will more than likely go to Buffalo at pick 12. Pittsburgh also needs linebacker help, and they are leaning towards Beason or Timmons. Look for the Giants to fill their first need at pick #20 with Paul Posluszny, the outstanding linebacker from Penn State. If he is gone at this point that would mean either Beason or Timmons is still available. Beason is the better option here and would fit in better than Timmons.

2. Offensive Line – With the departure of your starting left tackle and your backup tackle in Bob Whitfield, you better believe that the offensive line must be addressed in round 2. By the time the Giants pick in round 2 all of the top prospect left tackles will be gone. However, Tony Ugoh a talented OT out of Arkansas may still be available. If he is, or even close to the Giants pick in round 2, I can see them pulling the trigger on him.

3. Defensive Tackle – What? Defensive tackle? Before secondary help? Yes. The third round is a great place to pick up some depth. Let’s face it, William Joseph did not turn out to be the DT that we had hoped, and more than likely won’t be here after the 2007-2008 season. Fred Robbins and Barry Coefield can only play so many minutes before they need a rest. Joseph is unable to give them quality depth to give the starters a rest. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if the Giants grab a CB in this round, I think Quinn Pitcock the DT out of Ohio State would be a good fit here. He may not be available as he could go as early in the late second round to Kansas City.

4. Secondary – What was once the greatest need of this team, has ultimately dropped down to the 4th need (in my eyes anyway). I think round 4 is a great place to pick up a decent corner that can step in right away and be a contributor both in the nickel or the dime and definitely as a backup. If Giants are lucky they may be able to get a steal of Tanard Jackson out of Syracuse or Jonathan Wade out of Tennessee with this pick, although they are highly unlikely to fall this far.

5. Wide Receiver/Tight End – Tight end is the more glaring need at this point over wide receiver as well. Other than Shockey, the Giants don’t have another one to go to. Shockey hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year, so they absolutely need to address this position with someone who can block, has decent hands and can run crisp routes. Oh yeah, and expect to be a starter by the end of the year. Joe Newton out of Oregon State or Martrez Milner out of Georgia could fill this spot nicely. If there is no value there for the TE position, the Giants may stick with tradition and draft a WR, which is what they have done every year for nearly 10 years and that is draft at least one WR in every draft (except in 1999).

So there you have it. My top 5 needs the Giants must address in the draft. I think Jerry Reese has done some surprising things, but at the same time he has done some smart things as well. One of those is not over paying in the free agent market and waiting for the draft to fill the needs of this team.
Also be on the lookout for June 1st cut day. Giants may get lucky and pick up a veteran or two that could add depth to the team.

Mike Podlesny hosts the weekly podcast, the Big Blue Review, which covers in depth the New York Football Giants. You can listen to the Big Blue Review at http://big-blue-review.blogspot.com. The podcast is also availble on iTunes.

You can email the Big Blue Review at Email the Big Blue Review.