Reese Era in Review: Revisiting the New York Giants 2009 NFL Draft
Considering the number of busts he selected that year, Jerry Reese’s 2009 NFL Draft could easily be considered the biggest waste of his tenure as general manager.
Former New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese was once considered one of the brightest minds in football, a genius for finding talent, and the architect of two Super Bowl winning teams. However, as Giants fans would all learn this season, Reese wasn’t the genius he was billed to be.
In his 11 years as general manager, Reese was responsible for several terrible draft picks that ultimately thinned out a strong Giants roster into what it is today. Looking back at who was still available when the Giants were on the board during the 2009 NFL Draft, there were several gems that Reese didn’t take a chance on. If he went for some those players, the Giants would still be contending today.
Here are the re-draft rules taken into account:
- Outside of rounds four through seven, all players selected in this revision maintain their original round value.
- No trades have been made for this revised draft. It would be impossible to predict how the draft would have played out otherwise.
- The only trades recognized are the trades teams originally made during the 2009 draft.
- Revised drafts of previous years have not been taken into account in determining picks.
Round 1, Pick 29: Hakeem Nicks, Wide Receiver, North Carolina
Original Pick: Hakeem Nicks, Wide Receiver, North Carolina
There’s no difference here with the first pick, but that’s more of a testament to the lack of talent at the end of the first round. While he had some serious durability issues and he never developed into the dominant receiver everyone expected him to be, Reese made the right choice in drafting Hakeem Nicks with his first round pick.
Nicks was a quality receiver in his time in a Giants uniform and was a big reason why New York won Super Bowl XLVI. During the Giants’ postseason run in 2011, Nicks was pretty much unstoppable, hauling in 28 passes for 444 yards and four touchdowns in four playoff games played.
Kenny Britt could have easily been the pick here too, but Nicks still wins out due to his production level. Britt just barely eclipsed Nicks’ career numbers for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns this year, two seasons after Nicks left the game.
Round 2, Pick 45: Mike Mitchell, Safety, Ohio
Original Pick: Clint Sintim, Outside Linebacker, Virginia
Not many Giants fans remember Clint Sintim, and that’s because he did absolutely nothing in his time in New York. Praised for his pass rushing skills and ability to play both defensive end and outside linebacker, Sintim never lived up to the hype and recorded only one sack in his three seasons with the Giants. He was ultimately waived in the 2012 preseason due to lack of production and injury issues.
There were several great players that are still in the league today selected after Sintim such as LeSean McCoy, Max Unger, and Andy Levitre. However, the Giants didn’t have a need for players at those positions. That being said, the best player that Reese could have selected at this juncture would have been Mike Mitchell.
The Giants went into the 2009 season with Michael Johnson as their starting free safety and while he was a serviceable player, the Giants could have used an upgrade. Mitchell is a hard hitter and can hold his own in coverage. Pairing Mitchell with a second year Kenny Phillips would have easily given the Giants a formidable safety tandem for the next few years.
Round 2, Pick 60: Will Beatty, Offensive Tackle, Connecticut
Original Pick: Will Beatty, Offensive Tackle, Connecticut
Will Beatty was another player that Reese selected that had serious durability issues, but when he was healthy, Beatty was one of the best tackles in the NFL. After playing a reserve role on the right side of the line in his first two seasons, Beatty won the starting left tackle job going into the 2011 season.
Beatty would stay at left tackle for the next four seasons, becoming a Pro Football Focus darling and earning a reputation as one of the top left tackles in the league. Unfortunately, Beatty’s injuries caught up with him and turned him into a shell of the player he once was, forcing the Giants to release him after the 2016 season.
Despite the sharp decline in his last two seasons in New York, Beatty’s contributions to the franchise make him the correct pick at this point in the draft. It speaks volumes that he’s one of only two drafted players given a contract extension during Reese’s tenure as general manager.
Round 3, Pick 85: Lardarius Webb, Cornerback, Nicholls State
Original Pick: Ramses Barden, Wide Receiver, California Polytechnic State
Ramses Barden was praised as a genius pick by many pundits during the 2009 draft, but as it would turn out, the Cal-Poly product never panned out like Reese hoped he would. Expected to develop into a big red zone threat similar to Plaxico Burress, Barden never looked the part.
In his four seasons in a Giants uniform, Barden didn’t record a single touchdown reception and only earned one start before being released during the 2013 preseason. Barden would have short preseason stints with the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014, but he’s been out of the league since.
Instead, the Giants could have shored up their secondary by drafting Lardarius Webb. The Giants had a solid group of cornerbacks at the time, but Webb would have been a significant upgrade over Bruce Johnson on the depth chart. As we’ve seen the past few seasons, Webb developed into one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and would have easily worked his way into a starting role, especially when Terrell Thomas began to have his injury issues.
Round 3, Pick 100: T.J. Lang, Offensive Guard, Eastern Michigan
Original Pick: Travis Beckum, Tight End, Wisconsin
Travis Beckum is yet another highly touted mid-round pick by Reese that never panned out. The undersized tight end out of Wisconsin wasn’t much of a blocker, but his apparent strength was his ability as a receiver. Projected by Reese to develop into an H-back in the mold of Dallas Clark, Beckum wasn’t anything like a game-changing tight end.
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In his four seasons with the Giants, Beckum only earned four starts and amassed a grand total of 264 receiving yards and only three touchdowns. Naturally, the Giants opted not to re-sign him after his contract was up and after preseason stints with the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints in 2014, Beckum hasn’t played a down since.
Probably the best player to pick at this juncture would have been T.J. Lang. The Giants had a strong offensive line at the time, but Lang would have provided great depth and would have easily been a significant upgrade over Tutan Reyes. Currently one of the best guards in the NFL, Lang would have been a great in-house replacement when Kareem McKenzie retired after the 2011 season.
Round 4, Pick 129: Johnny Knox, Wide Receiver, Abilene Christian
Original Pick: Andre Brown, Running Back, North Carolina State
Andre Brown never saw the field his rookie year after rupturing his Achilles during training camp. The Giants waived him after he spent the 2009 season on injured reserve. After spending time with the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos during the 2010 season, Brown re-signed with the Giants the following season and spent a year on the practice squad before seeing game action in 2012 and 2013.
Brown showed promise in his second stint in New York, but his inability to stay on the field is what ultimately ended his short career in the NFL. In the three years he saw game action, Brown only played in 22 out of a possible 48 games.
Johnny Knox didn’t last long in the NFL due to a severe spinal injury, but he was a fantastic receiver and electric return man in the three seasons he played in the NFL. With Knox on the roster, the Giants would have had a legitimate deep threat in the passing game and a fantastic return man to take over for Domenik Hixon.
Round 5, Pick 151: Zach Miller, Tight End, Nebraska-Omaha
Original Pick: Rhett Bomar, Quarterback, Sam Houston State
Rhett Bomar was another late-round quarterback with fantastic physical attributes that Reese took a chance on. Predictably, Bomar never panned out. To be fair, it’s hard to make the roster out of camp when you have Eli Manning and David Carr in front of you on the depth chart, but Bomar wasn’t able to get off the practice squad and was ultimately out of the league after the 2012 season.
Instead, Zach Miller would have easily been the right pick at this point in the draft. Judging by the Beckum selection earlier in the draft, Reese was obviously looking to add a quality backup tight end to the roster.
Miller hasn’t had a flashy career and he’s posted incredibly modest numbers in his nine-year career. However, Miller has performed well whenever he was called upon and is a good value pick at this point in the draft.
Round 6, Pick 200: Jason McCourty, Cornerback, Rutgers
Original Pick: DeAndre Wright, Defensive Back, New Mexico
DeAndre Wright is the definition of a wasted pick. The defensive back out of New Mexico didn’t make the final round of cuts of the preseason of 2009 and wasn’t even signed to the practice squad. Wright would spend the next two seasons bouncing around several practice squads before spending 2012 through 2014 in the Indoor Football League.
Jason McCourty, on the other hand, has developed into a rock-steady NFL corner with quality coverage skills and great recovery speed to make plays on balls in the air. Including the prospects selected in this revision, the Giants secondary would have been incredibly crowded if the 2009 draft panned out this way. However, from strictly a value-over-need standpoint, McCourty is the right pick.
Round 7, Pick 238: Ricky Jean-Francois, Defensive Tackle, LSU
Original Pick: Stoney Woodson, Defensive Back, South Carolina
Stoney Woodson’s story is very similar to DeAndre Wright. Technically, he wasn’t an outright cut like Wright was, but Woodson also never played a snap in the NFL and bounced around several practice squads before playing arena football.
Next: Revisiting the New York Giants 2008 NFL Draft
Ricky Jean-Francois, on the other hand, has had a pretty good career as a rotational defensive lineman and would have been a great pick for the Giants at this point in the draft. The Giants had good defensive tackle depth at the time of the 2009 draft, but again, Jean-Francois gets the nod from a value-over-need standpoint.