The Giants wanted to take an offensive lineman in the first round of Thursday night’s NFL draft and had their eyes on Brandon Scherff, envisioning the Iowa stud as an immediate starter. But they knew Scherff might be off the board by the time the Giants picked at No. 9.
“We thought there was a chance he would go before us, maybe a pick or two, but not where he went,’’ said Marc Ross, the Giants’ vice president of player evaluation. “We felt really strongly going into it he probably would go ahead of us.’’
Indeed, Scherff was gone, even sooner than the Giants anticipated, as the Redskins — the NFC East rival Redskins, for goodness sakes — nabbed him at No. 5.
And so, the Giants went with Plan B. They stuck to their draft board and plucked their second highest-rated offensive lineman, Ereck Flowers, hoping the massive Miami product improves rapidly enough to claim the starting right tackle job as a rookie.
“We liked both of those guys. I can tell you that,’’ general manager Jerry Reese said of Flowers and Scherff. “We liked both of them, and we thought they would both be terrific players.’’
Scherff is considered the most NFL-ready offensive lineman in the draft. Flowers came out of college after his junior year and turned 21 last week, so he’s not quite as polished. He was a left tackle at Miami and certainly looks the part, at 6-foot-6 and 329 pounds.
“He is a battleship, an aircraft carrier or however you want to describe him,’’ Tom Coughlin said.
“Obviously he’s a gigantic human being,’’ Reese said. “Really long arms. He was the strongest guy at the combine. We think he can be a longtime tackle for the New York Giants.’’
The addition likely means Justin Pugh is going to be changing positions, as the Giants did not take Flowers this high to have him sit on the bench. Pugh, the starting right tackle the past two years, figures to move inside to guard, opening a spot for Flowers at right tackle.
“We are talking about Ereck Flowers, and I am not going to comment on that until I have the opportunity to talk to our coaches about exactly how we are going to go about starting this,’’ Coughlin said.
Asked if he projects Flowers at left tackle, Reese said: “Yeah, you would think so. You would think he can play left tackle. He could play right tackle. We project him as a really good football player, first, and where he ends up, that’s up to our coaches.’’
If the Giants indeed view Flowers as a legitimate left-tackle prospect, it also provides competition for Will Beatty, who is athletic but hardly a mauler at left tackle. Beatty is signed through the 2017 season.
“I see myself anywhere on the line,’’ Flowers said. “I’m ready to come in anywhere on the line to make a contribution. Whatever helps the team win.’’
The Giants describe Flowers as quiet off the field but someone who displays a nasty streak on it.
Coughlin described it as “arriving in a bad humor at a pile.’’
This is considered a plus.
“That’s one of the things, when you talk to the coaches down there, it’s like this guy doesn’t take any crap from anybody,’’ Reese said. “He likes to finish guys off and that kind of fits the offensive profile that we like. We like some big, tough guys with a little bit of a nasty streak.’’
It sounds as if Flowers is all business.
“He is quiet but he’s a smart quiet, he is just all about football,’’ Ross said. “He doesn’t hang out, he doesn’t party. You would think at Miami, at South Beach, he was one of the exceptions down there that he doesn’t go out. He just wants to play football.’’
The Giants envisioned Scherff as the final piece to their offensive line, a road-grader who could immediately start at guard. Flowers is not as experienced and not as close to a finished product.
“He’s a good player who’s just scratching the surface of how good he can be,’’ Ross said.
“I think I’m a player who needs to work on everything,’’ Flowers said. “I think I’ve got a long ways to go, and I’m ready to go that way.’’