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NFL: BRONCOS: 2006 Fan Mock Draft: On the Clock: New York Giants, No. 25

/noticias.info/ When the Giants emerged from the rugged NFC East as champions, it seemed as though they were primed for a significant playoff run. They'd survived a division that featured two other winning teams and the defending NFC champions and had successfully navigated a schedule that saw three games against the AFC West, which, like the East, featured a trio of clubs that finished on the bright side of .500. Nine of their games came against winning teams. They were, on balance, a battle-hardened bunch that carried the NFC's second-best record into the postseason.

All that disintegrated in a 23-0 home playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers, a loss that was the team's first home postseason shutout since 1943 and the first home playoff blanking for any team since the visiting Los Angeles Rams neutralized the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 9-0 NFC Championship win on Jan. 6, 1980.

Even for an emerging team that saw flashes of brilliance from second-year quarterback Eli Manning, the Giants knew that to stand pat in their oft-daunting division is to fall behind. They addressed cornerback, importing R.W. McQuarters and Sam Madison via free agency, a pair of acquisitions that could prove crucial with Terrell Owens joining the Dallas Cowboys and Antwaan Randle El jumping to the Washington Redskins.

The Giants enter 2006 blessed with players that have a knack for scoring. Five different players scored at least seven touchdowns last year, with running back Tiki Barber leading the way with 11 total touchdowns. Backup running back Brandon Jacobs, tight end Jeremy Shockey and wide receivers Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer each scored seven times, giving Manning a plethora of red-zone options.

Barber, while extremely productive last year in notching 2,390 yards from scrimmage, enters his 10th year this fall and turned 31 this month, numbers that have often been danger zones for NFL running backs. But the Giants' starting offensive line doesn't feature any players over the age of 30, and while Michael Strahan enters his 14th season this year, four-year veteran Osi Umenyiora emerged to lead the team in sacks last year with 14.

Where do the Giants turn this year? Do they look for a younger running back to spell Barber? Do they fortify the offensive line to provide more protection for Manning? Or do they turn to defense, looking for depth at safety after parting ways with Brent Alexander or someone for the front seven?

Make your pick!

Who will be the No. 25 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft?
S Jason Allen, Tennessee
S Darnell Bing, USC
DE Tamba Hali, Penn State
DE Mathias Kiwanuka, Boston College
DE/LB Manny Lawson, N.C. State
RB Laurence Maroney, Minnesota
OL Marcus McNeill, Auburn
LB DeMeco Ryans, Alabama
RB DeAngelo Williams, Memphis
S Donte Whitner, Ohio State
DE Kamerion Wimbley, Florida State


EDITOR'S NOTE: Some of you have wondered why there's no option to trade the pick. Good question. The answer is because there exists the possibility of trades down the line which would change the look of the first round -- some of which may take place before that individual pick arrives on our mock draft. At the very least, we want to get an idea of who Broncos fans believe will be taken at each slot, even if the team holding the pick eventually changes. So if you feel the pick will be traded, simply select the player you believe will go at this particular slot, regardless of team.


Jason Allen,
Tennessee
Position: Safety
Height: 6-1
Weight: 210 lbs.
Details: A dislocated hip ruined Allen's senior season and not only derailed what should have been a stellar campaign, but helped doom his team as a whole to its first losing season in 17 years. The versatile Allen was counted upon at both right cornerback and free safety, making 14 starts at the former and 12 at the latter.

Hip dislocations have varying degrees. Some, like Bo Jackson's, can be career-ending. Allen's, on the other hand, healed in four months -- in time for him to take part in the full workouts at the Scouting Combine, where he impressed by running the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds.

"I feel like I am going to be bigger, faster stronger and right now I feel like I am bigger," Allen said at the Combine. "Before the injury I was like 205, I am 210 now. I feel stronger, I feel faster. But right now I have the opportunity to show that I am faster and that I am back."

Darnell Bing,
USC
Position: Safety
Height: 6-2
Weight: 227 lbs.
Details: USC's lineage of defensive backs over the years is legendary, with names like Ronnie Lott, and Ring of Famer Dennis Smith among the roster of greats. But Bing had the arduous task of replacing Troy Polamalu, who has proven to be one of the finest safeties of recent years in just three years in the NFL. "It's pretty tough following Troy," Bing said at the National Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "He's like an animal out there, he's all over the field making all kind of plays. It's pretty tough to be behind him and step up for him."

Bing wasted little time replacing Polamalu, taking over as the Trojans' starting strong safety in 2003 after arriving on campus from Long Beach City College. Two years later, he left after starting for two national championship teams and earning first-team All-America honors in 2005. "I think I'm capable of matching (Polamalu's) skills," Bing said. "I probably won't be as fast as he is, because he's that type of player. But I think I can get the job done just as well."

Tamba Hali,
Penn State
Position: Defensive End
Height: 6-3
Weight: 263 lbs.
Details: Hali closed his college career with a flourish in every way possible. He earned consensus first-team All-America honors, helped Penn State win its first Big Ten title in over a decade and earned Defensive MVP honors in the Senior Bowl after notching two sacks and breaking up a pass. Hali's senior season was a spectacular one; he notched 11 sacks, 65 total tackles and 17 tackles for losses. He also notched a four-sack game against Wisconsin.

After starting his sophomore season at defensive tackle, Hali moved to end in 2004 and immediately became an All-Big Ten second-team pick, notching 51 tackles, 12 tackles for losses and two sacks. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.86 and 4.88 seconds at his March 16 pro day.

Mathias Kiwanuka,
Boston College
Position: Defensive End
Height: 6-7
Weight: 252 lbs.
Details: An All-America selection last year and the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, Kiwanuka capped a career that saw him post a school-record 37.5 sacks, as well as 245 tackles, 65.5 tackles for losses, 13 passes defensed, three interceptions and three forced fumbles.

Kiwanunka amassed 11.5 sacks in both his sophomore and junior seasons before notching 9.5 last year as BC moved from the Big East into the Atlantic Coast Conference. His 2005 sacks came in bunches, with 3.5 against North Carolina State, three against Ball State and 2.5 against Maryland.

Manny Lawson,
N.C. State
Position: Defensive End/Linebacker
Height: 6-5
Weight: 240 lbs.
Details: The pride of Goldsboro, N.C., Lawson was the other half of a dynamic bookend defensive pair for the Wolfpack, moving to the front four after spending his first two seasons as an outside linebacker. Lawson notched 17.5 sacks in his last two seasons at right defensive end in State's 4-3 scheme and earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference plaudits last year after notching 10.5 sacks.

Lawson's athletic gifts are evidenced by his time of 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash and his two years of experience on State's track team. He was the conference champion in the indoor long jump during his sophomore year, and finished second in the outdoor long jump, fifth in the triple jump and participated on the school's 4x100 relay team. As a freshman, he ran the 60-meter indoor hurdles for the Wolfpack, posting the team's best time that year (8.55 seconds).

Laurence Maroney,
Minnesota
Position: Running Back
Height: 6-0
Weight: 217 lbs.
Details: Maroney only started 14 games for the Golden Gophers, but that didn't keep him from having a huge career impact in Minneapolis. He ran for 3,933 yards and scored 32 touchdowns during his three seasons there, first splitting carries with current Cowboys running back Marion Barber III before settling into the lead role with 1,464 yards as a junior last season.

A strained hamstring kept Maroney from running at the Combine and at his school's Pro Day workout. He ended up posting 40-yard dash times of 4.47 to 4.49 seconds when he worked out on March 23.

Marcus McNeill,
Auburn
Position: Offensive Tackle
Height: 6-7
Weight: 337 lbs.
Details: A consensus first-team All-American last year, McNeill went through the entire 2005 regular season without yielding a sack. Sacks were, in fact, few and far between at McNeill's expense throughout his years at Auburn.

"The last time I gave up a sack I was a freshman, playing actually offensive guard," McNeill said. "They wanted to just throw me in the fire as a young pup back then at guard and I gave up a sack on a slide protection and I'm real disappointed about that."

DeMeco Ryans,
Alabama
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6-1
Weight: 236 lbs.
Details: Ryans' honors last year were numerous, beginning with his first-team All-America selection and plaudits as the Southeastern Conference's Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to earning Academic All-SEC honors. He started one game at middle linebacker and played the rest of his senior season on the strong side, finishing the year with 76 total tackles, 12 tackles for losses, five sacks, two passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, an interception and a forced fumble.

Ryans, who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.66 and 4.67 seconds at his Pro Day on March 15, was the ringleader of a dominant 'Bama defense that ranked first among Division I-A teams in scoring defense and second in total defense.

DeAngelo Williams,
Memphis
Position: Running Back
Height: 5-9
Weight: 214 lbs.
Details: Williams left Memphis as one of the all-time leading rushers in college football history, becoming only the fourth Division I-A player to run for over 6,000 yards in his career. he finished with 6,026 yards on 969 carries with 55 touchdowns, and added another 723 yards and three touchdowns on 70 career receptions.

Williams was the nation's rushing leader last season, averaging 178.6 yards per game whle tallying 1,964 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns for the year. His rushing totals increased throughout his career, and he established Memphis' single-season rushing record three times -- first setting it with 1,430 yards as a sophomore, then topping that with 1,948 as a junior and 1,964 in his senior year.

Donte Whitner,
Ohio State
Position: Safety
Height: 5-10
Weight:204 lbs.
Details: Whitner earned All-Big Ten accolades last year after notching 73 tackles, four sacks, nine tackles for losses, six passes defensed and two interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown. He helped hold down the back line of a strong defense that included such standouts as cornerback Ashton Youboty and linebackers A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter.

Whitner did not become the full-time starter at strong safety until last season; he started six games in 2004, when he amassed 69 total tackles and posted a sack and an interception. He intercepted two passes in a reserve role in 2003 and also blocked a punt. He also clocked a 40-yard dash time of 4.45 seconds.

Kamerion Wimbley,
Florida State
Position: Defensive End
Height: 6-4
Weight: 248 lbs.
Details: Wimbley did not become a full-time starter until his 2005 senior campaign, but still managed to finish his FSU career with 108 total tackles, 12 sacks and 23.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, along with eight passes defensed and three fumble recoveries.

Wimbley ran the 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds at the National Scouting Combine. He also worked out at both linebacker and defensive end in Indianapolis. notas_de_prensa_archivo