The Giants have been in business for a long, long time. They have been taking players in the NFL Draft since 1936. Never have they gone through an entire draft and failed to take at least one offensive or defensive lineman.
Until now.
“Hmm … interesting,’’ general manager Jerry Reese said.
“Really?’’ said Marc Ross, the vice president of player evaluation. “All right. Historic.’’
Yes, historic.
“That’s probably pretty unique,’’ new head coach Ben McAdoo said. “The last thing you want to do is reach down and reach for a guy. That’s how it went this year.’’
The Giants took six players this year — three on offense and three on defense. They took cornerback Eli Apple of Ohio State, then receiver Sterling Shepard of Oklahoma and safety Darian Thompson of Boise State on the second day of the draft. Saturday, in Rounds 4, 5 and 6, they took middle linebacker B.J. Goodson (Clemson), running back Paul Perkins (UCLA) and tight end Jerell Adams (South Carolina).
Not a big man among them.
“Well, not surprised, we weren’t going to force anything,’’ Ross said. “You always want big bodies but you want the right big bodies. You can’t just go into it and say, ‘We want an offensive lineman.’ We spent a lot in the offseason on the D-line, we got some high draft picks on the O-line, so we have some good players there right now and we weren’t going to force the issue with either one of those positions.’’
Indeed, the Giants spent a fortune to sign Olivier Vernon and Damon Harrison in free agency, and they have two former first-round picks (Ereck Flowers and Justin Pugh) and a second-round pick (Weston Richburg) to anchor the left side of the offensive line. The right side of the line remains in flux and was not addressed in this draft.
“The story has yet to be written,’’ McAdoo said of the status of the starting right guard and tackle. “We’re going to look at every possible combination, give guys a chance to compete, and see where it goes from there. It’s still early.’’
At present, John Jerry at guard and Marshall Newhouse or Bobby Hart at tackle represent the right side of the line. Adding a veteran — Anthony Davis wants to come out of retirement and wants out of San Francisco — is a likely plan.
“If the right somebody shows up,’’ McAdoo said of signing an offensive lineman.
“I’m not talking about anybody else’s player,’’ Reese said when asked about Davis.
What the Giants did, more than anything, is get away from what hurt them in the past — taking gambles on superior athletes who they hoped would develop into good players. All six players in this year’s draft are from big-time football schools and are proven, productive players without any medical or off-the-field issues.
“I think we did a nice job of not having any knee-jerk reactions and just trusting the board and trusting the work that everyone puts into it,’’ McAdoo said.
It appeared to be a well-orchestrated plan, but the Giants say it was simply the way the draft developed.
“We never have a theme going into a draft or the scouting season,’’ Ross said. “It materializes itself through our draft meetings and especially when you get to draft day. It just so happened all these guys kind of have the same sort of qualities.’’
At best, this draft will provide immediate contributors on defense in Apple and Thompson, a possible middle linebacker of the future in Goodson, a No. 2 (possibly starting) running back in Perkins, a starter or third receiver in Shepard and, at the very least, a decent blocking tight end in Adams.
“We’re really excited about the type of player we got on and off the field,’’ Ross said. “Some playmakers, some football players as far as hard-working guys who are going to come in here and be what we’re all about.’’