It has never really changed from George Young to Jerry Reese. When the Giants are called to select in the first round of the draft, their objective is always the same.
“I would say that we are going to pick the best player available,” Reese said recently.
That will be their intent going into the 2017 NFL Draft, which begins on Thursday when the Giants have the 23rd pick overall after making the playoffs to end a four-year absence.
There are a few glaring needs after going 11-5 in the regular season and losing in the opening round of the playoffs to the Packers in Green Bay, including offensive line, running back and what has turned into an annual quest to find a suitable tight end.
Choosing near the bottom of the first round, the Giants might be tempted to take a tight end, but they should ignore that urge and focus on other needs. The only tight end worth taking in the first round is O.J. Howard of Alabama, who is a capable blocker and a threat as a downfield receiver. But he figures to go in the top 10 picks, with the Jets being rumored to have plenty of interest.
David Njoku of Miami, who at 6-foot-4 has long arms, a high vertical and caught eight touchdown passes last year for the ’Canes, could be available when the Giants select.
So could Evan Engram of Ole Miss, who is more of a slot receiver than a prototypical tight end. Some see Engram as a good complement to Rhett Ellison, the former Viking who signed a four-year, $18 million free-agent contract with the Giants last month, and Jerrell Adams, a 2016 sixth-round draft pick out of South Carolina.
Given the choices after Howard, the Giants should pass on a tight end in the first round for a couple of reasons. They’ve already got Ellison, and based on the offense under head coach Ben McAdoo, the Giants haven’t quite figured out what kind of tight end they need or its importance to the offense.
“I think that the best coaches make an adjustment to really what your personnel is, and I think that is part of being a coach,” Reese said. “You don’t always have the perfect pieces to what you want and you have to make the adjustment, and I think the best coaches do that.”
The Giants have had a mixed history at tight end. Mark Bavaro was a fixture during the 1986 and 1990 Super Bowl teams. But the Giants won the 2007 Super Bowl with a backup, Kevin Boss, and the 2011 Super Bowl with Jake Ballard and Bear Pascoe.
The Giants last drafted a tight end in the first round in 2002, when they took Jeremy Shockey out of Miami. He became an impact player and made the Pro Bowl four times before he was traded after the 2007 season.
Since then, the Giants have had a revolving door of tight ends, using a mixture of veteran free agents such as Martellus Bennett and young players who needed development like Larry Donnell. Figure that continues this year.
The tight end hasn’t been featured much in McAdoo’s offense and doesn’t figure to be with Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard the primary targets. Will Tye led Giants tight ends last year with 48 receptions for 395 yards and one touchdown.
“What your head coach’s philosophy is, that is what determines what your tight-end role is,” Reese said. “You look at different teams and tight ends are a big part of what they do and you look at us and we haven’t been a two tight end kind of offense under Ben. But we do feel like a tight end could come in and help us.”
Don’t count on it.