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Saturday, April 28, 2012

New York Giants take LSU Tigers' Rueben Randle at end of second round - NOLA.com

BATON ROUGE -- LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle went from last to first in a hurry Friday night. The last of 26 players left in the NFL draft Green Room was the last player picked in the second round. But he landed on the first-place team when the world champion New York Giants made him their second-round choice at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

rueben_randle.jpgRueben Randle, the 63rd player selected in the NFL draft and the last one picked in the second round, had 97 receptions for 1,634 yards and 13 touchdowns in his three seasons at LSU.

Seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end and former Giant Michael Strahan made the announcement, which drew cheers from Giants fans in attendance. He was the fifth receiver selected in the round and the ninth overall.

Randle couldn't be reached for comment but posted to his Twitter account, "NY looks like I'm here to stay."

Safety Brandon Taylor was the other LSU player picked Friday night. He went to the San Diego Chargers in the third round, 10 spots after Randle and the 73rd player taken overall. That gave LSU four of the top 73 players picked. Morris Claiborne went to Dallas and defensive tackle Michael Brockers to St. Louis in the first round Thursday night.

Randle steps in to a fairly good situation. The Giants lost Mario Manningham to San Francisco in free agency, setting up a battle for the No. 3 receiver job behind Hakeen Nicks and Victor Cruz. Randle will be competing with the likes of Ramses Barden, Jerrel Jernigan and Domenik Hixon.

brandon_taylor.jpgSafety Brandon Taylor (18) was the fourth LSU player selected in the NFL draft when the San Diego Chargers took him in the third round Friday night with the 73rd overall pick.

Marc Ross, the Giants' director of college scouting, told the New York Post the organization had a first-round grade on Randle and considered taking him with the 32nd pick. They chose Virginia Tech running back David Wilson instead.

"I really didn't think there was a chance we were going to get him," Ross told ESPN.com. "Actually, we talked a little about him yesterday with our pick. Rueben is an NFL-ready receiver. What I mean by that is this guy is strong, he can catch the ball, he is a good route runner and has got position savvy. He knows how to get open. To me those are the successful receivers in the NFL.

"Our guys that we have now, Hakeem and Victor, you put them on at the combine, you won't notice them but if you put them on the football field, they just take their game to another level, and this is how Rueben is in our eyes."

Randle had a breakout season as a junior last year with 53 catches for 917 yards and eight touchdowns for a team that primarily ran the ball and often sat on big leads in the fourth quarter. Despite erratic quarterback play in all three of his seasons, Randle had 97 receptions for 1,634 yards and 13 touchdowns.

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