I haven't been around long enough on this beat to be nostalgic for the days when the late George Young or recently retired Ernie Accorsi would hold these pre-draft media sessions, so I can't compare Jerry Reese's first one today with many others.
It sounded the same as most, though -- long on generalities, short on names and needs and such. Reese said he liked picking at 20 this year because the range of players available from about pick 10 through 25 is roughly the same, talent-wise; he said he'd consider trading up or down, though I honestly can't see the Giants trading up unless a team wants a current reserve rather than a late-round pick. The Giants need all their picks this season, it would seem.
Reese said his first draft run-up as GM featured a few new wrinkles: A new company, Human Resource Tactics, that administers the so-called psychological profile that the Giants have given for years. Theirs used to be put together and administered by Joe Goldberg and was famously long; this one is shorter, and Reese said roughly half the NFL uses this company.
Reese also decided to bring in about 25 draft-eligible players where in previous years, the number in for visits was roughly half that. I don't have the full list -- WRs Dwayne Jarrett, Ted Ginn, Jr. and Dwayne Bowe, T Tony Ugoh, LBs Lawrence Timmons, Patrick Willis and Jon Beason were in Giants Stadium the past few days -- but one player who didn't come in was Paul Poszluzny, and Reese did say this when asked if he brought guys in or didn't bring guys in just to throw other teams off: "I don't play like that. There's no smokescreen."
Reese said defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has given a list of players the DC would like for his new defense, and I'm betting at least one or two of those guys will be a Giant after the first day. I can't see how the Giants would ignore the wishes of their new DC, a guy who could possibly still have his job even if the head coach gets fired after the season.
As for the character issues so talked about around the league, Reese reminded all of us that the Giants have been a high-character-guy team for ages. That was what blew EA away about Mathias Kiwanuka last year at this time, so much so that the Giants took the "best player available" theory to a whole new level by taking a DE when they already had two Pro Bowlers.
"He was valued so high, we couldn't pass him up," Reese said today.
So when I and my colleagues write our draft advances and list all the names at all the positions the Giants have holes, remember last year. Then take all of this draft stuff for what it's worth.
Comments (1)
So far the Giants have done just what they did in free agency. Nothing! Their 1st round pick was a CB who was projected to be a 2nd rounder. Then a WR with no speed and in the third rounder a DT who was projected for the 6th round. And still no Linebacker. Maybe Reese should go the Main st and Nothern Blvd for the 4th round. I here there are some day laborers that go pretty cheap!!