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by Michael Stewart | NY Giants Rush Contributor

Part 3 of this series of 4 will focus on the Linebacker position. With Jon Beason missing a large portion of the season due to injuries and the fact that it might be more beneficial to release him, the Giants could be in the market for at backer.

The following Linebackers could be available for the Giants in each round:

 Round 1

  1. OLB-Shane Ray (Missouri) 6’2/245 Explosive, sack machine. Needs more work against the run
  2. OLB-Shaq Thompson (Washington) 6’2/230 A bit undersized, needs to get bigger & stronger
  3. OLB-Vic Beasley (Clemson) 6’2/235 Very quick & strong for his size. Plays hard on every down

Round 2

  1. OLB-Benardrick McKinney (Mississippi State) 6’5/235 Size & speed, endless motor
  2. OLB- Hau’oli Kikaha ( Washington) 6’3/255 Speed and agility with a mean streak
  3. OLB-Denzel Perryman (Miami) 6’0/240 Hitting machine, comparable to London Fletcher

Round 3

  1. ILB-Ramik Wilson (Georgia) 6’2/237 explosive tackler, needs to work on shedding blockers
  2. OLB-Zach Hodges (Harvard) 6’2/235 1st step acceleration, needs to bulk up
  3. OLB- Tony Washington (Oregon) 6’3/250 Nice edge rushing skills. Hard worker

Round 4

  1. OLB-Eli Harold (Virginia) 6’4/250 Fast & athletic. Could be OLB/DE combo at the pro level
  2. OLB-Lorenzo Mauldin (Louisville) 6’3/245 Pure speed rusher who needs to add size
  3. ILB-Trey DePriest (Alabama) 6’2/242 Project, would need a couple of years to develop

Round 5

  1. ILB-Taiwan Jones (Michigan State) 6’3/258 Great pursuit, plays physical and smart
  2. OLB-Za’Darius Smith (Kentucky) 6’6/254 Played both DE/OLB, many view him as a LBer
  3. ILB- Frank Shannon (Oklahoma) 6’2/234 Good quickness, has some off field issues

Round 6

  1. ILB-A.J Johnson (Tennessee) 6’2/240 Lots of ability, red flag off field issues hurt his stock
  2. OLB- Ishaq Williams (Notre Dame) 6’5/271 More of a project. Would benefit staying in school
  3. ILB- Darryl Monroe (Washington State) 6’1/235 Could develop into solid backup ILB in the NFL

Round 7

  1. ILB- Terrance Plummer (UCF) 6’1/241 Projected to go 5th round, could drop into 7th round
  2. ILB- Curtis Grant (Ohio State) 6’3/240 Size, strength & quickness to along with a mean streak

OLB- Denzell Devall (Alabama) 6’2/250 Some quickness  along with size & strength.

The Giants need linebackers.  Its time to invest in the position.