We're getting there, folks.
It's draft week, and while all 32 front offices make last-minute preparations for Thursday night (and the ensuing weekend), some are better at it than others.
And Bill Polian knows who they are.
With more than two decades of experience, the former Colts, Bills and Panthers general manager and current NFL analyst broke down the best teams in the draft over the past three seasons. He ranked the teams into three categories – The Best, The Best of the Rest, and The Rest of the Rest – while giving each team's "best value pick" and "cornerstone pick."
The defending champion New York Giants ranked in his top tier of "The Best" along with the Ravens, Lions, Packers, and 49ers.
"Eli Manning and a revamped receiving corps coupled with a great pass-rushing defense featuring blue-chippers up front and in the secondary garnered the Lombardi trophy," Polian wrote. "Terrific job by Jerry Reese and company to build a second Super Bowl team in four years.
"Keep an eye on 2011 first-round CB Prince Amukamara. He's unproven after missing most of his rookie year to injury, but he has upside and could enter blue territory."
According to Polian, wide receiver Hakeem Nicks (2009: Rd. 1, 29) was the best value pick while defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (2010: Rd. 1, 15) was dubbed the cornerstone pick.
**QUICK HITS
**>> New York Giants Defensive Lineman, Chris Canty will join Second Chance Toys, a non-profit that rescues and recycles gently used plastic toys, for a special Earth Week toy delivery to PS/MS 108 in East Harlem on Monday, April 23rd.
*"Toys provide important learning experiences for kids – and they make them happy," said Canty. "No child should be deprived of that. I applaud Second Chance Toys for giving these kids their own second chance with these toys – and for caring about the environment they will grow up in."
*>> Giants' Kevin Boothe recalls his Super Bowl XLVI matchup with Patriots' Vince Wilfork. [The Star-Ledger]
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