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Silverman: Giants Under Pressure To Get Immediate Results From Top 3 Draft Picks

By Steve Silverman
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The NFL draft was not just another in a series of moves designed to improve the New York Giants.

No, this team is too far along and there is no time for a rebuilding plan under the current regime. Head coach Tom Coughlin, 68, is simply too old for that, and Eli Manning is a lot closer to the end than he is the beginning.

The Coughlin-Manning tandem may have earned the Giants a couple of Super Bowl victories, but they are ancient history, and the good will from those triumphs has dissipated. Past Super Bowl wins looks good in the record book and on the highlight film, but they won't get the job done in September.

The Giants could have jettisoned Coughlin and gone into complete rebuild mode after the 2014 season came to an end. That inevitability, however, has been put off by at least a year, and if the team is going to have any chance of challenging Dallas and Philadelphia in the division – let alone NFC powers like Seattle and Green Bay – the Giants need to get something major out of their 2015 draft class.

Jerry Reese certainly addressed key needs when he selected offensive tackle Ereck Flowers in the first round, safety Landon Collins in the second  and defensive end Owa Odighizuwa and the third, but how will each of those players fit in, and can they make the Giants better immediately?

There is a very good chance that the Giants hit a home run with Collins, who was almost certainly the best safety in this year's draft class. Collins is going to be a dominant player against the run because he has the size at 6-foot and 228 pounds to pound opposing running backs. While some scouts said the Alabama product is not a knockout-type hitter, he can punish ball carriers when he gets a running start at the line of scrimmage.

He may have a little bit of improvement to make as a coverage man, but don't think for a second that he doesn't have the hands for the position. Collins had five interceptions the last two seasons to go along with 12 passes defensed, and he has a good sense of what he needs to do when the ball is in the air.

Collins has the intelligence to make the adjustment to the NFL without many problems. He is a good learner in the football classroom, and he will soon pick up on the tendencies of his NFC East opponents, and that will allow him to become one of the leaders in the secondary.

Playing safety is largely tied to a player's football instincts, and Collins has them. He should be an impact player for years to come.

Flowers certainly has the size and the build to be a solid tackle in the NFL, but the step up in competition is going to test him severely. At 6-6 and 329 pounds, Flowers is a huge man who can engulf defensive linemen and linebackers.

However, he is going to get tested from an athletic point of view very early in his rookie season. Quickness and countermoves gave him trouble at Miami, and he is going to see defensive ends who can throw two or three moves together on a regular basis. This could prove to be a huge issue.

On the offensive line, it's not just about a player's ability and willingness to learn. It's about creating the right chemistry for a group that has had its share of issues. The talent level looks pretty solid with Will Beatty, Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg and Flowers (along with Geoff Schwartz), but Coughlin can't have the first clue what kind of chemistry this group will have and how well they it play as a unit.

Odighizuwa figures to be a first-rate pass rusher at some point because of his athleticism, but the Giants are not going to rush the UCLA product into a starting position if he is not ready. However, there's no reason he can't become a special teams demon right from the start. He has explosive physical talent, and he may be able to overwhelm opponents' with his ability to shed blockers, get downfield quickly and keep opponents from making big returns.

A lot has to go right for this year's draft class, and the top three members of that group have the physical tools to make a contribution right away.

But it takes a lot more than ability to make the adjustment. Collins appears to be the right player to believe in, but Flowers and Odighizuwa have a long way to go.

Follow Steve on Twitter at @ProFootballBoy

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