The biggest decision the Giants make on Thursday night when they prepare for their first-round selection in the draft won?t have much to do with who is on their board. First, they must look within.
They need to decide if their quarter of a billion-dollar facelift on defense so far this offseason is enough to fix that unit that floundered at the bottom of league rankings in almost every category last year and was a large culprit in a third straight losing season, or if there are more immediate impact pieces needed to support that side of the ball.
Most people believe they will go defense, where there undoubtedly will be enticing options at pass rusher, linebacker and the secondary.
?Quite honestly, I don?t think there?s any chance the Giants take an offensive player,? ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL player and front office director, said on a conference call last week. ?I just don?t see it happening, based on what has allowed them to have success in the past, and what they have been deficient of in the recent past. That being pressure on the quarterback and high-level linebacker. I think that?s where their emphasis is going to be. That?s where their emphasis was in free agency, and that?s where their emphasis is going to be in this draft, particularly with that first pick.?
General manager Jerry Reese suggested that the splurges of the past month and a half will have no bearing on which direction the Giants go this week.
?We?re not oblivious to what we did in free agency,? he said last week, ?but the draft stands alone.?
They need to decide if their quarter of a billion-dollar facelift on defense so far this offseason is enough to fix that unit that floundered at the bottom of league rankings in almost every category last year and was a large culprit in a third straight losing season, or if there are more immediate impact pieces needed to support that side of the ball.
Most people believe they will go defense, where there undoubtedly will be enticing options at pass rusher, linebacker and the secondary.
?Quite honestly, I don?t think there?s any chance the Giants take an offensive player,? ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL player and front office director, said on a conference call last week. ?I just don?t see it happening, based on what has allowed them to have success in the past, and what they have been deficient of in the recent past. That being pressure on the quarterback and high-level linebacker. I think that?s where their emphasis is going to be. That?s where their emphasis was in free agency, and that?s where their emphasis is going to be in this draft, particularly with that first pick.?
General manager Jerry Reese suggested that the splurges of the past month and a half will have no bearing on which direction the Giants go this week.
?We?re not oblivious to what we did in free agency,? he said last week, ?but the draft stands alone.?
