Jacquian Williams is a RINGER

One of the surprising stars of the 3-1 Giants has been the play of rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams. One of three Giant 6th rounders this year, Williams has been a tackle machine and shown the ability to cover and blitz as well. Thus far he is looking like the Giants first impact LB pick since they took Jessie Armstead in the 8th round of the 1993 draft. In short, Jacquian Williams is a ringer.

Williams played junior college ball with Jason Pierre Paul and then joined Paul at USF for Paul's one year there. Williams stayed another year, but Giants scouts stayed on him. Marc Ross even said there were things about Williams that reminded them of JPP, though they play different positions. Indeed, the ridiculous athleticism and relentless effort they both display should be apparent to all.

This is just another example of how smart teams draft. As Giant draftniks know, the Giants' weakspot over the years, since they switched from the 3-4 to the 4-3, has been been finding quality linebackers. Previously, whether they were 4-3 or 3-4, they could always find great linebackers. But after drafting Jessie in `93, there have been no big time 4-3 LBs drafted by the Giants till, possibly, Williams.

So what were the Giants doing wrong? One of the things there were doing wrong was drafting 3-4 linebackers or DE's like Torbor, Sintim and Tracy trying to convert them. This has not been terribly effective, and Sintim looked stiff and unathletic in the Giants 4-3. But smart teams also learn from their mistakes.

Just as the Yankees over the past two or three years have discovered that they could find Yankee Bats among draft eligible preps, the Giants have now discovered they can find great fits for their 4-3 by focusing on kids who actually played it in college.

I'm not sure who the Giants South Florida scout is these days, but he is doing a great job, and the Giants should keep buying USF freaks in their drafts. It's paying off.