General managers use every resource at their disposal when it comes to the draft. And there is a big one right outside the head coach's office.

Chris Snee, a two-time Super Bowl champion and four-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman, now has a desk job as a senior scout on the second floor of the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. He started 152 games in his Giants career, all at the position that Francis Mauigoa figures to begin his NFL journey after being drafted last week at No. 10 overall.

It's not where the All-American ended his college career, though. Mauigoa started all 42 games for the Hurricanes at right tackle, never missing one start.

But right guard, Snee's old position, was where the Giants had an opening.

"That's the advantage of having Chris Snee on our staff," general manager Joe Schoen told John Schmeelk on the "Giants Huddle" podcast. "You can talk to a guy that's done it at a really high level."

Snee (No. 31) was part of an offensive line that included four other players voted to the top 100 in franchise history – David Diehl (No. 52), Shaun O'Hara (No. 65), Kareem McKenzie (No. 82), and Rich Seubert (No. 100).

So when he talks, people listen.

"Things happen faster [at guard]," Schoen said. "Guys get on you faster. They're quicker. They're going to get in your chest, so you've be able to handle that. You've got to have some instincts and quickness and power because at tackle you have a little bit more space. You may have a couple of steps in your pass slide before an outside backer gets their hand on you. Things are going to happen quicker in there."

The Giants believe Mauigoa has the ability to play firm inside with his strength and athleticism.

The change wasn't out of the blue for Mauigoa, who was cross-training at different positions throughout his draft prep.

"When you see him physically, he's got this boxy, dense build," said Schoen, who saw him in person early in the 2025 college season. "He looks like a guard, and then you watch him slide his feet and you're like, OK, well, he can certainly play tackle as well. So, obviously, having brought Jermaine [Eluemunor] back, we thought he would slide into to right guard and it'd be an easy transition for him. At his pro day, you could see the athleticism, the quickness, the bend. There's no doubt in my mind or the staff's mind that he would be able to do it."

Schoen got another up-close look at him at the Cotton Bowl, where he lined up against Arvell Reese and Ohio State.

"Pregame when I saw Arvell Reese on the field, I was just like, oh my gosh, that can't be real," Schoen said. "Both of those guys are prototype players. They're young, they're big, physical, and have the right football makeup. To add those guys to the youth and the core that we've already built over the last couple of years, it's exciting and the future is bright."

Reese's use was also a topic of conversation in the buildup to the draft. Is he an edge or off-ball linebacker?

Immediately after taking him at No. 5, the Giants made it clear that Reese will line up at inside linebacker next to Tremaine Edmunds, a three-time Pro Bowl veteran who signed with the Giants this offseason.

"Our defense is pretty flexible, position-less you might call it," John Harbaugh said on draft night, sitting next to Schoen. "We'll have an opportunity to move those guys around. But he'll line up next to Tremaine and he'll be in the A gap, the B gap, the C gap, the D gap, off the edge. He'll be moving around with all of our guys. Abdul [Carter] and Brian [Burns] and Kayvon [Thibodeaux] and Tremaine.

"We'll be running games and picks and stunts and different things like that on passing situations, and he's good in coverage as well, he's a versatile player. He's a young player. He's gotten better every single year, playing off the ball and on the ball, so he does both. Probably why he was our highest rated non- quarterback player in the draft. He's an exciting player. We are fired up to have him."

Schoen couldn't contain his smile and nodded his head.

"It was a culmination of all those things because when our defensive staff presented how they would use him in draft meetings and you get that smile, you're like, oh my gosh," Schoen recalled. "This young, athletic, tall, long, powerful, explosive, physical, all those dominant traits that he has, and then how we're going to deploy him in our defense got us excited."

The only thing they weren't certain about was whether Reese would still be on the board.

"All along, you never really thought there was a scenario where he would be there at five," Schoen said. "And again, we were, we were looking at him as an off-the-ball linebacker the entire time, but did have the versatility to move him around and do some of the other things. Just the fact that he was there at five, I mean, that really got us off to a good start on Thursday night to start the draft and just so excited to have him and Tremaine next to each other in the middle."

Talk about being the Giants.

"I know coach made a comment about that," Schoen said, "but like, we're the Giants again, especially in the middle there with those two guys playing inside linebacker for us."