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Jordan Raanan
multiple authors
East Rutherford, NJ — The New York Giants The selections addressed both sides of the ball in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday. Ohio State linebacker Arvel Reese with the fifth pick and then taking miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa At number 10.
The Giants were able to create a combination that seemed impossible, if not impossible, to enter the draft. Reese was the top-ranked non-quarterback on New York’s board, while Mauigoa was fourth.
The Giants didn’t think it was possible to land Reese, let alone both of them.
“No,” said general manager Joe Schoen. “We had hope. There weren’t a lot of scenarios that we went through where they were going to be available.”
“Those are two options that strengthen us in the middle. In the middle on our offense, in the middle on our defense,” coach John Harbaugh said. “These are two — these are great players, these are two top-five players in this draft in our opinion. You can’t do much better than that. I think Joe probably talked about a zillion mocks — no, maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration. A zillion sounds like a high number, but it was probably a few million.”
“Stop it,” Shawn yelled.
“And it didn’t come out. It wasn’t what was really expected,” Harbaugh said. “Just goes to show you that … reality is stranger than fiction. … It’s exciting. It’s not expected. It’s something that’s really a great, great opportunity for us.”
Reese, who was projected to be the No. 2 pick by New York JetsThe move instead fell to the crosstown Giants, who will add the former Buckeyes star to a defense that already features pass rushers. brian burns, abdul carter And Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Reese is expected to play inside linebacker with the Giants along with middle linebacker tremaine edmonds. The versatile Reese said most teams view him as an outside linebacker, but New York told him it plans to use him in a “unique way.”
Harbaugh said he views Reese as a versatile player. This should help them envision a flexible and multifaceted defense. The Giants plan to move Burns, Carter, Reese and Thibodeaux around significantly.
“It feels like a great situation to play with those guys,” Reese said.
Despite the selection of Reese, the Giants have no intention of trading Thibodeaux. Harbaugh stressed that the team “tries to retain all the good players as much as possible.”
This comes after the giants traded dexter lawrence ii till cincinnati bengals For the 10th pick over the weekend, which they used on Mauigoa.
The Giants opted to strengthen their offensive line by selecting Mauigoa, who will begin his NFL career by moving to guard after playing right tackle at Miami.
Mauigoa was selected by the Giants before safety caleb downswhich was taken with the next pick when dallas cowboys Traded till number 11.
“We stayed on board,” Schoen said. “And [Mauigoa’s] Another 20-year-old, believe it or not, he’ll turn 21 in June, so we’ve got two young players we’re excited about. “But a powerful young man with tremendous athleticism and size.”
New York was unable to add one of the draft’s top offensive weapons to support the quarterback jackson dart. running back jeremiah love Selected third by Arizona Cardinals While wide receiver carnell tate And jordan tyson went to fourth and eighth place respectively tennessee titans And New Orleans Saints.
So the Giants took Mauigoa to protect their young quarterback. When asked what his message was for Darts, Mauigoa showed the kind of player he is adding.
“I’m willing to die for you, man,” Mauigoa told ESPN in a message to Dart on the live draft broadcast.
Mauigoa was equally excited to play with the Rams as a running back cam skatebow.
“Oh, I’m going to have so much fun with that guy,” Mauigoa said.
Finally, the Giants added an inside linebacker and an interior offensive lineman on the first day of the draft. Even after losing Lawrence, they will look to further improve their defensive ability on days two and three.
