Giants Get The Prince; Jets Get A Pass Rusher. Analyzing The First Round Picks by NY

While your mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and wives are enamored with all the fuss about the Royal Wedding, if you are reading this you are most likely more interested in the NFL Draft which got started last night. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to watch Kate Middleton, but as my teams cheerleader or sports reporter..

Anyway, back to the draft. Both New York teams got great value with their first round picks last night. While the Jets filled a big need, the Giants went with the best value and top player left on the board.

The first round had plenty of surprises. The Giants had the 19th overall pick, and just about every mock draft you could have read had the G-Men filling a big need on the offensive line. Not so fast. Giants GM Jerry Reese always says he picks on value, not need. He did just that last night.

With the 19th pick, the Giants selected a cornerback from Nebraska, Prince Amukamara. The Giants already have Corey Webster, Terrell Thomas, and Aaron Ross on the roster so cornerback was not necessarily a need, but Prince was to good to pass up after falling in the Giants lap.

Amukamara was the Big 12 defensive player of the year last season after moving to cornerback. During his junior season, he played safety. Amukamara is a guy that will likely come in and play from the start. He adds depth to the secondary as well.

With offensive lineman Tyron Smith (Dallas), Mike Pouncey (Miami), and Nate Solder (New England) already off the board, the Giants passed up on Anthony Castonzo, Danny Watkins, and Gabe Carimi, thinking Amukamara was to good not to take with the 19th pick. Most mock drafts and experts had Amukamara going in the Top 10.

Moving over to the Jets, Rex Ryan will absolutely love this years first round pick. The Jets stayed local and seleceted Roselle, New Jersey native Muhammad Wilkerson. The pass rushing defensive end from Temple University is the aggressive type Rex loves.

The Jets needed to get younger on the defensive line and this pick does just that. Wilkerson has the ability to play end in the 3-4 defense and move inside if they go 4-3. The Jets staff was obviously big on him since they passed over players like Akeem Ayers, Brooks Reed, and Da’Quan Bowers.

At 6’4 and a wingspan of over 85 inches, Wilkerson has the build to be a monster pass rusher. He is not coming from one of the bigger conferences in college football, but that did not affect the Jets opinions about him. They feel he is ready to contribute immediately.

Both the Giants and Jets got excellent value in the first round. The Jets filled a need while getting value. The Giants will now look to fill their needs in the coming rounds.