New York Giants First Round Candidate: Matt Reynolds

One of the needs going into the 2012 season for the Giants is offensive line help.

There's a good chance that left tackle David Diehl and right tackle Kareem McKenzie may not be back when the season begins in September.

Both Diehl and McKenzie were part of the offensive line that won the both 2007 Super Bowl as well as this year's Super Bowl in February.

But both are getting up in age, and Giants General Manager Jerry Reese may feel it's time to get younger on the offensive line.

In my previous draft stories, we focused on a couple of tight ends and a linebacker that could interest the Giants.

Now, we're going to focus a couple of these stories on a position the Giants do need to focus on, starting with a tackle.

When you hear about the top offensive linemen in the draft, you'll hear about Matt Kalil, Riley Rieff and Jonathan Martin, who likely will be gone by the time the Giants are picking with the 32nd overall spot.

One name you may not hear too much of is Matt Reynolds, a junior from Brigham Young University.

Reynolds is a 6'6", 305 pound tackle who could potentially play on the left or right side in the NFL. He's got the prototypical size you want in an offensive lineman.

According to several scouting reports, Reynolds is a high-character person who is very mature for such a young age, a trait that Tom Coughlin would love in a rookie player.

One scout felt that Reynolds would thrive in a pass-heavy offense, something the Giants have transitioned into during the 2011 season.

His run blocking can use improvement, especially if the Giants are going to rely on Ahmad Bradshaw carrying the workload again next season.

But if the Giants need to develop a lineman, they have one of the best offensive lineman coaches in the league with Pat Flaherty, who has spent the last eight years in that position.

The last time the Giants drafted an offensive lineman in the first round goes all the way back to the 1999 NFL Draft, when they selected Luke Petitgout from Notre Dame with the 19th overall pick. Petitgout was the starting left tackle for the Giants from 1999 until 2006.

Some people in their mock draft have different views as to where they see Reynolds landing.

While some saw him dropping all the way to the third or fourth round, others have said that he could be gone by the end of the first round.

If the Giants value offensive line help over a tight end, then you might see Reynolds getting drafted, and maybe even with the 32nd overall pick.

I think if the Giants don't go with an offensive lineman in the first round and he drops to the second round, Reynolds could get scooped up by the Giants.

The Giants have well over a month to make some decisions before April's draft.

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