The New York Giants hold the fifth and seventh overall selections in next week’s NFL draft and could use one of those picks on an edge rusher.
Several Giants beat reporters don’t believe that will be Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, however. The Giants are forging a new culture and new general manager Joe Schoen isn’t about to take a chance on players who may not buy into the team’s new mantra.
“It would be a surprise if the Giants draft Thibodeaux because some members of the front office have been turned off by his personality, according to a source,” writes The Athletic’s Dan Duggan. “But Schoen will make the final call, so it’s impossible to say with certainty what he’ll do if Thibodeaux is available when the Giants are on the clock.”
“It weighs heavy,” Schoen said of a prospect’s character. “If it’s a guy that we don’t think fits from a character standpoint, we’ll just take him off the board. He goes on and has a really good career somewhere else, that’s fine. We’ve just got to get it right for what we want in our building.”
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan also doesn’t see a future in blue for Thibodeaux either.
“I don’t get the impression they’re that high on [Thibodeaux] or at least in love with,” Raanan said on his Breaking Big Blue podcast.
The Giants are said to be leaning heavily towards taking an offensive tackle and/or a cornerback. They will have a chance to land one — or both — with those two picks. They also have several other edge rushers to choose from in Georgia’s Travon Walker or Jermaine Johnson II of Florida State.
Of course, it all depends on what the four teams in front of them (and Carolina, who selects sixth overall) do with their picks. Thibodeaux could be gone in the first few picks. There is no clear No. 1 choice in this draft and the first four teams (Jacksonville, Detroit, Houston and the Jets) have not committed to any one player or even any one position.
The Giants will sit and wait and do what is best for them. Schoen is in the process of making a list of his top seven players and will apparently select whoever falls to him out of that group regardless of position or need.
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