The pre-draft press conference is a tradition unlike any other for NFL general managers.

Joe Schoen stepped up to the tee box on Tuesday afternoon and answered questions from the assembled media inside the fieldhouse at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. In just nine days, the Las Vegas Raiders will be on the clock at No. 1. The Giants, meanwhile, enter the clubhouse with seven overall selections, beginning with the No. 5 choice.

"We're going to look for the best player regardless of position, and I'm excited about where the roster is right now based on what we did in free agency," Schoen said. "The prospects of what we can get here a week from now. Coach [John] Harbaugh, the new staff, some of the new leadership in the building, I like the trajectory we're on."

Below is what we learned from Schoen:

"Good" and "productive" conversations with Dexter Lawrence

Schoen began the press conference by addressing the 340-pound defensive lineman not in the room. The Giants have had good and productive conversations with representatives of the three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman in the hopes of finding some resolution.

"Coach, [senior vice president of football operations and strategy] Dawn [Aponte], myself, we've all been in communication, trying to find some resolution," Schoen said. "I'll echo what Coach said last week. We'd like for Dexter to be here, and at some point we'll come to a resolution here, whatever that may be. We'll see. But conversations have been really good. They've been productive. Again, we'll see what happens here down the road. I'm not going to say any more about it after that, but that's the update. That's really all there is."

The Giants are "not going to put any deadlines on things" as Lawrence is still under contract for two more years. But is Schoen listening to offers?

"I'm always going to pick up the phone, so if a team calls -- maybe not to the effect that Coach said last week, that everybody is tradeable, but that is my job as the general manager, if teams call, you take into account," Schoen said. "It's a case-by-case basis and what the compensation may be. That's my job, to take into consideration what that looks like, what the compensation looks like, who the player is, how that affects the roster, and then try to make the best decision off of that."

Schoen added that the situation "really hasn't" impacted their approach to the draft.

"We're going to continue to go through our process," Schoen said. "The scouts left yesterday, so they've been here for roughly 14 days, so now we're putting the final touches on the board. But it really hasn't affected how we're approaching the draft."

Strength of middle rounds is OLB, WR, CB

The Giants have six picks beyond the first round: No. 37 (Round 2), No. 105 (Round 4), No. 145 (Round 5), No. 186 (Round 6), No. 192 (Round 6), and No. 193 (Round 6). Schoen believes the strengths of the middle rounds will be at outside linebacker, wide receiver, and cornerback.

"Those guys typically get pushed up," Schoen said. "I think you'll see some guys go from those positions there."

Since the Giants will be picking near the top of each round, there is better chance of trading back on Days 2 and 3.

"Typically top of the second, top of the fourth where we are on Saturday, you'll get people, they sit around all night and they look at the board and there's somebody they have to have," Schoen said. "And you can typically move back from the early parts of those rounds in day two and [round] four and you've got a pretty good chance of doing that."

Giants would like more picks but won't walk away from good players

The Giants, who have no picks in the third or seventh rounds, would like to add more. But it wouldn't come at the expense of passing on a good player.

"I would always like more picks, but it would be situational," Schoen said. "We're not going to walk away from an impact player or a good player that we're convicted on that we like to pick up an extra pick or a couple extra picks. Case-by-case basis; if you move back three or four spots and there's five guys you like and you can get an extra pick, absolutely.

"If it's a guy you're convicted on and maybe there's a big drop-off from -- let's say it's a corner and there's a big drop-off, maybe two rounds to the next corner, you maybe don't roll the dice in those situations and you just take the player so you don't miss out. Certainly we'd like more picks, but don't want to walk away from good players, either."

Schoen hasn't been shy about executing trades on draft night.

"[I] have a really good team in there between Brandon Brown, Tim McDonnell, Dennis Hickey," Schoen said. "They have the trade calculators -- Dawn will be in there this year with the trade calculator assisting with that. Those guys are always -- and Dawn will be thinking of trades. If teams call, I'll say it out loud, they'll go through the different charts, does it make sense, should we ask for more. We'll have conversations while we're on the clock going through some of those different scenarios, and then we'll be able to make a decision. It's easier in the first round a lot of times because the rounds are -- you get a longer time to make the pick, and then you're having these strategy meetings leading up to that. Second and third rounds it happens a little bit more rapid."

Schoen is happy with running back room with Jeremiyah Love (and positional value debate) looming

Schoen agreed with the assessment that the top of the draft is filled with players at the "higher paying positions" once they would hit free agency down the road. One of those players is Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, a Heisman Trophy finalist and unanimous All-American.

"We like our running back room now," Schoen said. "[Cam Skattebo] had a really good rookie year; Tyrone Tracy has been a 1,000-yard all-purpose guy the last two years; Devin [Singletary] is back; Turbo [Dante Miller], Eric Gray coming off the injuries. We'll see what happens on draft night. But [I] like the room the way it's constructed right now."

That's not to say they aren't looking at the player who broke the Notre Dame record for total touchdowns in a season with 21.

"He's an offensive weapon," Schoen said. "He's not just a running back. He can play on 3rd down. You can split him out. He can catch the ball. Certainly an offensive weapon."

Love is part of a general debate about positional value with this year's class, but Schoen once again made it a point to mention that they might not be thinking the same thing as others "outside the building."

"Ideally, they line up, and the best available player is also a position of need," Schoen said. "But I would say last year if you look at what we did with Abdul [Carter], we had Kayvon [Thibodeaux] and we had [Brian] Burns here and we still took Abdul. We were really strong at outside backer when we added Abdul to the roster. Similar, we're going through, we're going to stack the board, and the best player available is the direction we'll go."

Schoen has watched a lot of Ohio State's defense

Four of Daniel Jeremiah's top nine draft prospects are Buckeyes, three of which play defense. Sonny Styles, an inside linebacker, and Caleb Downs, a safety, are among them. While they might not line up at high-value positions, don't tell that to Harbaugh. The new head coach is hellbent on improving the defense, specifically against the run.

"That wouldn't be out of the question," Schoen said. "Those are really good football players. Those are the conversations we're having right now. Hey, we like all these guys, but you've got to pick one and a couple of them are going to be there. We're working on stacking that right now. But you speak of Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs, talk about talented defense; we've watched a lot of Ohio State defensive film the last couple of months."

"A lot of good football players from top to bottom on that defense. Those are two of the key players on that defense that we looked at. Certainly guys that we've talked a lot about and think very highly of."