What Do Giants And Jets Need In The Draft?

Draft Day is apon us. The one day of the year where the fortunes of a franchise could change forever. Before the weekend is over, some 254 names will be called, over the course of seven rounds. Some guys taken high in the draft may work out to a teams liking, some may not. You may even find a hidden gem somewhere in the later rounds too. You never know what can happen on Draft Day, which is part of the charm of the whole weekend. We could see major trades pulled off, ah la Tony Dorsett and Marshal Faulk. We could see stars take late in the draft, ah la Tom Brady being picked in the 6th round. Its wonderful.

Both local teams, the Jets and Giants, have done a lot of work in re-tooling their football teams to this point in the offseason. There is still more work to be done, both in possible free agency and here in the draft. Both teams still have their weaknesses, all teams do. Big Blue and Gang Green will try their best to address those needs, to a degree, in this years draft. So here now are some of the holes that the teams still need to fill, and who might possibly be able to fill them in this draft class.

First up we have Big Blue. The Giants looked dismal at the end of last year. They have done quite a bit of work this offseason to improve, which they have. General Manager Jerry Reese has done a few nice moves, improving the secondary a little, and tried to fill the holes in the running game and the offensive line. There is still plenty of work that needs to be done. With the six picks that the Giants have in this draft, they have a lot of work to do to find the right guys to fill the right holes. Here are some of the things the Giants may try to go after in the 2014 Draft.

The Giants need to address the pass rush, the offensive line and tight end. You can also throw in the possibility of adding a deep threat at wide receiver as well. To start the day off, the Giants hold down the 12th overall pick in the first round. Pass rusher should be the first thing that the Giants should try to target with their 12th pick. Right now the Giants best pass rushers are Cullen Jenkins and Jason Pierre-Paul, which isn't too bad of a tandom but it's not going to be one of the top tier pass rush tandoms in the league. One name that has popped up on the defensive line floating around is Timmy Jernigan, the Defenseive Tackle from Florida State. He may be the 2nd best defensive end in the draft, behind Aaron Donald of Pittsburgh. So if Donald isn't available to the Giants at 12 then go after Jernigan. He will have an impact on the team if the Giants can snag him.

Beside that possibility, there are a few other names that have been thrown around for the Giants to possibly take with the 12th pick. North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron's name has been thrown around, along with the aformentioned Aaron Donald, and Notre Dame offensive tackle Zack Martin. With the Tight End position, the Giants need a threat from there. Eric Ebron is a big guy, standing 6'4" and weighing in at 250. He is coming off a very strong year last year, breaking the ACC record for receiving yards in a season by a tight end, a record held by Vernon Davis and we know how well he's turned out in the NFL. Ebron has good hands, from all indications, and can be used as a deep threat. His block does leave a little something to be desired, but if he can produce as a pass catcher at the pro level the way he did in college, then it outweighs the negative for the time being.

The other big need for the Giants is at offensive line. Sure the Giants made some improvements to the line by adding J.D. Walton, John Jerry, Geoff Schwartz and Charles Brown. Not a bad collection of guys at all to play line. The one name though that has been thrown around for the Giants to take with their pick on the line is Zach Martin. He was a leader with the Fighting Irish, who was consistent and dependable in his time in South Bend. He has the skill set to play at this level so the Giants may take a flyer on him.

Those are just some of the options that the Giants have with their 12th pick, and the holes fans can look for the team to try and fill in this draft.

The New York Jets are in the same exact boat as the Giants in regards to trying to fill holes on their football team. Sure the Jets got a solid receiver and a running game, but there are still some holes that need to be addressed.  One of the biggest issues the Jets need to address is their secondary, which hasn't really been improved apon from last season. That's an huge hole that needs filling. Offensively the Jets still have a few issues they need to touch on. I know they signed Eric Deker to be their top pass catcher but that's not going to be enough. They need another deep threat at that position. Same thing can be said for tight end as well. Jeff Cumberland was resigned, but now they don't have an solid option playing along side him. It would be nice for the Jets to be able to fill all of these holes with the Draft, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Gang Green has the 18th pick in the 1st round and hold down a total of 12 picks in the seven rounds of the draft. We know the holes they need to still try and fill, so you can imagine some of the names that have been tossed around for the Jets to try and grab with their first pick. The two biggest position the Jets are going to try and fill with their first pick are either tight end or wide receiver.

It has become a bit of a Jets staple to take defensive players in the opening round of the draft. The Jets have drafted a defensive player in the first round in each of the last four drafts. The last time they didn't pick a defensive player was in 2009 when they took Mark Sanchez in 2009. Every year since (2010 Kyle Wilson, 2011 Muhammad Wilkerson, 2012 Quinton Coples, 2013 Dee Milliner and Sheldon Richardson) have been defensive players. So don't be surprised if that's where the Jets go with their pick.

We know the Jets need help with there secondary, thus having a few names tossed around on that side of the ball as to who the Jets might grab with the 18th pick. The following Cornerbacks have been mentioned as possible picks for the Jets: Darqueze Dennard of Michigan State, Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State, Kyle Fuller of Virginia Tech and Bradley Roby of Ohio State. Of those four guys, should the Jets try and take a corner with their first pick, many feel that Dennard of Michigan State will be the guy the Jets grab, should he still be on the board for the team. The Jets have had shut down corners in the past with Revis and Cromartie, both of whom are now gone. Right now Dee Milliner is their guy, but he is a work in progress. The best option in the Draft to fill that role would be Dennard, so if he's on the board I would grab him. As much as you need another deep threat at receiver, the Jets really need the secondary help more than at receiver.

That's just the secondary. The Jets may switch gears and try to improve the receiver position with their 1st round pick. There have been a few names thrown around at the receiver position that the Jets are interested in. Some of the guys the Jets have possibly shown interest in are Odell Beckham Jr. of LSU, Brandin Cooks of Oregon State and Marqise Lee of USC. Beckham might be the 2nd best receiver option in the draft, behind Sammy Watkins, but I don't really see Beckham falling all the way to 18th. If he does and I was the Jets I would take a strong look at him. If they can't get him and they decide to go with defense with their first pick that's fine. But if they can get their hands on him, I would take a snag at Lee of USC. He's a solid receiver, some say a good number two receiver for a team. He could work well as a possible complement for Eric Deker in the Jets lineup.

So those are what the Jets and Giants need to work on and who might be the best players to fill those holes in the 2014 NFL Draft!