*Giants executives discuss the team's draft picks on Day 3: *
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants entered the 2017 NFL Draft with their customary hopes of improving their team in both the short and long-term, and exited the three-day selection process today confident they had done exactly that.
The six new Giants players – a tight end, two defensive linemen, a quarterback, running back, and offensive lineman – will all get an opportunity to compete for roster spots and playing time, beginning with the rookie minicamp in two weeks.
"I feel that we have added a lot of competition to the roster," coach Ben McAdoo said. "Whether it was through free agency, adding some pieces there, or through the draft – we have a competitive roster."
"We always try to get players that can help us now, and obviously players that can help us down the road," general manager Jerry Reese said soon after the Giants had made their final selection. "I think we have a good combination of both of that. I always tell you guys, our first three picks we think should come in and be contributors right away. Hopefully, the guys on the back side of your picks can help you as well."
Well, there is a caveat to Reese's oft-repeated statement about the first three selections. The Giants' third-round choice was California quarterback Davis Webb. And he will contribute this year only if Eli Manning is injured, which no one wants to see.
The Giants' third-day selections were Clemson running back Wayne Gallman (fourth round), Youngstown State defensive end Avery Moss (fifth), and Pittsburgh offensive lineman Adam Bisnowaty (sixth). They traded their seventh-round selection to move up to take Bisnowaty in the sixth round. It was the second year in a row the Giants did not keep their seventh-round pick; their 2016 choice in the final round was sent to Pittsburgh in the trade that brought the Giants punter Brad Wing.
The threesome chosen Saturday joins the Giants' first three selections: Mississippi tight end Evan Engram, Alabama defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, and Webb.
"We stuck to our board from the first round until the sixth," said Marc Ross, the Giants' vice president of player evaluation. "We're not going to reach. If we feel like there is a player of value and need at the right place and the right time, we are going to take him. We're just not going to jump over players that we feel are better players who can contribute to reach for a perceived position of need."
When asked about his expectations for the three final-day selections, McAdoo responded with an answer that applies to the entire draft class.
"As long as they are here, they have a chance," the second-year coach said. "Late round picks, undrafted free agents, we view them all the same. They are going to have an opportunity to go out and compete for a job. Whether you get drafted high, drafted low or don't get drafted at all, you are going to have an opportunity."
With their fourth-round selection, No. 140 overall, the Giants selected Gallman, a productive back from national champion Clemson. A 6-0, 215-pounder, Gallman played in 42 games with 37 starts in three seasons and rushed for 3,429 yards and 34 touchdowns while averaging 5.1 yards on 676 carries. He also caught 65 passes for 473 yards (7.3-yard average) and two scores.
In the Tigers' 2016 title season, Gallman rushed for a team-high 1,133 yards and 17 touchdowns, and caught 20 passes for 152 yards. In Clemson's national championship game victory against Alabama, he ran for 46 yards on 18 attempts, including a one-yard touchdown, and had three receptions for 39 yards.
"I'm a hard, physical runner," Gallman said. "I believe I have all the aspects in the running game that a running back is supposed to have. I have speed, power, whatever a team needs to get that extra yard."
Gallman will compete with second-year pro Paul Perkins and Orleans Darkwa for playing time in the Giants' backfield.
"(He is a) different type of player (than Perkins)," McAdoo said. "He is a little longer-type player. He has some speed and we feel like he has some upside in the pass game."
With their fifth-round selection, No. 167, the Giants took Moss, a 6-3, 265-pound defensive end from Youngstown State, who began his career at Nebraska. As a senior last season, Moss started all 15 games for a Penguins team that lost to James Madison in the FCS national championship game. He recorded 59 tackles (42 solo), 10.5 sacks, 22 tackles for losses, four forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. As a redshirt freshman at Nebraska in 2013, Moss had 36 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 12 games, but he was dismissed from the team and worked at a car dealership in 2014 before enrolling at Youngstown.
Now his career is back on track, and he is expected to contribute to the Giants' defense in 2017.
"I have had a lot of adversity," Moss said. "Perseverance is a normal language for me. That is something I am used to and I just keep going through and keep doing. I am relentless when it comes to effort. I never want to give up on a play just because it is never done until the whistle is blown, and I think I can definitely try to assist and learn from the D-ends that are already there, and then just try to add on in terms of a pass rush standpoint, try to make some noise and help New York get to something big."
In the sixth round, the Giants traded with the Tennessee Titans to advance seven spots to select Bisnowaty. They gave the Titans their sixth-round (No. 207) and seventh round (No. 241) selections to obtain the 200th overall pick.
Bisnowaty, 6-6 and 304 pounds, played in 45 games with 43 starts in four seasons at Pitt after redshirting in 2012. All of his starts were at left tackle. In 2016, he was selected first-team All-ACC by the league's coaches. He was also named to the ACC All-Academic team for the fourth consecutive year.
Being brainy off the field has not stopped Bisnowaty from being brawny on the field.
"I am a nasty football player," Bisnowaty said. "I get after people. That is something that I am very proud of – I am out there and I am physical every play, making sure that the guy across from me wants to quit. Everything I do on the field is nasty and physical and I take myself off the field with the preparation and I take that to the next level, so that when I get out there it is all football."
Why did the Giants trade up to get him?
"We thought that there wasn't a lot left on the board in respect to offensive line," Reese said. "He could've easily been there, but we had a little huddle and said let's go get this guy if we can. We gave up our seventh round pick to get him."
The six-man draft class of 2016 paid immediate dividends thanks to Eli Apple, Sterling Shepard, B.J. Goodson, Perkins, and Jerell Adams. The new group will no doubt strive to make an even larger impact this year.
"We're always happy with the draft," Reese said. "It's a long process and a big project. A lot of time, work and effort goes into it. Our scouts, who again probably no one in here knows or most don't know who they are, just happy for them. We feel like we got some good players for the labor that they put into being on the road for probably close to 200 days a year, and really digging these guys out to put them in front of myself and all of our personnel people. Happy for them that we feel like we got some good players."
Now all they have to do is produce.
