Full New York Giants Primer for 2017 NFL Draft

The New York Giants are hard at work putting the final touches on their annual draft board.

At his annual draft preview press conference, the notoriously tight-lipped Giants general manager Jerry Reese let it be known in between chants of “best player available” that a tight end is indeed on the team’s radar.

“You look at different teams, and tight ends are a big part of what they do, and you look at us, and we haven’t been a two-tight end kind of offense under Ben (McAdoo),” he said. “But we do feel like a tight end could come in and help us.”

While the Giants have developed a list of 32 players they like in the first round, if experience has taught teams anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.

As we wait to see which of the 300-plus prospects will be among the Giants' draft class of 2017, here is a primer to help get you ready for what’s sure to be an exciting and busy Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Where They're Picking

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Draft Picks

• Round 1, Pick No. 23 overall
• Round 2, Pick No. 55 overall
• Round 3, Pick No. 87 overall
• Round 4, Pick No. 140 overall
• Round 5, Pick No. 167 overall
• Round 6, Pick No. 207 overall
• Round 7, Pick No. 241 overall

5 Interesting Facts About New York Giants Drafts

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

1.  Last year the Giants did not select an offensive or defensive lineman for the first time in franchise history. 

With the team having needs on both lines, it's highly unlikely the Giants will go through this year's draft without choosing at least one pit player.

2. The Giants have never traded up in the first round during general manager Jerry Reese's tenure. Two of New York's most notable first-round trades have come under former general manager Ernie Accorsi.

There was the blockbuster deal of 2004 that brought the Giants quarterback Eli Manning from San Diego. In return, they sent the Chargers their first-round pick (quarterback Phillip Rivers), their third-round pick and their first- and fifth-round picks in the 2005 draft.  

Prior to that trade, the Giants moved up one spot in the 2002 draft to acquire tight end Jeremy Shockey, exchanging their first-round pick (15th overall) with Tennessee and sending a fourth-round pick to move up to No. 14 overall. 

3. The Giants have 19 of their draft picks—all chosen during the Reese era—on the roster. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, chosen in first in 2010, is the longest-tenured draft pick. (Eli Manning, remember, was acquired by trade in 2004 and thus doesn’t technically count as a Giants draft pick.)

Here is a breakdown of what rounds yielded those 19 picks:

• Round 1: 5 picks
• Round 2: 3 picks
• Round 3: 3 picks
• Round 4: 2 picks
• Round 5: 4 picks
• Round 6: 1 pick
• Round 7: 1 pick

There are no players on the roster from the 2011-2012 draft classes. Only Justin Pugh (Round 1, 2013) remains from the 2013 draft class.  

4. Historically speaking, the Giants have drafted a running back in the first round more times in franchise history (17) than any other position. Under Jerry Reese, who became the general manager in 2007, his lone first-round pick at running back was David Wilson (2012).

5. Despite not having drafted a linebacker in the first round since 1984 (Carl Banks), the Giants have drafted linebackers in the first round six times in their history, the same as defensive end and cornerback.

Here is the all-time franchise breakdown by position, per the Giants annual draft press release: 

• Running back: 17
• Offensive Tackle: 9
• Linebacker: 6
• Defensive End: 6
• Cornerback: 6
• Quarterback: 5
• Fullback: 5
• Receiver: 5
• Defensive Tackle: 4
• Tight End: 3
• Safety: 3
• Guard: 2
• Center: 1

Top 3 Needs: An Overview

William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

Reese must have said about a dozen times during his press conference, as he does every year, that the team’s objective is to come away with the best players available.

But let’s be realistic. If when the Giants are on the clock in successive rounds and the “best available” both times happens to be a quarterback, are they really going to double-dip in back-to-back rounds? 

At some point, need has to factor into the equation, something Reese admitted during his press conference.

“You are always trying to tie best player available with what our needs are,” he said.

Does he ever do that?

“We do it a lot. Sometimes it falls that way as this is the best player available and ties into value and need as well. We try to tie them both together, but we are not going to reach for guys just because we think it is a need position for us.”

The Giants, according to the court of public opinion, have several needs, including offensive tackle, linebacker, running back, receiver, cornerback, defensive tackle, defensive end and quarterback.

What makes this year’s draft so hard to forecast is that they don’t have that one glaring, “gotta have it” need, thanks to the work Reese has done in free agency over the last two years.

“You always take that into consideration with what you have on your roster right now, but going into the draft,” Rese said. “Like I say every year, we just go in there trying to pick the best players available when we are on the clock and we will continue to use that pattern.”

Still, let’s try to forecast how the Giants might be leaning as far as prioritizing their wish list. The next three slides examine what I perceive as the most glaring needs on the team.

I’ve also included a few potential picks in Rounds 1-3 who, if they’re there, will likely receive consideration.

Linebacker

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Jarrad Davis

After giving the defensive line and cornerback position a lot of love last offseason, it’s time for the Giants to finally address the linebackers, a unit that, at the start of the 2016 campaign, didn’t even come close to being one of NFL.com’s Willie McGinest’s top-ranked linebacker units in the league. 

Currently, the Giants have some questions they need to answer if that group is to start getting some top-10 consideration. 

Last year’s starting middle linebacker, Kelvin Sheppard, was not re-signed, leaving a vacancy that head coach Ben McAdoo told reporters at last month’s owners meetings would yield competition between second-year man B.J. Goodson and returning veteran Keenan Robinson for the starting job. 

The addition of another linebacker to a group where only Goodson is under contract after this season could also alter those plans. Last year, the Giants were believed to be interested in drafting Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who was snapped up by Chicago after they traded up to steal Floyd away.

This year, the Giants might look to try again to add a pass-rushing outside linebacker projecting to the strong side, the spot currently held by Devon Kennard.

If the Giants add a pass-rushing linebacker who can hold up against the run, that might allow for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to use Kennard more as a down lineman in spot situations, as he did with success in the second half of last year. 

When it comes to linebackers, not every prospect is going to be an ideal fit for the Giants’ 4-3 base. Here is a short list of three who project to be fits:

Round 1

LB Jarrad Davis, 6’1”, 238 lbs., Florida:  Davis plays hard and is productive, but his injury history could raise a red flag for a team who last year finally found a way to stay healthy by staying away from players who have recently battled the injury bug. If Davis checks out medically and is there at No. 23, he’d be hard to pass over.

Round 2

Zach Cunningham, 6’3”, 234 lbs., Vanderbilt: Depending on who you want to believe, Cunningham is either a first- or second-round prospect. Regardless, Cunningham probably checks off most of if not all the boxes for a classic Giants linebacker: size, production and durability.   

Round 3

Alex Anzalone, 6’3”, 241 lbs., Florida: Anzalone is another guy who has had injury issues that might give the Giants pause. If Anzalone checked out medically, his versatility, which NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein notes can enable him to begin his NFL career as a backup at all three linebacker spots, might appeal to a Giants team that values versatile players. 

Tight End

Butch Dill/Associated Press

O.J. Howard

If you thought the Giants' tight end play of the last few years was poor, wait until you see some of the numbers.

Per Inside Football, the tight ends' contribution in the passing game has dropped over the last three years (though it’s also noted that this drop coincides with the arrival of receiver Odell Beckham Jr.)

The bigger takeaway illustrating the decline in the tight end performance, as Inside Football notes, is in the positon’s yards-after-catch average, where neither Tye or Adams managed to average more than 4.5 yards.

General manager Jerry Reese, when asked about the tight end and its role in the Giants offense, said: “I think it is whatever your offensive coordinator is, what your head coach’s philosophy is. You look at different teams, and tight ends are a big part of what they do, and you look at us and we haven’t been a two-tight end offense under Ben.”

Does that mean a tight end isn’t in the equation?

“We do feel like a tight end could come in and help us,” Reese said. “There are some good tight ends in the draft. I like a lot of different positions, but it just depends on what the offensive coordinator thinks and how much he wants to use a tight end.”

In a perfect scenario, the Giants will get a tight end who can block and be a better-than-average receiver. That description fits Alabama’s O.J. Howard, universally ranked as the top tight end in this class by just about all the draft sites and publications consulted.

Would the Giants draft a tight end in Round 1? It doesn’t sound like it, unless Howard is there at No. 23. If he isn’t, are some names to watch. 

Round 1

TE David Njoku, 6’4”, 246 lbs., Miami: Brimming with upside, Njoku has drawn comparisons to Carolina Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen, according to NFL.com’s Zierlein. Once Njoku cleans up his route running and develops better lower-body strength, the sky is the limit. 

Round 2

Evan Engram, 6’3”, 234 lbs., Mississippi: The shortest of the top three candidates, Engram, according to Zierlein, stirs up comparisons to Washington tight end Jordan Reed, minus the injury history.  

Round 3

TE Jordan Leggett, 6’5”, 258 lbs., Clemson: Leggett seems to have the best blend of size and route-running abilities out of the three prospects. However, a red flag, as noted in Zierlein’s scouting report, is that Leggett’s game, at least in the past, doesn’t always have a great sense of urgency on every snap.

Defensive Tackle

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Dalvin Tomlinson

Even before the Giants lost defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins via free agency, the team’s depth at this position behind Damon Harrison, Jay Bromley and Robert Thomas pretty much made this position a glaring need.

Unfortunately for the Giants, the interior defensive line class doesn’t appear to be as deep, according to NFL.com’s Chad Reuter.

The lone first-round prospect who looks to be a fit for the Giants’ needs, Malik McDowell of Michigan State, will probably be long gone by the time the Giants go on the clock at No. 23.

Let’s look, then, at some potential Day 2 options.

Round 2

DT Dalvin Tomlinson, 6’3”, 310 lbs., Alabama: Interestingly, Reuter reports that there is a split opinion among NFL scouts regarding Tomlinson, whom he lists as the most overrated defensive interior prospect in this class. Still, if Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is looking to incorporate some fancy stuff on the pass rush in the way of twists and stunts, Tomlinson, who thrived in this type of trickery and who is also a big, powerful run-stopper, might just find a niche in the Giants' defensive line rotation.   

Round 3

Larry Ogunjobi, 6’3”, 305 lbs., North Carolina Charlotte: To some, Ogunjobi might be “undersized,” but then again, people thought that of the Rams’ Aaron Donald, and look how he turned out. While Ogunjobi isn’t in the same class as Donald skill-wise, Zierlein notes the defensive lineman uses “leverage, quickness and strong hands to counter his average size,” making his ability to disrupt the backfield appealing to a team that covets such production. 

Jaleel Johnson, 6’3”, 316 lbs., Iowa: Johnson’s pass rushing ability—he led the Hawkeyes with 7.5 sacks last season—might be just the kind of production the Giants would love to add to their defensive interior. That Johnson can also stuff the run—his 10.0 tackles-for-loss also led the Hawkeyes last year—is a bonus.

Buyer Beware: Offensive Tackle

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Many fans would love nothing better than for the Giants to draft an offensive tackle to send Ereck Flowers to the bench.

It's probably not going to happen.  

Per Zierlein, this year’s draft class has three tackles he considers to be at the top of the class, but then adds, “there is a big drop-off after that.”

Zierlein notes that even among those three top offensive tackles—Alabama’s Cam Robinson, Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk and Utah’s Garett Bolles—each comes with a “buyer beware” tag:

"

There is a five-star tackle with a winning pedigree in Alabama's Cam Robinson, but he has issues that might be difficult to coach out of him.

Wisconsin's Ryan Ramczyk is the safest of the tackles, but it seems teams believe he'll have to move to right tackle. Did I mention that Ramczyk has only one year of major college football experience?

Garett Bolles from Utah fits in the same boat. Bolles is undersized and will turn 25 during camp. He also has only a year of major college football under his belt. This class is hardly can't-miss.

"

SNY's Ralph Vacchiano also reports that the Giants aren't enamored with any of the top three projected offensive tackles in this draft, making a first-round selection at this position seem even more unlikely if the Giants do indeed feel that way.  

With key members of the organization—Reese, head coach Ben McAdoo and co-owner John Mara—all having expressed optimism that Flowers will finally put behind him the rocky two seasons he's had so far, it would be a stunning development if the No. 9 overall draft pick in 2015 is not on the field for them this year, if he’s healthy. 

So, Who's It Going to Be?

William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday morning, I will have my final 2017 Giants mock draft. Be sure to check back!

All draft prospects' measurables are via NFL.com.

Patricia Traina covers the New York Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.