Good teams draft well. Great ones find value.
Whether it's a first-round pick who goes on to a Hall of Fame career or a late-rounder who plays a decade, teams separate from the pack with players who exceed expectations.
With the 2015 NFL Draft approaching, Giants.com looks at those players over the years and counts down the top 10 values in New York Giants draft history.
Today we unveil the next two off the list.
8. LB Sam Huff
Draft Class: 1956
Round: 3 (30th overall)
College: West Virginia
Huff became an immediate star at middle linebacker after he was drafted by the Giants in the third round in 1956 following an All-America career at West Virginia. He played in five Pro Bowls and was named All-NFL four years.
Huff won recognition for his great individual efforts against the premier running backs of his era, including Jim Brown of Cleveland, Rick Casares of Chicago and Alan Ameche of Baltimore. He was named the NFL's Outstanding Lineman in 1959. Huff anchored a defense that helped the Giants reach the championship game in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1963. He was traded to the Washington Redskins prior to the 1964 season and has been a color analyst on the Redskins radio broadcasts for many years.
"You talk about a Hall of Famer, well, that's great, we all know how phenomenal Sam Huff was as a player," Giants broadcaster Paul Dottino said. "But how about the fact that when he came out of West Virginia, this is a guy who played offensive and defensive line, one of those two-way players. And it was Tom Landry and Sam who crafted the fact that he would be a flex middle linebacker in the 4-3 so that the defensive line would get guys off of him and so that he could roam free and stop the likes of Jim Brown and Jim Taylor."
Top-10 Giants value draft picks of all-time
7. DE Michael Strahan
Draft Class: 1993
Round: 2 (40th overall)
College: Texas Southern
Strahan played his entire career with the Giants from 1993-2007. A standout as both a run stopper and pass rusher, Strahan joins Hall of Famer Mel Hein and Phil Simms as the only players in Giants history to play 15 years with the team.
Strahan played in a franchise-record 216 regular-season games. He was a four-time first-team All-Pro (1997, 1998, 2001 and 2003), a seven-time Pro Bowler and the 2001 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year. Strahan had 141.5 career regular season sacks, which is the Giants' franchise record and the fifth-highest total in NFL history.
Strahan holds the NFL single-season record with 22.5 sacks in 2001. He also led the NFL in 2003 with 18.5 sacks and is the only Giants player to twice lead the league in sacks. Strahan was a captain of the 2007 Giants team that won Super Bowl XLII.
"Well, I think you can argue that any player who makes the Hall of Fame is a good value, no matter where he's chosen," Giants.com senior writer/editor Michael Eisen said. "But Michael Strahan, even if he hadn't been a Hall of Famer, would be a tremendous value pick as a second-rounder -- 141.5 career sacks, seven-time Pro Bowler, a tremendous team leader, underrated run defender. Just an all-around tremendous defensive end."
Top-10 Giants value draft picks of all-time
The Top 10 Values in New York Giants Draft History
**10: RB Ahmad Bradshaw**
**9: OL David Diehl**
8: LB Sam Huff
7: DE Michael Strahan
6-1: To be revealed…
