General Manager Joe Schoen & Head Coach John Harbaugh following 2nd Round selection of CB Colton Hood

Q. What do you think about the three guys that you got today?

JOE SCHOEN: We're fired up. It was a long wait. That was the toughest part, waiting so long to pick again. Bobby (Jamison Travis) and JC (Davis) are two guys that we had in on visits, and we were able to spend a considerable amount of time with those guys.

We talked about the D-tackle position a little bit last night, and we're happy to get him in here. Big body, long, strong, powerful. You know, JC, a guy that played left tackle there at Illinois. Some position flex for him, tackle, guard. We see some versatility with him.

Then Jack Kelly, another guy we spent time with down at the All-Star game. Ran really well. Super productive player. He was playing off the ball for BYU. At Weber State he played off the edge. He's got 30-plus career sacks. So a lot of versatility in him and also the ability to play special teams.

Clear vision for all three of them to compete for roster spots and excited to get all three of these guys.

Q. What do you make of your class as a whole?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I think we have a bunch of Giants, figuratively and literally. We have guys that we really like that are going to make a difference.

To Joe's point, clear vision is probably a good way to say it because we have a clear understanding of how each of these guys fits in. Even look at Jack at the end and compare him to Arvell (Reese) in a sense, you know, the two book ends on the class, two linebackers. Jack will be more in the Mike mold, but he's also a guy that can rush the passer off the edge, if you saw him at Weber State before he transferred.

So we can move guys around and put him in different spots. He'll play special teams. So we have a clear vision for him as well. Also create competition in the linebacker room, which is strong.

Offensive line, defensive line. Defensive tackle, we'll be talking about that. It's still something we have to continue to address. We're not finished with that at all, but to be able to add in the draft a guy we really liked. We're a little surprised he was probably still there. He is a guy we had hoped would still be there.

We had a couple of guys, and he was still standing, but we love the way he plays. He plays the way we like to play. He plays square. He locks out. He sheds blocks. He's a very fundamentally sound guy. So he'll be a part of it. Then we get a couple of vets going forward.

Q. You mentioned a bunch of Giants figuratively and literally. Even just including free agency, there's a clear difference in the roster, the look of the roster, right? You added size. You said you wanted to be bigger or more physical. How much of that is something was your priority and you noticed when you came here?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Definitely a priority. It's important. You can be a Giant in different kind of ways. You can be real fast, and that makes you a fast Giant, I guess. We want really good players. We want guys that fit how we want to play, and some of these guys, they really fit how we want to play.

The fact that they're bigger players, longer, heavy-handed type guys is important, because especially in this division, you've got to play that way. Your interior offensive line has to be physical. Look at the defensive tackles in this league. Right down the road especially.

(Defensive) line, the same way. We want to be able to handle the offensive lines that we have to play against up front. Of course, we talked about stopping the run right out of the gates, right? They have to be big and strong to do that. You have to be athletic. You've got to be able to move. All those things are part of it too. It's a big part of it.

Q. Davis will start out where?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Swing guard and tackle. Swing guard and tackle. He can play both. We just had this conversation. That went a long way in determining where he would play.

Very talented, athletic, long-armed guy, can bend, can move his feet. He's big. He's got some growing to do as a player, some maturing to do as a player, but we had him in for a visit and talked to him about that at length.

Very determined guy. He's determined to kind of develop into his talent level. He's a very talented offensive lineman.

Q. You guys both alluded to not being done at defensive tackle. Where do you stand with D.J. Reader? He came in two weeks ago. How did that visit go, and where do you go from there?

JOE SCHOEN: We've been in contact with several agents of veteran defensive tackles. We'll continue to keep those communications open and see what happens next week and maybe have a couple more visits with some vet guys. Certainly on our radar.

Q. How satisfied are you with how you helped your quarterback Jaxson Dart with his draft?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I feel really good about it. I feel very strongly that we did. It was definitely a priority to do it, right? Protect him, first of all. It's hard to complete passes if you don't have time to throw. Then give him another weapon and try to give him as many weapons as we can.

To get Malachi (Fields) was a big plus. You saw him here for the pictures and things like that. You saw he's a good-looking athlete, right, and good person. Another very determined guy. I would say that was a major priority.

Q. Where are you with Odell Beckham? Where is that now?

JOHN HARBAUGH: We worked him out. He looked good. We've just got to continue conversations with him. I really like him.

Odell and I are going to talk Tuesday night and kind of see where he is at, see where we're at, see what he's thinking, see what we're thinking now with the roster and the way it looks and see if it makes sense.

I think if we do anything, just being honest about it. You know, it has to make sense for the Giants. It has to make sense for him. He's in a different place in his career, for sure.

The thing I love about Odell is right now he's in such a good place in terms of, you know, his humility. He wants to be part of a team. He wants to contribute. He wants to help the young guys. That's what he's talking about doing.

He still thinks he has some juice, and he looked good in the workout. You still got to be able to play. It's not going to be the old Odell. It's going to be a different version, the 2.0 Odell I guess you would say.

We're not decided on that yet. He's not quite decided on that yet. I think we just have to see where we're at next week.

Q. Four months ago you didn't really Joe or the staff or anybody. As you look back through free agency, draft, trades and everything, how do you feel like this operation has gone?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Thanks for asking that. I feel great about how it's gone. Starting from the ground up looking at the staff and the scouts and everything, it's a great group. It's a great group that Joe put together.

On the scouting side I feel like they're just thorough. They're excellent at what they do. I saw them work. I saw their reports. I saw them through the process the last three days, the communication. One of the best things that this scouting department does is communicate with the coaches. The coaches and the scouts are seamless.

We ended up on the same page. We didn't always agree, but we understood where we were coming from, and then we had -- probably the most important thing is to have a clear understanding of when you -- my dad always used to say in recruiting, it's not who don't get, it's who you get that matters.

Do you have a clear vision for what they're going to do? Do you like them as a player? Can you find a place for them and get them ready to play?

I think we did that. Communication is a big part of that. Happy with that.

Joe and I have been working together every single day, I mean, hours on end, whether it's planning or organizing or just talking about players or watching tape again over and over again on these guys. I feel like it's gone very well.

I think if you look at the draft and you want to talk about results, we'll talk about results down the road. We have to find out. We'll see. It's like all these draft classes. You don't know until we get out there and start playing.

On the surface right now I feel great about it. I don't feel we could have done any better. I think we made the most of the draft, made the most of the resources we had. I'm really happy with the way it went. I hope Joe feels the same.

Q. Does bringing an overall philosophy to team-building to a draft help clarify what direction you want to go in when certain picks come up? Like say you want to be bigger, we want to be this kind of team, when you are looking at the grades, does that help clarify kind of where you go and what tie-breakers happen when picks come in?

JOHN HARBAUGH: That's a fair point. I think it happens through the process. To your point, no one said, hey, this is the philosophy, so to speak. That happens in the conversations.

You start talking about players, you start talking about your roster, you know, back and forth conversation, you try to paint a picture. It's back and forth, okay? What do you see? What are we looking for? What do you see in this player? How does he fit? How doesn't he fit? Every player brings something different to the table, and you want to have the type of guys that fit how you want to play, but you want to play the way your guys play too.

I think it's part of the process. I don't think you're dictating anything really. You're dialoguing about it, and you come to an understanding through that communication. Right? Make sense?

Q. How do you guys approach now the draft after the draft, the idea of the undrafted guys? Where are you at roster-wise? How do you handle what comes next as far as that goes?

JOE SCHOEN: Yeah, we've been working on it for weeks. Again, talking about the communication with the coaching staff and our scouts, we've been well ahead of this. A lot of it is relationship-based for some of these kids. We're sending coaches out, working kids out privately, going to pro days, meeting with them at All-Star games.

It's all part of the process from first round to seventh round and then priority free agents. The recruiting process has been ongoing. They are up there meeting now, and then as soon as the draft is over, we'll attack it. We have a really good plan in place. We have targeted players.

Again, the coaches, the analysts, our scouts, coach and I, Dawn (Aponte), the entire scouting staff has been working on a plan for free agency over the last couple of weeks. You know, we're ready to go.

Q. Do you have a fixed number as far as how many guys you can bring in, or is it flexible?

JOE SCHOEN: Yeah. I'd say, yeah.

JOHN HARBAUGH: That's a great question. We've had that conversation.

JOE SCHOEN: That's a lot today.

JOHN HARBAUGH: It's a fixed, flexible number.

JOE SCHOEN: Fixed, flexible number is a good way to put it.

JOHN HARBAUGH: We have a number, but it depends on who you can get. If you are talking about philosophy, just kind of say this. we're always trying to make the roster better. There's guys, but then there's always the ability to churn your roster, and you are always going to be looking to improve it.

It just depends. You are going to have the best 90 that you can possibly get, and then you'll have the best 53 that you can possibly get. Then you'll have the best 16 on the practice squad that you can possibly get, and you always got to be working it.

Q. What was your opinion on Malik Nabers' opinions on your first round?

JOHN HARBAUGH: That's a good question. We had a great conversation. Malik came in the next morning and sat up there, and we were talking about it. You know, he made himself clear. He even said, if you go back and you watch it, I appreciate kind of where he's coming from.

You're in a podcast and talking ball, and he's, just, like how are you going to use the guy, how is he going to play? Don't get me wrong. He said, don't get me wrong. I think maybe we got him wrong out there a little bit, because that's what we do in our world.

We look at one thing and say, well, he must be mad about it. It's like he said, I was curious about how you were going to use him. I showed him how we're going to use him. He is fired up about it.

I appreciate it. You know, one thing that you'll kind of probably see as we go here, we don't get too worried about stuff. You know, as long as a person's heart is in the right place, as long as the person really cares, a player, a coach, or anybody, you really want what's best for everybody, you're coming from -- he has a good heart and a good place, you know, say what you think. Put it out there. We talk all the time about confronting everything that has to do with our football.

So Malik wants to know how we're going to use our first round pick, I want to show him. I want to explain it to him. The fact that he says it publicly, who cares? I know fans are probably thinking the same thing. It was the same question that everybody is going to have, and we knew that, because we knew how kind of Arvell was perceived.

So I know we've got a great vision for him, and I think we saw him -- he's a player that fits our structure, our defense very uniquely, and maybe that's hard for people to see, but you'll see it soon enough.

Malik was fired up and happy. He was the first guy that met him coming in the building when they got in here. He couldn't wait to get out there to make sure they knew, that Arvell knew, that his family knew where he was at with it.

Q. When you say you showed him, did you put up tape and show him?

JOHN HARBAUGH: No, I explained it to him. It would have been a good idea to put up some tape. That would have been fun, but he could understand it. He knows ball.

Q. Was it important for you that the guys came through yesterday and the idea of, you know, and Sisi said he met Jaxson, and you saw the video. He was with Jaxson. Abdul was here and saw Reece. How important was that? Was that organic, or did you guys kind of put it out there and say, it would be good for you guys to come through when these guys are coming through?

JOE SCHOEN: We have a great young nucleus of guys that love ball. They showed up on their own. A lot of those guys showed up on their own and were excited to meet the new prospects and welcome them to the organization. It was really cool to see those guys come through and meet their new teammates and welcome them with open arms.

Cornerback Colton Hood

Q. Got some inside info to ask this question here. What was the hardest thing you did training growing up as a kid?

COLTON HOOD: Probably running hills. That was pretty hard. My dad, since I was like 9 years old, used to make us get up at 6:00 in the morning and go run hills. Also, he made us run like 20-something 200s on the track. That was pretty hard. With steel-toed boots, so that was pretty hard.

Q. When Coach Harbaugh was describing you, he used the term pitbull. How much is that where you got it from?

COLTON HOOD: Shoot, I definitely got it from that for sure. I would say pitbull, like pitbull is a great word. Pitbull, I would say I'm more like a Cane Corso, you know what I'm saying? Bigger dog, but you know what I'm saying? I'm ecstatic with that comparison for sure.

Q. Do you have a Cane Corso in the house?

COLTON HOOD: No, I don't have any. I'm planning to get one. My parents don't really like pets, so I never had one growing up. If I'm living by myself, I might get me a Cane Corso for sure.

Q. What have the last 12 or so hours been like for you?

COLTON HOOD: It kind of feels unreal still to this day. Like I'm in the New York Giants facility, like it's kind of crazy. I'm just happy to be here. I'm ready to go to work honestly. If we could practice tomorrow, I'd throw my cleats on right now.

Q. What are your strengths as a player?

COLTON HOOD: My strengths, I would say, just my competitive nature and also just my press man ability. I don't think there's too many people in the Draft -- not too many people. There's no one in the Draft that's as good as me when it comes to press.

I just want to continue to build on that and continue to build on my game so when the season comes, I can be dominant.

Q. How much have they told you about that press man that appealed to them, and what they're going to do with this defense?

COLTON HOOD: They told me that was one of the biggest things they liked about me. Just told me about just my technique and how they like my technique and not to change it, you know what I'm saying? Come in and continue to work on it and continue to master it.

Q. Who are some players you looked up to?

COLTON HOOD: My uncle played ten years in the league, and he trained Patrick Peterson when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. So, yeah, Pat P is a big one, someone I looked up to since I was 13, 14 years old. Someone I always watched.

I would also say Pat Surtain, Darrelle Revis, Jaycee Horn -- all those guys are great man-to-man lockdown corners and they also go get the ball. Those are some of the main guys.

Q. You mentioned your Uncle Rod worked with Coach Harbaugh and you told us he prepared you on what to expect. What have you learned from your Uncle Rod from your development learning how to be a pro, how to be a football player?

COLTON HOOD: I learned everything from him, like him and my dad, just about football. My uncle to the more technical side of playing the position, playing corner, he taught me almost everything I know about it.

Definitely somebody I look up to, somebody who I still go to to this day if I need any advice about the position.

Q. When did you come up with the celebration?

COLTON HOOD: I came up with it actually in the spur of the moment. So right before my first PBU of the season -- actually, the night before me and my roommate, Ty Redmond, we were talking about celebrations we were going to do. I was trying to think of a celly. I want to do something that nobody else has done, nobody else is doing. In the spur of the moment, I thought of that because my last name's Hood, and it kind of stuck.

Q. Harbaugh said he thinks you will light a fire in the corner room. How do you balance being a rookie and assimilating with trying to take a job and be a leader right away?

COLTON HOOD: Honestly, I'm just going to be my myself. I'm not going to go in there and try to step on anybody's toes, but I am coming in there to compete. That's just who I am. That's the type of person I am.

I'm going to be myself. I'm going to be fun, lighthearted, you know what I'm saying? Not somebody who's always, I guess, super serious. I'm about my business, and I'm going to come in there and compete.

Q. We saw a couple times they put the video out of your phone call, you got pretty emotional. It sounded like you were still emotional when you talked to us last night. How do you manifest the emotions or just describe what it's all about? Is it all the same, or are there different points where you feel it coming and you say, you know what, let it go?

COLTON HOOD: Like I didn't have a choice of whether I could hold it in or not. I've been holding it in this whole process. I've been dreaming about this since I was 6 years old, looking at my ceiling dreaming about playing in the NFL. To get to play for such a storied franchise as the Giants in this great city of New York is just something that even I couldn't have dreamed of.

Just being able to be here in this moment is amazing and definitely something that I'm grateful for and I'm going to be appreciative of.

Q. Are there any wide receivers that you have watched -- I'm sure you watch a lot of football -- and you're thinking, oh, I get to cover them?

COLTON HOOD: Yeah, like I'm a big football fan. I'm a big fan of Ja'Marr Chase, big fan of Justin Jefferson, big fan of all the top guys, JSA (Jaxson Smith-Njigba) and Puka Nacua, all the top guys I'm a big fan of. Being able to go out there and compete with those guys is definitely a blessing and something I look forward to.

Q. You mentioned the storied history with the Giants. Is there anyone in particular you're a fan of or that you remember?

COLTON HOOD: You want me to name them all? Michael Strahan, Eli Manning, Odell Beckham, Lawrence Taylor -- I mean, like there's so many players that have come here, did the right thing, and the city loves them for it.

I'm a football guy. I'm big on football. That's all I know. That's all I do. Yeah, I love this franchise, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Wide receiver Malachi Fields

Q. We didn't get a chance to talk with you. What was the moment like when you found out you were going to the Giants?

MALACHI FIELDS: It was super special, just taking it all in with my family and some friends back home. Just super special and a super blessed moment.

Q. How much did you maybe know that the Giants were a team that was interested in you?

MALACHI FIELDS: I just knew it was a 1 out of 32 chance. I wasn't too sure what team it was going to be, but just excited that my phone rang that night.

Q. What was your previous contact with them?

MALACHI FIELDS: Had a couple conversations at the Senior Bowl and at the Combine. It wasn't too heavy. Had some Zooms and stuff like that with Coach (Chad) Hall.

Q. Does it mean more to you that they charged up to get you, like traded up the way they did?

MALACHI FIELDS: Definitely, it does mean more. They took a chance for me, trading up, investing in me like that. I just want to prove them right.

Q. They talk a lot about your catch radius. What does that mean to you?

MALACHI FIELDS: It means it's everything that I worked to do is being confident and being able to make those plays. It just shows my ability as a playmaker and just try to continue to build on that.

Q. Is there something with your size that you feel separates you from other receivers as far as like catch radius or they talked about building a basketball team and now they have their power forward, that kind of guy that goes up and gets it.

MALACHI FIELDS: I think just the ability to do that. Playing big, being a big dude and playing big is just something special.

Q. How much do you know about Jaxson Dart? Have you had a chance to speak to the guy from whom you'll be catching passes?

MALACHI FIELDS: I haven't talked to him yet. Word on the street is he's coming through. Heard a little bit about him, got to see him ball out last year, see him at Ole Miss. I'm excited to go compete with that dude.

Q. What does it take to be a go-to guy in the red zone? Obviously a lot of first downs, and lot of touchdowns for you the last few years.

MALACHI FIELDS: Definitely just consistency, showing up, building that trust with your quarterback. It starts in practice, after practice, having a relationship off the field as well. Just building that trust with the guy that's going to be throwing the rock.

Q. Obviously you're a big guy. How much pride do you take in your blocking?

MALACHI FIELDS: Immense pride. It's a big part of my game. One of the strengths that I think going to crack on a safety or an end, whatever it is, to get those guys, the running back in the end zone.

Q. When you look at John Harbaugh's teams, the Ravens, what stood out to you about them? What do you see in those teams?

MALACHI FIELDS: Just dudes that love to compete, love to win, have that winning mindset. They're going out to win. Just the success he's had with that franchise with the Ravens, and him wanting to do the same thing here and believing in me and having me here to do that.

Q. The Giants are a big, physical team, and you're a big, physical guy. Is that a good match for you?

MALACHI FIELDS: Absolutely. I think it's a perfect match.

Q. Do you think your ability one-on-one can help an offense where Malik Nabers commands double-teams?

MALACHI FIELDS: I believe so. Take some pressure off the quarterback. When his go-to guy might be double-teamed, he has another option. Just adds some depth to the room.

Q. John Harbaugh talked yesterday about your time speed and your play speed and the way you track. Your time speed, some people say, okay, that's not anything special. He said you played better than that time speed and you play faster than that time speed.

MALACHI FIELDS: I do. It's the difference between running a 40 and just running in football games. There's a difference to it when the ball's in the air and the bullets are flying. I think you can see as well on tape the play speed is a little bit faster than the 40.

Q. Are there some receivers you've patterned your game after?

MALACHI FIELDS: I would say growing up I watched a lot of Julio Jones. More recently I've been watching like A.J. Brown, Keenan Allen, Mike Evans, just the bigger dudes that move well. They're the bigger guys but still can get in and out of routes and perfect their craft.

Q. You had your time at Notre Dame obviously, a storied college program. Curious first time in this building, I would imagine, you walk in and see those trophies, what are your feelings? Do you kind of take notice?

MALACHI FIELDS: Definitely. You just kind of look around and take it all in, like wow, you're really here. Just appreciate the moment and just be real thankful for where you are.

Q. A year ago did you consider coming out? What made you go to Notre Dame? What led to that decision?

MALACHI FIELDS: I did consider coming out, but getting grades back and hearing what scouts are saying and what I needed to work on and just being able to have a chance to go be a part of a winning culture, a winning program, be around guys who want to compete, be part of an established program like Notre Dame, playing the best in the country.

It was just -- I thought it was the best decision I could have made to be able to go showcase what I can do on that stage and then go compete against the best. Then have a chance to be a part of that winning culture.

Q. What were you working on last year, and what did you take from the process?

MALACHI FIELDS: Just having that dog mentality, being that playmaker, that big playmaker. That's what I was lacking back at Virginia. Just having that confidence instilled in me going to Notre Dame and being able to showcase that side of me.

Q. What do you know or expect from New York or New Jersey?

MALACHI FIELDS: I don't expect anything. Just kind of coming in trying to be a sponge, soak it all up, and just come in ready to work and try to make an impact on the team as best as I can.