The Great Debate: Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt (or Edwards or Boldin or...)

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

A week after the draft (now seriously jonesing for some football), I have decided to share my thoughts about the Giants' alleged wide receiver woes.

I knew going into the draft the Giants were seriously looking at several prospects at WR for their first pick, most notably Jeremy Maclin, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Hakeem Nicks, and Kenny Britt (in order of pre-draft grade).

There was also the possibility that the G-men would package some of their many picks for a veteran wideout like Braylon Edwards or Anquan Boldin.

Being a native of NJ and a law student at Rutgers, I was completely elated when the Giants were up to pick and Kenny Britt was still on the board. Here was a tall, lanky receiver that was extremely productive in college on a team without a lot of weapons and who fit the mold of the kind of receiver the Giants lost in Plaxico Burress.

So I was a tad disappointed when neither a proven veteran nor my homeboy became part of Big Blue.

Instead, the Giants selected Hakeem Nicks, a 6'0" receiver who didn’t place anywhere near the top of the combine drills (especially the 40, where he was even slower than the taller Britt), scored an 11 on his Wonderlic (the lowest out of the WR class), and who showed up overweight to his personal workout (supposedly a hamstring injury led to his weight gain).

So the debate and comparison commenced: Who was a better pick, Nicks or Britt—or should the Giants have passed on both and gone for a veteran WR? Granted, Nicks had a slightly better grade going into the draft, but how much better can he be than Britt being that Britt got selected with the very next pick by the Titans?

If you listened to the Giants' brass post-draft, their comments would lead you to believe that they felt Britt was a reach as a first rounder, too much of a project. However, how much more of a project could Britt be than any other rookie WR given rookie receivers' lack of success?

The Giants under Jerry Reese have an excellent track record of evaluating prospects, highlighted by the 2007 Draft, where almost every pick contributed to the Giants' Super Bowl run.

However, the Titans are no draft dummies either (e.g. Chris Johnson last year, who went under everyone's radar to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie RB).

On the surface, both receivers seem equivalent, with Britt possibly being a better fit due to his size. Both played in pro-style offenses and had equally productive three-year careers on equally mediocre teams playing in BCS conferences:

Britt: 178 receptions, 3,043 yards, 17 TDs

Nicks: 181 receptions, 2,840 yards, 21 TDs

Both had equal amounts of help to produce those outstanding numbers. Britt was aided by an NFL-caliber QB in Mike Teel, who was a late round selection by the Seahawks (though I was really surprised Teel got drafted, having watched his erratic play in college and the fact Graham Harrell and other notable QBs didn't get drafted).

Also, Britt was paired with another NFL-caliber WR in Tiquan Underwood. Lastly, in 2007 Britt had the benefit of one of the nation's top running attacks in Ray Rice.

However, Nicks had a good supporting cast as well. He was part of a WR corps that had three WRs (and one TE) taken in the 2009 Draft: Brandon Tate, Brooks Foster, and Nicks. Nicks may not have been the best receiver on his team last year.

At the beginning of last year, Nicks was being overshadowed by Brandon Tate, who was putting up sick numbers before blowing out his knee. Tate ended up being selected by the Patriots in the third round despite having tested positive for marijuana at the combine.

Whenever Belichick actually uses one of his picks (and doesn't trade it away), it is very telling as to the caliber of player selected.

One can see the production vs. support argument in one of two ways. Either Nicks compiled his stats BECAUSE defenses had to focus on all the other weapons, or Nicks was productive IN SPITE of the support since he had to share the plays with the other two receivers.

Also, one can argue the Nicks played in a slightly better conference than Britt because the Big East only has West Virginia and Louisville as perennial powerhouses (look at the number of ACC players vs. Big East players drafted in 2009).

The bottom line is that Nicks put up huge numbers last year after Tate went down, becoming the sole focal point of opposing defenses in a conference that had some pretty good defenses (e.g. Wake Forest, BC, VA Tech, etc.).

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