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-

The Giants have picked punter Matt Dodge with the 221st overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  His only weakness is that he needs to get his punts off quicker.  He has a big leg and he booms his punts.  In 53 games in college (Appalachian State & East Carolina), Dodge has punted the ball 261 times for 11,209 yards (42.9 avg).  He has placed 73 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line (28%) which is pretty darn impressive and he has had 1 punt blocked.  Dodge will likely head into training camp as the starting punter due to Jeff Feagles’ retirement.

The Giants have picked OLB Adrian Tracy with the 184th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Tracy is 6’4″, 243 pounds and he runs a 4.8 40.  His main skill is getting after the passer.  He played in 14 games for William & Mary last season in which he had 78 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, he broke up 4 passes and he forced 1 fumble.  In his four years at William & Mary, Tracy played in 47 games in which he had 283 tackles, 62.5 tackles for a loss, 31 sacks, he broke up 8 passes, he forced 4 fumbles and he had 1 interception.  It will be interesting to see if Tracy can handle the gigantic leap in competition that he will to deal with this season.  His best chance of making the team will be on special teams.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) – The Giants have placed Adrian Tracy on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a dislocated right elbow.

The Giants have picked OG Mitch Petrus out of Arkansas with the 147th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Petrus is a tall guy at 6’3″, 304 pounds but it doesn’t look like his frame can take much more weight.  Petrus is a weight room warrior but he doesn’t convert that power to the field as he is a finesse blocker.  Because of that he will have to stay on the interior of the O-Line playing guard or center where he can get some help.  Petrus played in 13 games (all starts) at Arkansas last season and he played in 49 games (25 starts) in his four years there.  Petrus was a solid pick where the Giants got him as he could develop into a starter down the line.

The Giants have picked inside linebacker Phillip Dillard with the 115th overall pick in the NFL Draft (4th round).  He is 6’0″, 240 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40.  He needs protected by the D-Line and if he is he will be a very productive player for the Giants.  That’s because he runs into some issues when the guards and tackles get into his body on blocks.  Dillard played in 12 games (9 starts) for Nebraska last season and he finished up with 83 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, he broke up 3 passes and he had 1 interception.  He played in 44 games (16 starts) in his four years at Nebraska and he had 169 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, he had 4.5 sacks, broke up 6 passes and he had 1 interception.  Dillard has the potential to be a starter soon for the Giants and he was a solid pick for a team that is rebuilding on D.

The Giants have selected safety Chad Jones out of LSU with the 76th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  He is a athletic marvel at 6’3″, 220 pounds and he runs a 4.4 40.  Coach Coughlin and the rest of the Giants’ coaches will have to help Jones get more aggressive against the running game as he is a tad soft against it.  But, he is a good center fielder of a defense and he will likely develop into a starter down the road.  For this season though Jones will likely learn from veterans Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant while helping the Giants a lot on special teams.  Jones played in 12 games (all starts) for the Tigers last season and he had 66 tackles, broke up 5 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  He played in 39 games (18 starts) in his three years at LSU and he finished up there with 150 tackles, he broke up 15 passes, had 5 interceptions and he forced 3 fumbles.  Jones was a good pick for the Giants in the third round because he has a nice upside.

UPDATE:  (6/27/2010) – Chad Jones has been seriously injured in a car crash.  He fractured his tibia and fibula in the car wreck.  He will likely miss all of his rookie season and he has been talking about playing baseball instead of football as it would cause less stress on his legs.  This is a huge loss for the Giants who were going to let Jones compete for a starting job as a rookie.

The Giants have picked DT Linval Joseph out of East Carolina with the 46th overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Joseph is a big guy at 6’6″, 325 pounds but he doesn’t have a mean streak yet.  That shouldn’t be a problem as head coach Tom Coughlin will likely be on his butt from day #1 to help him develop one.  Joseph played in 14 games (all starts) for East Carolina last season and he finished up with 60 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks and 1 batted down pass.  He has improved every single year in college and the Giants hope that trend continues.  Joseph played in 41 games (27 starts) in his three years at East Carolina and he finished up with 143 tackles, 29.5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, he batted down 2 passes, forced 1 fumble and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Joseph has a good upside and he will likely help out on the Giants’ D-Line for a long time.

The New York Giants have selected DE Jason Pierre-Paul with the 15th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Pierre-Paul is a physical freak as he runs a 4.65 40 despite being 6’5″, 260 pounds.  His game is speed around the edge attacking the QB but he has a weakness in his game in trying to deal with a power running game.  Look for the Giants to try to get him to add a few pounds in a effort to make him a more complete player.  Pierre-Paul only played 1 year at South Florida appearing in 13 games (7 starts) in which he had 45 tackles, 16.5 tackles for a loss, he had 6.5 sacks, batted down 3 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  Pierre-Paul has a huge upside but he only started 1/2 a season in his only year in Division One football so he is probably a tad raw and will need the Giants to coach him up.