The New York Giants took 22-year old cornerback Prince Amukamara out of Nebraska with the 19th overall pick of the NFL Draft.  Amukamara stands 6’0″, 201 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40, which is pretty impressive.  Amukamara is a good cover corner and he’s really good in run support which should help the entire Giants’ D going forward.  Amukamara played in 14 games (all starts) for Nebraska last year and he had 59 tackles and broke up 13 passes.  He played in 49 games (31 starts) in his four years at Nebraska and he had 161 tackles, broke up 27 passes, had 5 interceptions, forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  The Giants passed up more pressing needs to take Amukamara, but I think it was a smart move.

The New York Giants are likely look to load up on the defensive side of the ball and on the offensive line this weekend in the NFL Draft.  Here is a look at who I see the Giants getting in my mock draft:

1st round (#19 overall) – Akeem Ayers, OLB, UCLA

2nd round (#52 overall) – Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina

3rd round (#83 overall) – Stefen Wisniewski, C, Penn State

4th round (#117 overall) – Kendall Hunter, RB, Oklahoma State

6th round (#185 overall) – John Graves, DT, Virginia Tech

6th round (#198 overall) – Chas Henry, P, Florida

6th round (#202 overall) – Brad Thorson, G, Kansas

7th round (#221 overall) – Darrell Smith, ILB, Syracuse

This would be a pretty solid draft for the Giants as the defense would get a boost.

The New York Giants didn’t get much production out of the 2010 rookie class.  But, they still have high hopes for the guys that they took last April.  Here is a look at how the rookies did in 2010:

Jason Pierre-Paul:  The Giants took DE Jason Pierre-Paul in the first round (#15 overall) out of South Florida.  Pierre-Paul played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Giants last year and he had 30 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, 6 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.  Pierre-Paul looks like the next great DE of the New York Giants.

Linval Joseph:  The Giants took DT Linval Joseph in the 2nd round (#46 overall) out of East Carolina.  Joseph played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Giants last year and he had 8 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  But, six of his tackles came in the Giants last two games.  He could likely develop into a starter down the road for the Giants if he gets focused and motivated.

Chad Jones:  The Giants took strong safety Chad Jones in the 3rd round (#76 overall) out of LSU.  Jones got into a nasty car wreck which really messed up his left leg.  His career is likely in jeopardy before it really even began.

Phillip Dillard:  The Giants picked inside linebacke Phillip Dilliard in the 4th round (#115 overall) out of Nebraska.  He played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Giants last year and he had 4 whole tackles.  He only really played on special teams so he’s going to have to step up before he’s trusted at linebacker.

Mitch Petrus:  The Giants took OG Mitch Petrus in the 5th round (#147 overall) out of Arkansas.  He played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Giants last season.  Petrus might develop into a starter down the road as he is a pretty nasty guy on the field.

Adrian Tracy:  The Giants picked OLB Adrian Tracy in the 6th round (#184 overall) out of  William & Mary.  He didn’t play at all last year as he missed the season with a elbow injury.  He has to really improve if he wants to keep getting paid to play football.

Matt Dodge:  The Giants took punter Matt Dodge in the 7th round (#221 overall) out of East Carolina.  Dodge played in all 16 games for the Giants last year and he punted the ball 72 times for 3,222 yards (44.8 avg).  He also pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 20 times last year (27.8%) and he had 9 touchbacks (12.5%).  Dodge will need to really improve if he’s going to keep the starting job as head coach Tom Coughlin was clearly disgusted with him a lot last year.

GRADE FOR THE 2010 SEASON:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-