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By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)
The NFL Draft is quickly approaching, as we get
closer to the primetime opening round April 25th. This will be the sixth part in a series where
I will discuss the current and needs for the upcoming NFL Draft for the Giants.
The sixth position I will take a look at is special
teams.
Currently on the depth chart the Giants have Steve
Weatherford at punter, Josh Brown and David Buehler at kicker, Jake Rogers who
is a kicker/punter, long snapper Zak DeOssie, David Wilson, Andre Brown and
Jerrel Jernigan at kick returner and Rueben Randle at punt returner. From last
season, the Giants have let kicker Lawrence Tynes and punt returner Domenik
Hixon leave; Tynes remains a free agent and Hixon signed with the Panthers.
Punter is set for the Giants with Weatherford on the
roster. He has been solid since taking
over for Matt Dodge, who averaged 47.5 yards per punt and landed 22 of his 58
punts inside the red zone. Long Snapper DeOssie has been with the team for a
number of years now and adds stability and chemistry as the special teams
captain.
Kicker is where the Giants will see the biggest
change this season. They are moving on
from Tynes and have brought in three kickers to compete for his spot. Brown is expected to be the guy to replace
Tynes, but Buehler will have a chance to compete as well. Brown has been solid throughout his career,
showing a strong leg as he has season longs of at least 52-yards every year of
his career. He has a career average of
81.3 percent on his kicks and 64.1 yards per kickoff.
Buehler has the bigger leg on kickoffs, averaging
66.8 yards on kickoffs in his one season as kicker for the Cowboys in 2010, but
struggled with field goals going 24 of 32.
The return game may seem some changes now as
well. With Wilson assuming a bigger role
in the offense, his presence in the return game will most likely diminish. Last season Wilson was electric in the return
game, giving the Giants a spark as he amassed 1533 yards and one
touchdown. If the Giants choose to use
him less in the return game Jernigan and Brown are expected to get the first
cracks at the position.
Randle was good in punt return duties last season,
averaging 7.2 yards per return. Once again,
Jernigan can help out here as well as newly returning Aaron Ross. Second year player Jayron Hosley also has experience
returning punts and could find himself in the mix as well. Last season the
Giants improve immensely in return coverage thanks to the likes of DeOssie,
Mark Herzlich and Spencer Paysinger.
The last time the Giants selected a kicker or punter
in the draft was 2010 when they selected Dodge; do not expect that to happen
this season. If the Giants are going to
add anyone to help on special teams it will most likely be a player capable of
helping in the return game.
One intriguing option is former LSU cornerback
Tyrann Mathieu, who is an explosive return man with big play capabilities that
could also help in the Giants defensive backfield. He would come with a lot of baggage after being
dismissed from LSU but would have a mentor in former LSU cornerback Corey
Webster. He has the talent but are the
Giants willing to take a risk on the baggage he brings with him?
Another player that could help the Giants is
Mississippi State’s Jonathan Banks. He is
a top rated corner but can also help the Giants in the return game as
well. Reggie Dunn is another name to
keep an eye on as he is quite possibly the most explosive return man available
in the draft. He holds the record for
most 100-yard returns in NCAA history with five and would presumably add the
same explosiveness and big play potential Wilson gave the Giants last season.
Special teams are not a pressing need for the Giants
in the draft this year as they have plenty of in house options in the return
game and are set at both kicker and punter.
On a scale of 1-10 the Giants need for a special teamer in the draft is
a 3.
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