Clarification emerged as to what the New York Giants will do with pick No. 23 in the NFL draft: They will either package picks to move up, make a deal to move back or sit tight. This breaking news came out from the Giants facility last week which of course, isn’t really news at all.
General manager Jerry Reese built his reputation on the NFL draft and his ability to get rookies to contribute almost immediately. It was a major reason why the Giants have won two Super Bowls during his oversight of the team. But Reese rarely tips his hand prior to the draft and this year doesn’t appear to be any different.
The Giants might sit tight at No. 23 or they could trade up or trade down, per Reese.
“If we have an opportunity to trade in the first round, we will do that. But right now, we will just kind of let the board fall like it does and if we feel like we want to move up to get somebody, then we will move. It costs to move up, though,” Reese said on Thursday. “If you are going to move up, then you are going to give up a lot of draft picks to move up. Even if you move up just a couple of spots, you have to give up some draft picks to do that and we like taking our picks, but if there is somebody up there that we love and we think we can move up to get, then we will keep those options open.”
Two years ago the Giants took Ereck Flowers in the first round, who fans have grown increasingly restless with. Last year Reese made the move on cornerback Eli Apple with the 10th pick, a player who looked very good in his rookie season and is primed for a bigger role this year.
Apple’s selection came as a surprise, especially since the Giants spent big in free agency to upgrade their secondary. Reese a year ago said the Giants stuck to their board and that they’ll do the same this time around.
“We are just picking the best players available,” Reese said. “We have players on our board, we have all of our players on our team currently on the board as well to see how they fit, but we are just trying to pick the best player available when we are on the clock.”
