EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) 鈥� John Harbaugh鈥檚 first draft as coach of the New York Giants turned into a chance to make them a whole lot bigger at some important positions.
“It鈥檚 not a negative,” Harbaugh said 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely not a negative.鈥�
The team the defensive front seven with Arvell Reese and the offensive line with Miami鈥檚 Francis Mauigoa, who’s on track to start at right guard. Reese is 6-foot-4 and 241 pounds, while Mauigoa is 6-5, 329.
鈥淚t makes us a lot more stout,鈥� Harbaugh said following the first round. “It鈥檚 two picks that strengthen us down the middle: down the middle of our offense, down the middle of our defense.”
After filling a need early in the second round with physical Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood, Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen made an aggressive move to trade back into the third for 6-4 Notre Dame receiver Malachi Fields. It cost fourth- and fifth-rounders in this draft plus a fourth next year.
With three sixth-round picks, the Giants selected Auburn defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis, Illinois offensive lineman J.C. Davis and BYU linebacker Jack Kelly.
A giant void remains
New York only had the 10th pick because it was the return for sending longtime starting defensive tackle . Lawrence wanted an extension, which he got from the Bengals, and the Giants said goodbye to one of their longest-tenured players.
鈥淚 think it was a win for everybody,鈥� Harbaugh said. 鈥淔or us, the most important thing was that it was a win for the Giants. That鈥檚 what we cared about the most. We wanted Dexter to be happy, but we wanted the Giants to be taken care of first. That was our responsibility.鈥�
A unit that ranked 30th out of 32 NFL teams did not get better by subtracting Lawrence, and not using a Day One or Two pick on an interior defensive lineman makes it a problem to solve in free agency.
鈥淭here鈥檚 other avenues we can do it,鈥� Schoen said. 鈥淟ooking at some of the free agents on the street, we鈥檒l continue to talk to some of those guys. … We鈥檒l find a way. We won鈥檛 stop.鈥�
Giants say they are not trading Kayvon Thibodeaux
Selecting Reese 鈥� a player the Giants see as an inside linebacker, not an edge rusher 鈥� made Harbaugh scoff at the notion that it could precede trading Kayvon Thibodeaux.
“We keep all the good players as much as we can, right?” Harbaugh said. 鈥淲e love Kayvon.鈥�
Thibodeaux is going into the final year of his rookie contract and counts nearly $15 million against the salary cap. A couple of reports surfaced Friday regarding trade talks with New Orleans about Thibodeaux, and Schoen denied that entirely.
鈥淣o, there鈥檚 no truth to that,鈥� he said. “We have not had any conversations today about Kayvon.鈥�
Colton Hood could compete for a starting job
Harbaugh and Schoen said Hood went into the second round as the top player on their board, so they were thrilled to get him at No. 37. With Paulson Adebo penciled in as one starting cornerback, there’s an opening on the other side that Hood is expected with underachieving Deonte Banks and others to fill.
鈥淗e’s going to push everybody,鈥� Harbaugh said. 鈥淚 want a bunch of pit bulls out there flying around making plays on the football, and Colton Hood gives us another guy in there to do that and compete and push everybody. So, you put another guy in there, another pit bull in the room. Let鈥檚 see what he does.鈥�
Malachi Fields gives offense a different dynamic
Among Malik Nabers (who’s coming off a torn ACL and may not be ready for the season opener), Darius Slayton and free agent additions and , the Giants did not have receiver with Fields’ size and abilities.
鈥淗e鈥檚 certainly a different body type than we currently have: Adding that was something we had talked about doing,鈥� Schoen said. 鈥淭he catch radius and athleticism that he displays was attractive. All those things were almost like build a basketball team. You got your power forward now.鈥�
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