Giant Football Blog

Giants wary of 7th pick

Of all the players Tom Coughlin saw fit to single out following yesterday's morning rookie mini-camp practice, he first mentioned Ahmad Bradshaw, a running back from Marshall. "He had a noticeable morning," Coughlin said. Attracting attention for his work on the field is what Bradshaw desperately needs in order to stick on the Giants roster, coming from where he is as a seventh-round draft choice. Already, Bradshaw has gained notoriety for the wrong reasons, as the Giants selected him despite a criminal rap sheet that clearly made him drop on draft boards like a rock in a pond.

He signed to play at Virginia but never did after he was arrested for under-age alcohol possession and resisting arrest. He received a second chance at Marshall, but in January of 2006 he was arrested for burglary and petty larceny when he stole a PlayStation 2 video game from an unlocked dorm room. Bradshaw was given two years probation. Continue

Giants may try on Levi

After working out Levi Brown during his pro day at Penn State, the Giants recently called the offensive lineman, making sure they had his correct cell phone number and asking him what airport he'd be flying out of if he needed to hastily arrange a trip to New Jersey.

It's unlikely Brown, generally rated as the second-best left offensive tackle in this weekend's NFL Draft, will be sitting there for the Giants on Saturday when the 20th overall pick rolls around. It's also debatable whether the Giants will even be thinking offensive tackle with their first-round pick. But they have jettisoned veteran Luke Petitgout, and last week general manager Jerry Reese did not exactly offer a ringing endorsement of David Diehl, the versatile starting left guard who, for now, is the heir apparent at left tackle. Continue

Giants' 'D' plan of attack

Jerry Reese said last week that new Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had given the general manager a list of draft-eligible players he liked. Ultimately, it's Reese's call on whom to draft, but the Giants would benefit from taking players who fit Spagnuolo's system.

In the secondary, the Giants return all four starters, plus R.W. McQuarters, who started 11 games at corner. But cornerback is still a position of need for the Giants, and there is a high volume of first-day draft talent at the position."Their best percentage to get a quality player is at linebacker first and cornerback second," said former Texans GM Charlie Casserly, an analyst for CBS Sports. Spagnuolo was an intern for Casserly with the Redskins in 1983. Continue

Giants walk on wild side

Jerry Reese didn't re-do the Giants' draft board when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell unveiled his strict personal conduct policy. The Giants new GM insisted the conservative Giants have "always been conscious of the character background" of players. Of course, that's never stopped them from taking a chance.

Whether Reese will do that this weekend at the NFL draft remains to be seen. There are dozens of a "high-risk character guys" available for the taking. At least two players with potential character issues - UNLV cornerback Eric Wright and Miami safety Brandon Meriweather - met with the Giants last week. Continue

Draft to tell Toomer tale

Amani Toomer will be 33 in September and he is coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Those are two good reasons for the Giants to consider drafting a receiver in the first round of the NFL draft on Saturday. Even Toomer admits that's a possibility. He just doesn't see the need. "I think my knee will be 100%," said Toomer, the Giants' all-time leader in receiving yards (8,157). "I don't have any reservations. I think I'm progressing really well. Everything is going in the right direction. I plan on competing in training camp and playing in the first couple of games."

If he's right, that would be a huge boost to a Giants receiving corps that went flat after Toomer tore his ACL on Nov.5. Tim Carter (who has been traded to Cleveland) never stepped up in Toomer's place, and then-rookie Sinorice Moss had trouble getting on the field because of a quad injury. As a result, top receiver Plaxico Burress was often left to carry the passing offense by himself. Continue

Welcome' backer

If Jon Beason is taken by the Giants with the 20th overall pick in Saturday's NFL Draft, he already anticipates one of the first calls he'll make. Time to dial up Jessie Armstead. "That's a phone call you make April 28 about 8 p.m.," Beason yesterday told The Post, "saying 'Jessie, man, I'm going to the Giants. Tell me what you think about the coaching staff, the organization, dos and don'ts, how were you so successful? That conversation is best left for after the draft."

That conversation could be more than hypothetical. The Giants are in the market for a starting linebacker and logic dictates they'll go in that direction with their first-round pick. Most likely, the Giants will be staring at Beason, Lawrence Timmons of Florida State and/or Paul Posluszny of Penn State. Beason and Timmons are probably viewed by the Giants as having greater upsides. Continue

Playing draft by ear

Someone asked Jerry Reese last week if he'd prefer to be picking first overall. "Thirty-two would be better," the Giants' rookie general manager said.

On Saturday, Reese will preside over his first draft as GM. He won't be able to make a big splash selecting 20th, but the Giants have eight picks and almost as many needs on both sides of the ball.But the Giants won't necessarily be driven by need. The "best player available" theory prevails for most teams, for a simple reason: Pick a guy to fill a hole now who's not as talented as you'd like, and you'll just be replacing him eventually anyway. "You take the best player for your future, not for right now," said former Texans GM Charley Casserly, an analyst for CBS. "You'll be looking to fill the same need in two years." Continue

Giants' GM Reese set for first draft

For the past four years, Jerry Reese ran the NFL Draft room for the Giants as director of player personnel. Next weekend, Reese for the first time will have the final say. As the first-year general manager, Reese is filling a dual role. He has yet to hire someone to fill his previous position. The GM is always linked to the players he selects in the draft, and Reese's legacy starts getting shaped eight days from now. The Giants own the 20th overall pick and are likely to lean heavily on fortifying their leaky defense.

"I really don't think about it as MY first pick," Reese said yesterday, engaging in his first pre-draft press conference after replacing the retired Ernie Accorsi. "It's the New York Giants pick." Reese has not exactly hit the ground running. The Giants did not open the floodgates in free agency - their most high-profile addition was linebacker Kavika Mitchell - leaving plenty of holes to be plugged in the draft. Reese blamed an inflated market for the lack of signings. Continue

DeOssie son meets Giants

Fourteen years after Steve DeOssie turned in his Giants jersey, his son may be in line for one of his own. Zak DeOssie, a linebacker from Brown University and son of the former Giants linebacker and long snapper, had a pre-draft visit with the Giants yesterday and met with team officials. The 6-4, 250-pounder was one of a large group of prospects at Giants Stadium, including USC receiver Dwayne Jarrett, Ohio State receiver Ted Ginn Jr., and UNLV cornerback Eric Wright.

The younger DeOssie, who can also long snap, is projected by many to go in the third round of the April28-29 draft. He played inside linebacker at Brown, but projects to outside in the NFL. Continue

Big Blue shopping for DBs

Three of the top defensive backs in this year's NFL draft have visited the Giants over the last three days - a possible indication of which way the team is leaning with its first pick in the April28-29 draft. Miami safety Brandon Meriweather wrapped up his visit with Giants officials yesterday, just before Pittsburgh cornerback Darrelle Revis arrived. And UNLV cornerback Eric Wright was en route to New Jersey last night and will meet with the Giants today. The Giants have the 20th pick in the draft.

Teams are allowed to bring in 30 out-of-town prospects for interviews and a physical before the draft. They are also allowed an unlimited number of interviews and workouts with players who went to high school or college near team headquarters. Among the players the Giants have either visited with or scheduled visits with are USC receiver Dwayne Jarrett, Miami linebacker Jon Beason and Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons. Continue

Stars not in Giants' future

Hearing the names of the players coming in and out of Giants Stadium figures to whet the appetite of any fan anxiously awaiting next week's NFL draft. Alas, many will be interviewed, but few marquee college players will be selected.

For instance: The Giants today will meet with Dwayne Jarrett, the towering 6-foot-4 receiver from USC who put up prolific college statistics but might not have enough raw speed to be anything more than an effective possession target in the NFL. The Giants own the 20th overall pick in the draft and certainly will think about taking a receiver on the first day. Continue

Giants want look at USC's Jarrett

The Giants still desperately need at least one outside linebacker now that their proposed trade for Denver linebacker Al Wilson is all but dead. But they're also searching for help at receiver, too. That's why they reportedly will be interviewing USC's Dwayne Jarrett, arguably one of the top four receivers in the NFL draft, sometime in the next few weeks. The 6-4, 219-pounder still could be available when the Giants pick 20th in the first round on April 28.

With Amani Toomer turning 33 next season and trying to come back from a torn ACL, the Giants need youth at the position. They traded receiver Tim Carter to Cleveland in February for running back Reuben Droughns. They also made a failed run at free-agent receiver Kevin Curtis. Continue

VA. Linebacker on Giant radar?

Of the seven players available in today's NFL supplemental draft, the most intriguing is Ahmed Brooks, a talented but troubled linebacker in whom the Giants are rumored to have keen interest.

Brooks was kicked off the University of Virginia squad last year by coach Al Groh for repeated violations of team rules, forcing Brooks to miss his entire senior season. He also missed half of his junior year with a knee injury. Still, he's considered a top talent, and is one of the only players in this summer draft virtually assured of getting selected. Continue

Moss quick pick

The first time Sinorice Moss was told he was too small to play football was back in high school, when he was admittedly "real small." He stood just 5-6 and weighed only 165. Five years later, Moss is only two inches and 20 pounds bigger. But he is convinced he is more than big enough for the NFL. So are the Giants, which is why they traded up in the second round of last weekend's NFL draft to nab the small but speedy receiver from Miami. His size wasn't a concern because of speed they described as "explosive." And Moss said he makes up for what he lacks in stature with what he has inside.

"I have a big heart," Moss said yesterday. "That never stopped (just) because I was shorter than other people." That heart and the ability to run a 4.3 in the 40 helped Moss catch 37 passes for 614 yards and six touchdowns last year as a senior. And it didn't hurt that he was inspired by his older brother, Santana, who was one of the NFL's best receivers last season (84 catches, 1,483 yards, nine TDs) despite standing 5-10. Continue

Jumping from hoops

Jai Lewis knows a thing or two about doing the impossible. After all, who thought he'd be able to help lead George Mason's basketball team to the Final Four? Now, one month after that miracle run ended, he's got another impossible task in front of him: Trying to make the Giants as an undrafted free agent, even though he hasn't played a football game in five years. "When you have a lot of people telling you that you can't do something, you just want to use that to prove them wrong," said Lewis, who signed with the Giants yesterday.

"You use that negative energy to fuel you to prove them wrong." He'll need a lot of fuel because the odds are stacked against him has he tries to make the transition from small school center/power forward to NFL tight end or offensive tackle - especially since he's never played offensive line. His last football game was as a senior at Aberdeen High School in Maryland, where he was a good enough defensive end and tight end that he drew interest from North Carolina and Virginia Tech. Continue

Accorsi basks in final draft

Unless something unexpected transpires, this past weekend's NFL Draft was the final one orchestrated by Ernie Accorsi, the Giants GM since 1998. The draft is Accorsi's Super Bowl, his favorite time of the year. "This is the real joy of the business," Accorsi said yesterday. "I enjoy the off-season a heck of a lot more than the season. I'm not going to miss the games at all."

Accorsi was set to retire after last season but the deaths of co-owners Wellington Mara and Bob Tisch made him feel as if the timing wasn't right for him to leave. He plans on walking away after this season. "I keep telling him you should never say never," coach Tom Coughlin said. "He's been great for me to work with. He's done a super job since I've been on board."  Continue

Spell of success

This was no Tom, Dick and Harry draft for the Giants, who during this past weekend added a Mathias, a Sinorice, a Gerris, a Gerrick and one Guy. As spell checks groaned, the Giants cheered their good fortune. Picking down near the bottom of every round, the Giants knew this would be no blockbuster, but if their best-laid plans work out, they added a pass rusher now and for the future in Mathias Kiwanuka, a tiny matchup nightmare in receiver Sinorice Moss, depth at linebacker in Gerris Wilkinson and a possible left tackle for the future in Guy Whimper. Continue

Rush to judgement

Move down and get your guy. Move up and land your man. It was unconventional and in some ways a bit baffling, but the Giants yesterday believe they manipulated the NFL Draft to suit their needs. The Giants nearly traded completely out of the first round, dropping from No. 25 to No. 32 to shockingly select Mathias Kiwanuka, a pass-rushing defensive end from Boston College. That might sound odd, considering the Giants already have two of the NFL's supreme pass-rushing defensive ends, Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora.

Then, a team that eschewed two more highly touted receivers went against its tendency of preferring towering targets, trading up in the second round to nab tiny speed demon Sinorice Moss of Miami. Of the myriad players the Giants could have taken with their first pick, no one anticipated them scooping up a defensive end, especially because they have a glaring hole at defensive tackle. Continue

Giants Draft 2006

Round 1 Mathias Kiwanuka DE Boston College

Round 2 Sinorice Moss WR Miami (Fla) 

Round 3 Gerris Wilkinson ILB Georgia Tech

Round 4 Barry Cofield DT Northwestern

Round 4 Guy Whimper OT East Carolina

Round 5 Charlie Peprah S Alabama

Round 7 Gerrick McPhearson CB Maryland

Giants shock with first round pick Mathias Kiwanuka

The Giants provided a mild surprise when they traded down from No. 25 to No. 32, the final pick of the first round. Then came the real surprise. Despite having two Pro Bowl defensive ends, the Giants went with Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, passing up players at several positions of need. "You can never have enough pass-rushers," said Giants GM Ernie Accorsi. "They're just hard to find." Kiwanuka, 6-5 and 265 pounds, had 21 sacks over his final two seasons at BC. The Indianapolis native said he was surprised to be selected by a team with Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan on it. "I guess they have a plan for me," he said.

Accorsi said when the Giants traded their No. 25 pick to the Steelers for the Nos. 32, 96 (third round) and 129 (fourth round), they were taking a risk by moving down seven spots. Two of the five players they wanted were taken -- North Carolina State defensive tackle John McCargo and Miami cornerback Kelly Jennings -- but they had Kiwanuka rated higher than both those players. "If it was close, we would have gone with need," Accorsi said. "It wasn't close." (Newsday)

Giants seek 'best available'

Even before the Giants signed LaVar Arrington last weekend, Giants GM Ernie Accorsi was insisting he would select the best available player with the 25th pick in today's NFL draft. Now that they've signed their weak-side linebacker, Accorsi actually might be telling the truth. For the first time since 1998, Accorsi's first draft as GM of the Giants, his team no longer has an obvious need to fill on draft day. That's why their draft intentions seem unusually hidden, and the guesses are endless as to whom they'll select at 25.

Ideally, according to someone with knowledge of the Giants' draft plans, the team would prefer to use its first-round pick for defense. But if all the top linebackers, cornerbacks and defensive tackles are gone, the source couldn't rule out the possibility that they'd take a receiver, a running back or an offensive tackle instead. Continue

Giants looking at linebackers

Rarely does the feel of an NFL Draft change so dramatically as it did this past week for the Giants. Once hell-bent to get a linebacker, they now can scan the field this afternoon, and with the 25th overall pick select their top-rated prospect from a variety of different positions.

That's the added benefit of signing LaVar Arrington, who moves in as the starting weak-side linebacker, filling a gaping hole and providing the Giants myriad options. "The only thing it changes is, we still were going to take the best player we could," GM Ernie Accorsi said. "It just takes a lot of pressure off. It probably leaves you a little freer to make sure you pick the best player. Continue

Pierce 'NOSE' Giants' needs

Antonio Pierce offered his opinion, which of course made perfect sense, considering the depth of his football acumen. His Giants should go for a defensive tackle able to eat up space and occupy two blockers in the first round of tomorrow's NFL Draft. As Pierce spoke, he hesitated, smiled, and realized he probably was saying too much. "I don't want to keep telling [GM] Ernie [Accorsi] and those guys what to do; they're doing a great job of bringing the guys in," Pierce said. "Just bring us quality players."

From Pierce's vantage point at middle linebacker, he more than most knows the value of having someone clear the traffic in front of him so he can have an unabated path to the ball. Kendrick Clancy, in his one year with the Giants, filled that role better than expected before leaving for more money offered by the Cardinals. Continue

Carpenter builds hopes

Bobby Carpenter already is a veteran of Giants training camps, though he was a little too young to really remember his first one. He was just 2 years old when he accompanied his father, Rob, to Pace University in 1985. This summer at the University at Albany, he finally might get a chance to go back. Carpenter, the Ohio State linebacker and son of former Giants running back Rob Carpenter, is one of a handful of players the Giants are thinking about taking with the 25th pick in tomorrow's NFL draft. And while the Giants are no longer a lock to take a linebacker after signing LaVar Arrington, the tough and talented Carpenter might be too good to pass up.

However, even if the Giants do pass on Carpenter, he is a sure bet to outdo his father, who was selected by the Houston Oilers with the final pick of the third round of the 1977 draft and played for the Giants from 1981-85. The younger Carpenter is likely to be taken in the first round somewhere - something he didn't even dream of while growing up with an NFL dad. Continue

Giants may opt for O-line help

To get the buzz on the Giants, agent Drew Rosenhaus has plenty of direct lines of communication at his disposal. He represents Jeremy Shockey, Antonio Pierce, Plaxico Burress and newcomer Sam Madison, which is quite an array of talent on one team. When the subject of the upcoming NFL Draft came up, Rosenhaus got an earful from all his clients except one. "At least Sam Madison hasn't called me and indicated what his preference would be," Rosenhaus yesterday told The Post. "He might kill the tie."

Rosenhaus has a handful of players in the draft, including Michigan defensive tackle Gabe Watson, Miami offensive tackle Eric Winston and Miami receiver Sinorice Moss. Those happen to be three positions of interest to the Giants. Continue

The waiting game

From where the Giants sit they can be interested observers to the high drama that is sure to unfold next Saturday afternoon with the first handful of picks in the NFL Draft. "It has been a long time since I viewed the top of the draft with more interest than this year," GM Ernie Accorsi said. "I think it is going to be a fascinating process to watch."

Watch he will, waiting to see who grabs Matt Leinart and Vince Young, two of the more intriguing and debatable quarterback prospects in years, waiting to see if the Texans indeed use the No. 1 overall pick to land Reggie Bush - whom Accorsi likens to Gale Sayers - and waiting to see who picks off the best defensive lineman (Mario Williams) and offensive lineman (D'Brickashaw Ferguson) in this year's talent grab-bag. Continue

Giants await 'Mr. Big'

He says he's not prone to exaggeration, but Jerry Kill can hardly wait until Brandon Jacobs arrives on the scene at Giants Stadium and everyone takes a gander at just about the biggest running back in captivity. "There is nobody in the NFL who is going to look like this cat," Kill, Jacobs' coach at Southern Illinois, told The Post. "When you see him, you're not gonna believe it."

It might be hard to believe that a 6-41/2, 267-pound mountain of a man with no discernable body fat can thrive running with the ball in the NFL, where large targets frequently get toppled in their tracks. The Giants, though, are convinced that in Jacobs, selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, they have not only solved their short-yardage problems but also imported a massive youngster capable of one day handling a full load in the backfield. Continue

Big Blue earn 'B'

The Giants had just four picks in this weekend's NFL draft, thanks to last season's acquisition of Eli Manning. They drafted for need on all four of them, and still managed to get value on every single one. That's not quite a great weekend, but it's plenty good enough. Big Blue needed help at cornerback, defensive end, and running back, and got all three. They didn't have the quantity of the Eagles' draft or the quality of those of the Cowboys or Vikings, but they made enough savvy choices to earn a grade of "B" from The Post.

They drafted LSU cornerback Corey Webster with the 11th pick in Round 2, a player who might've been a Top 20 pick if not for a slew of injuries as a senior. In the third they took defensive end Justin Tuck, Notre Dame's all-time sack leader whom Ourlads had graded an 8.8 — a near-first rounder and ahead of Erasmus James. "We didn't think we'd have a chance to get them both," said coach Tom Coughlin. "We said if could get those two on the first day, we'd be very happy." Continue

In short, Giants think big

Five years of watching Ron Dayne stumble out of the backfield in short-yardage situations taught the Giants an important lesson: Size doesn't matter. Short-yardage rushing is about attitude and determination. And they needed a running back more determined than Dayne.

But size doesn't hurt, either. And yesterday, in the fourth round of the NFL draft, they may have found a good combination of both. They selected Brandon Jacobs, a super-sized running back (6-4, 267) from Southern Illinois. And after he was drafted, when a team official told him the Giants had been a disaster in short-yardage situations recently, he replied, in effect: Not anymore. Continue

Webster drops to Giants

The Giants had been eyeing LSU cornerback Corey Webster for more than a year, ever since their scouts started writing up glowing reports during his junior season. But on March 31, when he had his workout in Baton Rouge, La., the Giants were sure he would never play for them. "When I left the workout I had my head down," said Jerry Reese, the Giants director of player personnel. "I was like, 'There's no way the guy's going to be there when we pick,' because the guy was brilliant."

So it was a surprised and happy Giants draft room yesterday when Webster was there in the second round when they made the 43rd pick in the NFL draft at the Javits Center. The Giants had no first-round pick since they traded it to San Diego in the Eli Manning deal last April, but they got a player who they believe would've been a first-rounder had he left LSU after his junior year. Continue

Corner market

For the first time since 1993, the Giants didn't have a first-round pick in the NFL draft. But they've done well in the second round - Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber and Amani Toomer - and were hoping to get either a cornerback or defensive end. Yesterday they got both.

In second-round pick Corey Webster of LSU, they're convinced they have not only another gem, but the best corner in the entire draft. And after choosing the national champ over Justin Tuck in the second round, Big Blue was stunned to see the Notre Dame defensive end fall right in their collective laps in Round 3. Continue

Giants Draft 2005

Round 2   Corey Webster CB LSU

Round 3   Justin Tuck  DE Notre Dame

Round 4   Brandon Jacobs RB Southern Illinois

Round 6   Eric Moore DE Florida state