The Premier Madden League is officially about to start and we have one last pre-cycle article to go through. The Giants had alot of needs this offseason and hit on a few of them in the draft. All of the rookies have been signed to contracts and I will discuss a little bit about each player and determine if they are going to start or not.
Round 1: CB Deonte Banks 76 (Star) – Banks was a major need for this roster and the Giants picked one of the best corners in the draft. Banks comes in at 6 ‘2, 94 speed, 97 acceleration, and 96 jumping. He was an excellent pick and will be the second corner opposite Jackson. Banks has all of the physical gifts mixed with good coverages to guard just about anyone in the league. He will be tested this season, and Coach Burn believes that not only will he pass that test, but will be in contention for defensive rookie of the year.
Round 2: C John Michael Schmitz 71 (Star) – The Giants offensive line is a complete and utter mess. They knew they needed to do something and went out and drafted the best center in the draft class. Schmitz comes in with only 84 strength, however, his pass blocking and run blocking attributes are all above average for a rookie. He will be given the opportunity to be developed with attribute requests. He will get better and better and anchor this offensive line for the entire cycle.
Round 3: WR Jalin Hyatt 70 (Normal) – The Giants offense lacked the speed element last season. The coaching staff knew this and went out and signed Campbell, however, they felt that wasn’t enough so they traded up in the draft for the speedy Hyatt. Hyatt should be faster than what he is but he comes in with 94 speed, 95 acceleration, and 90 jumping. He has all of the physical tools to jump up to the number one receiver spot on this roster. He will be starting opposite Slayton and will be given every opportunity to succeed. Look out for him to be in the running for offensive rookie of the year.
Round 5: RB Eric Gray 68 (Normal) – Gray was drafted by the previous head coach to be a backup to Barkley. He only has 86 speed which is not ideal in Coach Burns scheme. He will be the third running back on this roster and will stay there unless he gets a decent amount of speed upgrades.
Round 6: CB Tre Hawkins 66 (Normal) – The coaching staff felt the corner position was seriously lacking to the point that they needed to draft two corners. This was an excellent decision and picking Hawkins was the right move. Hawkins is a raw player given his coverage attributes, however, he has the physical attributes to become a starter. He is 6’2, 92 speed, 94 acceleration, and 89 jumping. This is great for a sixth round pick. With Robinson out on injured reserve, Hawkins will slide in as a slot corner and look to make the most of this opportunity.
Round 7: RE Jordan Riley 62 (Normal) – Riley is the definition of a seventh round pick. He was picked due to his ability to stop the run. He is very slow but has 88 strength with decent block shedding. He will be a backup, and hopefully stay that way for the rest of the season.
Round 7: FS Gervarrius Owens 64 (Normal) – The Giants coaching staff loves to have a bunch of 87 and below speed safeties on the roster. This is exactly what Owens comes in as. He has 93 acceleration and average cover skills which will help eventually but he is nowhere near ready to start for the team. He is a guy who could possibly start in year 3 if given the proper tools to develop and a couple of speed upgrades.
Four rookies will start for this team, Schmitz and Hyatt on offense, and Banks and Hawkins on defense. The Giants have a very young team versus some of the best teams in the league in their division. They will be tested quickly and there will be mistakes, however, with the right amount of coaching and development, they will turn into the next set of superstars while the other teams regress into oblivion.
