Draft experts Rick Serritella from NFL Draft Bible and Mike Renner from Pro Football Focus preview the combine:
More than 300 college prospects gather for the next week inside Lucas Oil Stadium to get evaluated by general managers, head coaches, assistants and scouts. But NFL personnel aren't the only ones to meet up in Indy. The football media world also invades the combine each year to discuss the NFL offseason, weigh in on the crop of players and update their mock draft selections.
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On Wednesday's edition of Big Blue Kickoff Live, two football insiders – Rick Serritella from NFL Draft Bible and Mike Renner from Pro Football Focus -- joined the program to preview the combine, the draft and how it all affects what the Giants might do this offseason.
OVERVIEW
SERRITELLA: "There's value in every round. If you do your homework, you can find starters on day two and day three. That's what I see in this year's draft class. It's not sexy at top. It doesn't have the franchise quarterbacks that we all like. Myles Garrett is the consensus No. 1 – that remains to be seen.
"I have about a third of the first round will be defensive backs. Six or seven corners and at least three safeties. I think at least a third of the first round will come from the secondary. Offensive line maybe not so much as in year's past."
RENNER: "I think this is the year to grab a defensive end. It is so amazingly deep. There are seven or eight guys in this class that would've gone ahead of everyone last year after Joey Bosa. I think you could draft eight to nine guys in this class and not be unhappy with who you're getting. One guy I think we're higher on than the general public because of the production is Derek Barnett, the defensive end out of Tennessee. We have him as a Top 10 pick."
POSITION PREVIEW: O-LINE
SERRITELLA: "Garett Bolles is my guy from Utah. I think he can play on the island on the left side. When you talk about his fundamentals, he's a little bit older than these other guys, he's about 25 years old. So he's more fundamentally sound. But he also has agility and has held his own. Left tackles don't grow on trees. So the odds of him being around when the Giants select are slim to none."
RENNER: "Our No. 1 tackle on the board in the draft is Ryan Ramczyk, the left tackle from Wisconsin. If the Giants can grab him at 23, I would be happy with that. He only started one year in college and came from a D-III school. He has incredible movement skills, but he's still raw and developing. He has the kind of potential where if he keeps developing at the rate he has been, he's going to be extremely good in the NFL."
POSITION PREVIEW: TIGHT END
SERRITELLA: "For me, O.J. Howard is a top 10 player in this draft, maybe top 5. I really think he's going to come in and be, if not the best, one of the top tight ends in the league. David Njoku is another physical specimen who's probably going to jump through the gymnasium at the combine. There's some guys I would maybe take a wait and see approach because the tight end class is so talented."
RENNER: "Both Howard and Njoku are probably the most dynamic tight ends we've seen in a good while. They're both going to put up some ridiculous numbers this week. The first time I watched Njoku at Miami I thought he was a wide receiver. O.J. Howard is a much more complete player. He can block and do it all in that regard. I have a few more questions with him about his receiving ability and what he can do after the catch, but if you ask your tight end to block, you're going to like what he's going to do. I think one of those guys will be there for the Giants."
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POSITION PREVIEW: DEFENSIVE LINE
SERRITELLA: "A guy like Takkarist McKinley from UCLA is probably going to slide now. He would've been in the top half of the first round and you can get him maybe in the early second round now. He had shoulder surgery and is out 5-6 months now. It's similar to the Shaq Lawson situation a year ago."
RENNER: "There's a lot of good three-technique guys in the middle rounds of this draft. Guys like Dalvin Tomlinson and Tanzel Smart. There's some talent there that could probably step in and produce right away. They might not be high-level starters, but I would try and build through the draft at that position."
POSITION PREVIEW: CORNERBACK
SERRITELLA: "The cornerback position is really deep and really talented. I like the Florida guys up top – Quincy Wilson and Teez Tabor. Marshon Lattimore is probably going to be the first one off the board if I was going to pick. Then you have guys like Sidney Jones from Washington who I think is going to be a first round selection."
RENNER: "There's a lot of man guys right at the top of the draft. I think Marshon Lattimore is fantastic and a guy who can do it all. Then you have some zone guys down in the second round, guys like Jourdan Lewis and Desmond King who have a little better feel for that sort of thing. So I think you're getting a good mix. Depending on what your philosophy is, you're going to get a guy you'll like."
PROSPECT TO WATCH
SERRITELLA: "Temple linebacker Haason Reddick. If he ran a 4.40 40-yard dash, it wouldn't surprise me. He's going to have close to a 38-inch vertical jump and a 10- or 11-foot broad jump. This guy is going to put up measurables that are close to a running back or a wide receiver. I think that with his momentum off the Senior Bowl and off the combine, he will be a top 16 pick."
RENNER: "Obviously Myles Garrett. You can't dislike him based on just three years of incredible production and all the athletic tools."
GIANTS PICK
SERRITELLA: "Defensive end Derek Barnett out of Tennessee. If he's available for the Giants, I'd be doing cartwheels up to the podium. He can bully you, he can dip and rip - get under you and even pull out the spin move on you. This guy's pass rush repertoire is unbelievable."
RENNER: "Ideal scenario would be Ryan Ramczyk from Wisconsin. I think he could step in and be good right away and be even better in the future. If Dalvin Cook is there, you hand in that card because he's one of the best running backs I've seen in a while."