I think the signs are definitely building toward us drafting a WR in the 2nd round. Bill Parcells has a history of drafting 2nd round WRs. He doesn't like 1st round WRs, but I think he likes 2nd and 3rd round WRs. He definitely values the position I just think he might not like the risk/reward of a 1st round guy compared with certain other positions.
As for who that 2nd/3rd round guy could be? I'm keeping my eye on Juaquin Iglesias, to be honest. Right now many have him as the top senior WR, but he could easily fall because first off, Crabtree and Maclin will likely come out. Second, there are a fair number of juniors that could come out and screw up Iglesias' draft position, such as Darius Heyward-Bey, Percy Harvin and Hakeem Nicks (my personal favorite). Maybe Kenny Britt, as well. Because I'm so high on Hakeem Nicks, I'm not trying to fool myself so I'm going to go ahead and assume he will be taken before Miami can get hold of him. Aside from that, I don't see them being big buyers on Heyward-Bey, an experienced junior track star, or Percy Harvin, who might be on the smallish side for what they want. They might like Kenny Britt, but they'd have to be worried he's a flash in the pan.
I see them in general tending toward seniors, especially at positions that are hard to learn and take a lot of experience. Now, that's not by any means absolute, just maybe a slight inclination. Receiver is a position that they believe to be the hardest to learn aside from QB. I think they have outright said that before. This is why, IMO, they would TEND toward acquiring veterans who maybe slipped through the cracks a little bit. However, I think they are starting to become pleasantly surprised by the WR position between Ginn and Camarillo. The Broncos rolled a ton of extra coverage onto Ginn, and they still got him involved in some plays. Meanwhile that left Camarillo open to do some damage, and he did indeed do some damage. Two weeks in a row, one of our guys eclipses the 100+ mark. Their timing and communication with Pennington is getting better all the time.
Maybe it isn't so urgent anymore that we try and break the bank to steal a T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Anquan Boldin or Chad Johnson. You don't get the #6 ranked passing offense by having "pitiful" receivers. We need some depth, and a guy that could eventually turn into a stud, clearly.
But, wouldn't that be what a Juaquin Iglesias is good for? Speaking of Housh, that's a guy that Iglesias does remind me a lot of. Some folks see Iglesias as maybe only being a slot WR in the NFL. You can flip that around and say well if that's something that is a strength for him, it gives him a job he can do right away as a rookie. Now, I think he's more than just a slot guy. He's got a lot of experience, has been making an impact since he was a freshman when he touched the ball at least once in each of the 10 final contests of his true freshman year. He has played in every game since his true freshman year, which will probably be a total of 54 games by the time he comes out in the draft. He's caught at least 2 passes, or a touchdown, in 38 of the 49 games he's played thus far...and I'll go out on a limb and say that streak will extend to 43 of 54 games. He's been a punt returner, he's run the ball 12 times, he's been a kick returner, he tends to have his best outings in Bowl Games...he is what Derek Hagan SHOULD have been, if Derek wasn't so intent on constantly fighting the ball instead of catching it.
So if I'm putting together a mock, I would absolutely LOVE to put Hakeem Nicks in the 2nd round, but I doubt it's happening. I think Juaquin Iglesias would be a good pick there, one that has history going for it, one that has the experience factor which I think they will like, a guy that is talented and has been productive.
Although I have to admit, Iglesias' teammate Manny Johnson, also a senior, was stealing his thunder a bit and may also rise. Two good players.
no matter how good they are
