When the Giants released Plaxico Burress during the off-season, it was evident that they’d at some point need to come across a receiver for Eli Manning to get the ball to. Rookie receiver Hakeem Nicks seems to be the guy who will be replacing Burress as Manning’s favorite target. However, the Giants did try and acquire Braylon Edwards from the Browns or Anquan Boldin from the Cardinals, but the price wasn’t right and they passed on those opportunities to bolster their passing game. Can Nicks come into the NFL and be a productive receiver right away as a rookie or will he experience growing pains and have to work his way into being productive?

The one thing that made the Giants a tough opponent for whoever they faced on Sundays was the running game. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward did a lot of damage on the ground, making it easier for Manning to find his receivers down the field because defenses had to respect the fact that either of the two monsters could bust through the hole and taking it the distance on any given carry. That’s the same kind of production the Giants will need from their two-headed monster going into this season, especially with a receiving corp that is not too polished and doesn’t have a lot of big impact players in the vertical passing game.

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