The Giants needed help in the interior of their defensive line but this selection was a reach.  Jay Alford stands at 6′2″, 285 pounds so he’s a little bit small for tackle or nose tackle.  He will have to shoot the gaps in the Pros because he’s too small to handle double teams or take on big offensive lineman straight up.  He will need to use his speed if he’s going to have any chance of succeeding in the NFL.  In 46 games (41 starts) at Penn State, Alford made 118 tackles, 32 tackles for a loss, had 19 sacks, batted down 11 passes, forced 3 fumbles and recovered 4 fumbles.  Many projected Alford to be a 6th or 7th round pick so the Giants reached big time on this pick.

The Giants have acquired Lawrence Tynes from the Giants for a future draft pick.  Tynes made 24 of 31 (77.4%) of his field goal attempts last season, and he was 35 for 36 on extra points.  Over his three-year NFL career (all with Kansas City), Tynes has made 68 of 87 (78.2%) of his field goal attempts and 137 of 141 extra point attempts.  Tynes is a little bit of a downgrade from Jay Feely, but he’s way better than what the Giants were trying to replace Feely with.

The Giants felt they had a need at WR so they selected the most productive receiver on the board when it was their turn to pick in the 2nd round.  Steve Smith was a good player at USC, but he has some problems that will be exposed in the Pros.  He has problems getting off the line and he’s a tad short at 5′11″ and slow as he runs a 4.6 40.  In 46 games (27 starts) at USC, Smith caught 190 passes for 3,019 yards (15.9 avg) with 22 TD grabs.  Smith will likely be the #3 WR on the Giants this season, but he doesn’t have much upside.

The Giants needed a corner and a punt returner and they got both of them when they selected Aaron Ross.  Ross has nice size at 6′1″, 193 but he has problems with fast receivers as he only runs a 4.55 in the 40.  He is a better man to man defender than he is at zone coverage.  He’s a gambler on defense and he can get burnt because of that or make big game-changing plays.  He is an outstanding return man and will make an impact there for the Giants.  In 51 games (25 starts) at Texas, Ross made 202 tackles, broke up 33 passes, had 10 interceptions (111 return yards), forced 4 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  Ross only returned 2 kickoffs in college for 53 yards (26.5 avg).  His main asset to the Longhorns was when he returned punts.  Ross has returned 76 punts for 893 yards (11.8 avg) with 3 TD returns.  Look for Ross to likely play in the nickel and dime defenses at the start of the season.  He could work his way into the starting lineup at some point in the season.  But, look for him to make his presence known returning punts for the Giants this season.

The Giants have re-signed Gibril Wilson to a 1-year contract.  In 15 games last year, Wilson made 100 tackles, had 2 interceptions, defensed 8 passes, forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Wilson is a great defender that makes big plays for the Giants defense.  He’s good against both the run and the pass.