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MVN writers mock draft: 32. New York Giants - S Tyrell Johnson, Arkansas State

NFL

By Rich O’Callaghan

With the 31st pick of the 2008 MVN writers’ mock draft, the New York Giants select safety Tyrell Johnson from Arkansas State.

Safety is the Giants’ biggest need since Gibril Wilson left for a huge free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders. Ideally the Giants would trade back into the early portion of the second round and draft Johnson, who I think will be the best safety in this draft class. Teams like Atlanta, Carolina, Miami, and Minnesota may be looking to trade back into the first round and grab one of the second tier QBs (Brian Brohm, Chad Henne, Joe Flacco) so this is a distinct possibility.

Tyrell Johnson is the reigning Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and reminds me of Philadelphia’s Brian Dawkins. He has good size (6′, 207 lbs) and ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the combine. Johnson also did 27 reps of 225 pounds and had a 10′7″ broad jump, the best tests of any safety in both categories. On the field he recorded 94 tackles, 6 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles last season. He is fast to react in coverage and is a big hitter in run support, who will fit right into the Giants defense as they attempt to defend the Lombardi Trophy in 2008.

Rich O’Callaghan is a columnist for MVN’s New York Giants site, Giants 101.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 5:49 am and is filed under Tyrell Johnson, Mock Drafts 2008, 2008 NFL Draft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.