Giant Football Blog

Giants sign 2nd round pick Smith

The Giants agreed to terms with their second-round draft pick, former USC wide receiver Steve Smith. That leaves the Giants with only first-round pick Aaron Ross still unsigned with players due to report to training camp at the University of Albany on Friday.Terms of Smith's contract were not available. (newsday)

Giants' top two on brink of deals

Giants general manager Jerry Reese and assistant GM Kevin Abrams will meet today with the agent for first-round draft pick Aaron Ross in a Giants Stadium discussion that is expected to produce a contract for the promising cornerback from Texas.

Of the eight Giants draft picks, six already are signed and set to report to Albany on Friday for the start of training camp. The two unsigned players are Ross and receiver Steve Smith, a second-round pick from USC. "I don't expect those guys to be out of camp," Reese said yesterday. Continue

Giants agree with TE Boss

The Giants agreed to terms with TE Kevin Boss, the team's fifth-round pick, on a four-year contract, according to someone familiar with the details of the deal. The person requested anonymity because the contract won't be made official until today. Boss, a Western Oregon graduate, impressed the coaches during minicamp and might begin the season as the No. 2 tight end behind Jeremy Shockey. (star-ledger)

Giants stay in the family and pick Brown LB DeOssie, then grab Western Oregon TE Boss and Oregon State T Koets and Marshall RB Bradshaw

The Giants started the second day of the draft by choosing a player with direct bloodlines to the organization. Brown linebacker, Zak DeOssie, son of former Giants linebacker Steve DeOssie, became the Giants' fourth-round pick. DeOssie, 6-4 1/2, 255, was regarded as one of the most improved linebackers in Division I-AA last season. He's not regarded as an instinctive linebacker, but is a good athlete and is also a good long-snapper, which could have ramifications for current long-snapper Ryan Kuehl. DeOssie became the third defensive pick of the draft for the Giants, going along with first-round cornerback Aaron Ross of Texas and third-round defensive tackle Jay Alford of Penn State. The Giants took USC wide receiver Steve Smith in the second round.

The Giants used their fifth-round pick to choose a tight end to go along with Jeremy Shockey. Kevin Boss, a 6-foot-6 1/2, 254-pounder out of Western Oregon, is regarded as a potential hidden gem of the draft. Possessing good hands, he also has excellent leaping ability and could represent an upgrade over the departed Visanthe Shiancoe at second tight end. The Giants used their sixth-round pick on a tackle project, Oregon State’s Adam Koets. The 6-foot-5, 302-pound Koets has started 37 straight games, but is said to need a year in the weight room to be able to stand up against the more physical defensive ends in the league. He appears to be no threat to challenge either David Diehl or backup Guy Whimper for the left tackle spot. Continue

Smith fills Giants' passing fancy

It was all-too apparent last season: After Amani Toomer went down to a knee injury, there was absolutely no one the Giants could turn to for help in the passing game. Plaxico Burress was given special attention by opposing defenses and so was Jeremy Shockey. Eli Manning looked downfield and no one was able to emerge as a target.

This coming season, the Giants envision Steve Smith filling that role, which is why last night they used their second-round pick in the NFL Draft on the productive receiver from USC. "If they're going to take away 17 [Burress] and they're going to take away 80 [Shockey] you got to have somebody else," general manager Jerry Reese said. "Quarterbacks like these kind of guys." In the third round, the Giants took Jay Alford, a defensive tackle from Penn State. Continue

Texas Blue-step as Reese goes for Ross

Aaron Ross didn't make a predraft visit to Giants Stadium. In fact, he didn't have much predraft contact with the Giants at all. That's why he was outside, playing catch with his nephew, when the Giants were making their pick. "They didn't show any interest in me," Ross said. "If it was a poker game, they won."

The Giants won in more ways than that yesterday when they selected Ross, a cornerback and punt returner from Texas, with the 20th pick of the NFL draft. The 6-foot, 193-pounder is the first pick of the Jerry Reese era, and he was the player the new GM had been targeting all along. Continue

WR Smith 2nd round pick

The Giants went with offense in the second round, selecting wide receiver Steve Smith out of Southern California. The 5-11, 199-pound playmaker led the Trojans with a career-high 71 receptions for 1,083 yards (15.3 avg.). Great pick.

Giants Draft CB Aaron Ross With No. 20

With the twentieth pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the New York Giants selected cornerback Aaron Ross from Texas. The Giants seemed to have needs at linebacker and left tackle, but they instead went to work on their secondary.

Ross has all of the basic needs for a cornerback, including speed and size. He had six interceptions in 2006 and is often making plays on the football. He also has the ability to come up to the line of scrimmage and defend against the run well as a result of his tackling skills. The Giants could also envision using Ross as a returner, which he had experience in at the college level. Ross is still learning the cornerback position, but is considered a very solid pick with where he went. (pfcritics.com)

Pick's a Giant mystery

Last year, the Giants went into the draft needing a receiver, a linebacker, a running back and a defensive tackle. In fact, they could've used almost anything other than a defensive end. So of course, after trading down to the last pick of the first round, they took defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka. "In the room at the time I said, 'Does anybody in this room think Mathias Kiwanuka is not going to be a Pro Bowl defensive end?'" recalled Giants GM Jerry Reese. "No hands went up. I said, 'We are going to pick this guy. I know we don't need him at this point, but at some point he is going to be a good player for us.'"

That was Reese's way of saying just about anything could happen for the Giants today when they make the 20th pick in the NFL draft. If the first 19 picks go as expected, the Giants are leaning toward picking either a linebacker or cornerback, with their top choices being Texas cornerback Aaron Ross or Miami linebacker Jon Beason. Continue

First pick far from 20/20 vision

Linebacker or cornerback? Tackle or wide receiver? Or none of the above? It's been a few seasons since the Giants picked near the top of the draft, when then-general manager Ernie Accorsi made a defining move in dealing for Eli Manning. On Saturday, the Giants will be spectators to the wheeling and dealing in the top 10, and what they do at No. 20 has much to do with what goes on right above them.

At the Giants' two biggest defensive positions of need - linebacker and cornerback - rookie GM Jerry Reese has some options if his first choice is gone. Florida State's Lawrence Timmons appears to be at the top of the Giants' board at linebacker, with Miami's Jon Beason next; at corner, Pitt's Darrelle Revis appears to be the team's top target, with any number of corners - Arkansas' Chris Houston, Texas' Aaron Ross and Fresno State's Marcus McCauley - behind Revis. Continue

Linebacker a Giant need

After watching Carlos Emmons and LaVar Arrington get cut from either side of him two months ago, Antonio Pierce knows the Giants are likely to add a linebacker sometime in the first three rounds of the draft tomorrow. He just doesn't expect a rookie to step in right away and help.

Given the Giants' track record at drafting linebackers, it's debatable whether he'll ever help at all. It's ironic, considering so much of the franchise's history is centered around great linebackers, but since they picked Carl Banks at No.3 in 1984, the Giants have been absolutely terrible drafting players at the position. In the 22 drafts since, they've drafted only two Pro Bowl linebackers - Pepper Johnson (second round, 1986) and Jessie Armstead (eighth, 1993). Continue

Albany's Barksdale on Giants' radar

With all the comprehensive scouting, time and money invested in the NFL Draft, true sleepers may no longer exist. But there are undiscovered gems to be mined and the Giants may uncover one in Rashad Barksdale. The Giants own eight selections in this weekend's NFL Draft and sometime Sunday, perhaps in the sixth or seventh round, they may take a flier on Barksdale, a cornerback from Albany who, despite a blatantly limited football resume, has suddenly caught the attention of NFL personnel.

"I feel, deep down inside, that I can do it," Barksdale said in a phone interview with The Post. The Giants apparently are intrigued. They brought him in last week for a visit, rare treatment for someone who will either go late in the draft or maybe not at all. The Giants were one of five NFL teams on March 19 to attend Albany's Pro Day, where Barksdale became more than a novelty act by clocking in at a blazing 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Continue

Bush to Giants: Jarrett's a player

The Giants have a couple questions to address going into tomorrow's 2007 NFL Draft, one of which is finding a possession receiver. The Giants could use a big, strong target to complement the deep threat of Plaxico Burress. Amani Toomer, 32, is coming off surgery for a partially torn ACL in his left knee, which ended his season on Nov. 5, and second-year receiver Sinorice Moss is still unproven, having played in six games last year.

Wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett of USC has been mentioned as a candidate for the Giants' 20th overall pick. Reggie Bush, last year's No. 2 overall pick, played with Jarrett at USC and said he knows the receiver's strengths and weaknesses. "The guy's a great player," Bush said of Jarrett yesterday at a press conference for Shutt Sports. "He's not necessarily the fastest guy, but he's definitely a guy who's going to go out and make plays for you. Continue