New York Giants Official Website

Draft Advance
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

Take this story to go! -     RSS |  Podcast |  Mobile

APRIL 24, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - The possibilities for the Giants are virtually limitless as they head into this weekend's NFL Draft.

The defending NFC East champion Giants, 12-4 last season, own 10 selections in the seven-round draft, including five of the top 100, starting with No. 29 in the first round. They can trade nine of those choices (their compensatory third-round pick, No. 100 overall, cannot be dealt). That gives them ammunition to move up if they target a first-round prospect that likely won't be available with the 29th selection. They can move down and acquire even more picks, either in this or next year's draft. Or they could stay where they are and add 10 players to an already-talented roster.

"You never know what could happen," general manager Jerry Reese said when he met the media last week. "We could package some picks and do something with them. Things have to unfold.  If you can try to make something happen, you try that sometimes. But usually things unfold right before you as it gets close to the draft. But right now we have 10 picks and if we have to use them all, we will do our best to pick good players with them.

"We like our draft picks.  We like developing players.  And we want - I think somebody asked if we might try to force anything - we won't force anything."

Reese said he feels no pressure to initiate a trade and will stand pat if that is the course of action that is best for the franchise.

"We have five picks in the first 100, so we are going to get five good players right there," Reese said. "We feel like we can get five really good football players. I don't feel the pressure. We can stay where we are and just pick players.  I don't feel any pressure to have to move up or package the picks or do anything like that.

"There are always a lot (of phone calls). Everybody is jockeying, saying 'Would you guys - do you want to move up, do you want to move down, are you interested in taking our spots?' So we get phone calls like that every day, all of the way to the draft. We have a list of who wants to do what.  And if something fits us, we will say, 'Lets call so and so and see if they want to move down or want to move up' or, 'They said they want to move out of this spot.' So there is a lot of that going on right now."

As always, the greatest intrigue and attention will be in the first round, where it seems those at the top cannot move down and those at the bottom might look to get up to the middle of the round. Reese is not philosophically opposed to trading his first-round choice.

"My philosophy is to do what is best," said Reese, who will conduct his third draft as the team's general manager. "If it best for us to trade our number one pick, we can do that.  We will see. I'm not against that. But you always want to have your number one pick going into the draft.

"We have been looking around (at trade possibilities) ever since the season was over. So we are always looking around. We are not just sitting up there on our hands.  We are looking around. We are looking around to upgrade our team at every position, to try to make our team better. But again, we are not going to force anything." 

Reese does seem opposed to relinquishing some of the veteran depth the Giants have obtained on the defensive line. Early in the free agency signing period, the Giants added linemen Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard. The unit has also received a boost by the return of two-time Pro Bowl end Osi Umenyiora, who missed last season with a knee injury.

"Anything can happen in personnel, but I don't think you work so hard - you work to try to shore up your defensive front and make it deep," Reese "Then you give them away as soon as you get them. I don't think we are interested in doing that. But anything can happen in personnel."

The Giants own their original selections in every round and they have extra choices in the second and fifth rounds, which they obtained last year in a trade for tight end Jeremy Shockey, plus the compensatory pick. Here are the Giants' selections in the 2009 draft:

            2009 GIANTS DRAFT POSITIONS
Round     Pick in Each Round         Pick Overall
   1                       29                                     29
   2#                     13                                     45
   2                       28                                     60
   3                       27                                     91
   3*                     36                                     100
   4                       29                                     129
   5#                     15                                     151
   5                       28                                     164
   6                       27                                     200
   7                       29                                     238

*Compensatory Selection
#Trade with New Orleans for TE Jeremy Shockey

Reese has been typically guarded regarding the team's needs in the draft. But with the departures of the 2008 starting wide receivers, Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress, everyone on the planet who does a mock draft believes the Giants will target that position on Saturday (when only the first two rounds will be completed).

"The whole draft has strength," Reese said. "All drafts are good. You just have to look through there and see who fits your team the best. And that is why we (spend so much time studying players and meeting) and are currently in meetings. We are trying to find out who fits our team the best. And hopefully we will have some of those guys in our window when it is time for us to pick. But all drafts are good for us."