7. 2009 Draft
Who can forget the G-Men’s top selection from this draft, Hakeem Nicks.
From the second that he stepped on the field, Nicks was a stud. He would have one of the best rookie seasons in recent Giants history with 790 yards and six touchdowns.
The Tarheel would quickly become one of Eli’s favorite targets. Although as has been the theme in Reese’s drafts, he would become injured. He would go on to suffer multiple foot and ankle injuries that would eventually sap him of his speed and his playmaking ability.
Even though injuries would end his career early, he would still go on to have a pretty impressive career with the Giants.
One of the reasons that Reese has tended to shy away from linebackers in the early rounds is because of Clint Sintim. He was drafted as a linebacker out of West Virginia, but injuries would, unfortunately, strike the kid. He tore his ACL twice and that effectively ended his NFL career.
One of the best homegrown offensive tackles in years was drafted in the third round of this draft, Will Beatty. From UConn, he would start 63 games for the Giants in six seasons before riding the bench this past campaign. At one point, Beatty was one of the best left tackles in the game, but since then he has regressed due to injuries and age.
Oft-injured running back Andre Brown was also selected in the fourth round of this draft. He would start a few games for Big Blue in 2013.
Two above average starters came from this draft class, both at premium positions. That is a nice draft class.
