Welcome to the Giants.

[NeMesiS]

Blue, I think we all agree on the need for OL, but feel that #19 was far too high for Pugh.

 

Man, I was hoping for Warwick...

[Storm]

I understand, but people said the same thing about Wilson.

 

Hell people said the same thing about Eli.

 

I remember when Eli was drafted, I think it was an interview with EA he said something along the lines of "You draft who you want and who will make you a winner" He wanted Eli and he wanted a winner. It's why the Bills took a flyer on Manuel(sp), they got who they wanted, someone they think will make them a winner.

 

Reese and Co obviously must of loved Pugh to draft him much like they must of loved Wilson to draft him at the end of the first when everyone screamed that the Giant's could of drafted Wilson in round two or gotten someone better, or in Eli's case not giving up all those picks and went with Big Ben.

 

I think Coughlin had a hard-on for a Syracuse guy and he probably had a lot of sway with this pick....personally.

[BlueInCanada]

Front Office Reacts to Justin Pugh pick

 

Posted 45 minutes ago

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GM Jerry Reese, Coach Tom Coughlin and Director of College Scouting Marc Ross talk about the selection of Syracuse OT Justin Pugh

 

 

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN

 

We are excited about this pick. We had an opportunity throughout the course of our meetings here to sort of analyze the players that we thought would be available to us at this particular spot in the draft if something didn’t happen to shock us out of that position. There was a run on the tackles early, as you know. It kind of backed off - Fluker was taken and then it kind of backed it. There was a trade right in front of us. We didn’t think San Francisco would take an offensive lineman. We didn’t know for sure, but we didn’t think so. And so in the group of players that we really liked that we hoped would be available to us at 19, we had this young man right at the top – Justin was the guy on the board who was on top. So we are real happy to get him. I have been asked, ‘Do you think it is time for you to take a hard look at your offensive line in terms of young talent?’ Well, there always is. Some years it is just not available to you. So we do feel like the addition of some young talented players in our offensive line is going to help us going forward in the future. We think we have a young man who has demonstrated the ability to learn. He is a very technically sound player. He has performed at the left tackle position. We think he can play right tackle. We have even talked about the versatility that he presents because he has big hands and perhaps he is even a guy that could be considered as a center if we thought we needed that. So versatility – smart – technically sound – a guy that we think can grasp the system right away and be in a position to help us out as a young player in a position that is not easy to play right away. And that is the offensive line at the professional level.

Q: Would you like him to wind up on day one at right tackle?

A: Well, that is probably what will happen. But we will look at the rest of the draft and see what happens to come our way. And at the end of that we will assess our depth and see where we think we should start him out. He has been a tackle. I would expect him to stay there. Whether he goes over to the right side or not, and how fast he goes over there – we will have to decide.

 

Q: Could he be an opening day starter?

A: I’m sure that competitively he will have that opportunity. If he wins the job, then he would be the starter.

 

Q: You and others in the organization talked a lot this offseason about fortifying the trenches on both sides of the line.

A: Very important.

 

Q: How big a priority…top of your list?

A: Well, it certainly was a strong consideration. I have always believed that if you are strong in the offensive and the defensive lines, you have a great chance to be competitive. And this is certainly consistent with that theory. We have got good young players here that are going to compete. We have veteran leadership here as well. It is a good situation to be in. Let’s let them compete. As best we can, we would like to be competitive and have challenges at all positions. As more competition as we can place, no matter what the position is, the better off as a team we are going to be.

 

Q: Did you have a chance to talk to him?

A: I did.

 

Q: What impressed you about him?

A: His first answer; the first question he was asked.

 

Q: Which was?

A: ‘Who is the Syracuse alum that you are most familiar with?’ He didn’t say Jim Brown, he said ‘Coughlin.’ He passed the IQ test right away at the Combine. That was a Marc Ross (question) – you knew that was coming when Marc took the floor. I knew something was coming.

 

Q: Was his run blocking what jumped out at you in watching the Syracuse offense?

A: Run and pass. We certainly saw the bowl game in which they did a tremendous job of rushing the ball. But there have been numerous games where that good young quarterback up there had big days as well. So we have been able to see Justin as a pass protector and as a run blocker and have been equally impressed.

 

Q: The way the defense struggled last year, was it hard to go with an offensive player with your first pick?

A: It wasn’t hard, but if you know the way that we conduct our business, it is going to be the best player. You may think that there is a need – a greater need somewhere else – but the history of this organization has always been as far back as you can remember, take the best available player. And I think that was consistent with the first pick of the 2013 Draft.

 

GIANTS DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING MARC ROSS

 

Q: What were your general impressions of Justin Pugh?

A: Justin just is, I’m sure Coach and Jerry have said, is clean – is just a clean player. For us that means he was productive on tape, he plays hard, he’s smart, he’s athletic, he’s physical, he’s a great kid, he doesn’t have any issues and he has a lot of upside. When you go down the checklist of positives that you look for, he had most of those attributes.

 

Q: Did you think some of the tackles that were taken earlier in the draft were going to be available at 19?

A: No, we thought pretty much that some of those guys were going to go quick, that the four who went were going to go pretty much where they did, and even the guards.

 

Q: Is it a strength that he can play a number of positions?

A: For us, I think he has the skillset to play anywhere along the line, and whatever our coaches feel is the biggest need to put him at next year, I think he can do that – from left tackle to center to right tackle to guard, he really has… because he’s so smart, so technique-sound and so athletic, it’s definitely a positive to be able to do that.

 

Q: Do you normally see a guy like that go in the first round?

A: No. Most of these guys are what they are – they’re a right tackle, they’re a center. This guy is the most versatile offensive lineman in our eyes. Other teams may feel differently, but that’s the way we felt, that he was the most versatile.

 

Q: Why did you like this kind of player?

A: Because in a year who knows what our needs will be. Just having a guy that even during a game, if your center goes down, he can go in there and move wherever you want him to go. And there’s nothing wrong with having a top notch left tackle, if that’s what he is. This just added to it. This isn’t the only reason why we liked it. It just added to him.

 

Q: Jerry Reese said he needs to get stronger, but there are a lot of players like him. Is there a goal in mind?

A: That’s up to our strength coaches once they get here. And he was coming off a shoulder injury earlier in the year. He missed the first four games. We don’t think this year was a true indication. He kept getting better, getting stronger throughout the year and into his whole career, I think his body will fill out more and get stronger once he can fully workout with the shoulder. But even in today’s game, those top tackles that got taken, power’s not really their game. [D.J.] Fluker was the power guy, but those other guys were more athletic types of tackles.

 

Q: What makes you confident that he can play multiple positions?

A: He did it at the Senior Bowl. He played a bunch of different positions at practice and during the game. And then his intelligence, he had one of the higher test scores this year. Just talking to him, communicating with him at the combine, it will be an easy transition for him.

 

[BronxRik]

P. U.

[fishgutmartyr]

I don't pretend to know much about the college game, but from what I've heard tonight, I'm intriqued. Technician. Good feet, Can pull and quick to get to the second level. Smart. A leader.

 

That reminds me of Shaun O'Hara. I'm wondering if we didn't ultimately draft a center. It wouldn't be the first time we moved a college tackle to that position, and before Koets blew out he knee, he wasn't half bad.

[Allstarjim]

My take is that the Pugh pick stinks at 19. Not that he's a bad player, I think he'll be an outstanding OG for us, with a chance to play well at RT. But if Fluker was there with the players we had available to us, I don't take him... I take Datone Jones, maybe Shariff Floyd.

 

You see the tape on Datone Jones? That's a 280 lb man with burst, explosion, probably the most powerful DE in the draft. He'll be wasted somewhat in Green Bay's 3-4 at DE. For us he would've been awesome.

 

It's all about the value.

 

Last year, I thought Wilson was an outstanding pick. I had him as a terrific combination of need and value. That's what I look for, but value comes first. If I can get a similar player to Pugh at 49 or later, and I absolutely can by drafting Brian Winters, and I can get Datone Jones or Shariff Floyd right now? Sign me up for that. Because you're not going to find players for your DL that are in that tier of talent at 49 at those positions.

 

But maybe I'm completely wrong and Pugh turns out to be a terrific RT. And believe me, for the #19 overall pick, he's got to be a great OT... not OG, for this pick to be a success. If he's a Guard, he better be Steve Hutchinson for me to give up #19 overall for him. Doesn't matter what he can do for Eli, because like I said, I can still help Eli in rounds 2 and 3 like I did in my 5 UP, and 5 Down thread.

[BlueInCanada]

My take is that the Pugh pick stinks at 19. Not that he's a bad player, I think he'll be an outstanding OG for us, with a chance to play well at RT. But if Fluker was there with the players we had available to us, I don't take him... I take Datone Jones, maybe Shariff Floyd.

 

You see the tape on Datone Jones? That's a 280 lb man with burst, explosion, probably the most powerful DE in the draft. He'll be wasted somewhat in Green Bay's 3-4 at DE. For us he would've been awesome.

 

It's all about the value.

 

Last year, I thought Wilson was an outstanding pick. I had him as a terrific combination of need and value. That's what I look for, but value comes first. If I can get a similar player to Pugh at 49 or later, and I absolutely can by drafting Brian Winters, and I can get Datone Jones or Shariff Floyd right now? Sign me up for that. Because you're not going to find players for your DL that are in that tier of talent at 49 at those positions.

 

But maybe I'm completely wrong and Pugh turns out to be a terrific RT. And believe me, for the #19 overall pick, he's got to be a great OT... not OG, for this pick to be a success. If he's a Guard, he better be Steve Hutchinson for me to give up #19 overall for him. Doesn't matter what he can do for Eli, because like I said, I can still help Eli in rounds 2 and 3 like I did in my 5 UP, and 5 Down thread.

 

Tuck, Osi, Strahan, Cofield, Joesph.

 

All second round and taken atleast pick 40 or later.

 

The Giants have never had a problem drafting DL.

 

JR can help the DL in rounds 2 and 3 using his own method as well

[BlueInCanada]

Jerry Reese on Pugh.

 

http://www.giants.com/media-vault/videos/GM-Reese-on-Justin-Pugh-strengths/d71db152-b4f4-4d34-a18b-0ce0e5f09365

 

"He was the highest guy on our board"

[Allstarjim]

Tuck, Osi, Strahan, Cofield, Joesph.

 

All second round and taken atleast pick 40 or later.

 

The Giants have never had a problem drafting DL.

 

JR can help the DL in rounds 2 and 3 using his own method as well

 

Yep, those guys aren't in the 2013 NFL Draft. We also draft Beatty, a LT, the premium position on the OL, in the 2nd round. Has nothing to do with this year. You get Jones you get a game changer. Pugh is not a game changer. You don't get Pugh and you get Winters instead in the 3rd, and you get the same, or very similar, player, the difference is negligible.

 

If Tank Carradine is available at 49 all is forgiven. But a OG/RT prospect at 19 is too early, especially for the talent that was there. But hey, they have a whole staff of talent evaluators, I have to defer to them. Doesn't change my opinion. You have San Fran jumping ahead of the Giants to get Eric Reid, which is nuts. The Giants could've gone back to 31, given SF the #19 pick and had a good chance of getting Pugh there... and if Pugh's NOT there, you get Menelik Watson, who is a terrific RT, who may be versatile and agile enough to play LT, something Pugh probably can't do, and good value at 31.

[JMFP]

My take is that the Pugh pick stinks at 19. Not that he's a bad player, I think he'll be an outstanding OG for us, with a chance to play well at RT. But if Fluker was there with the players we had available to us, I don't take him... I take Datone Jones, maybe Shariff Floyd.

 

You see the tape on Datone Jones? That's a 280 lb man with burst, explosion, probably the most powerful DE in the draft. He'll be wasted somewhat in Green Bay's 3-4 at DE. For us he would've been awesome.

 

It's all about the value.

 

Last year, I thought Wilson was an outstanding pick. I had him as a terrific combination of need and value. That's what I look for, but value comes first. If I can get a similar player to Pugh at 49 or later, and I absolutely can by drafting Brian Winters, and I can get Datone Jones or Shariff Floyd right now? Sign me up for that. Because you're not going to find players for your DL that are in that tier of talent at 49 at those positions.

 

But maybe I'm completely wrong and Pugh turns out to be a terrific RT. And believe me, for the #19 overall pick, he's got to be a great OT... not OG, for this pick to be a success. If he's a Guard, he better be Steve Hutchinson for me to give up #19 overall for him. Doesn't matter what he can do for Eli, because like I said, I can still help Eli in rounds 2 and 3 like I did in my 5 UP, and 5 Down thread.

 

I agree, Datone Jones looked pretty damn scary....Packers are going to love that guy.

[Allstarjim]

I will say this, I'm not a know-it-all. Reese has historically nailed the first round. And like I said, I like Pugh as a player, this isn't a bust pick... won't be a bad player in the NFL. But I just think we could've gotten more value, and a better player, particularly with Datone Jones there.

[Allstarjim]

I agree, Datone Jones looked pretty damn scary....Packers are going to love that guy.

 

The Packers have done a tremendous job for the defense the past 2 years getting Nick Perry last year which was a steal, and Datone Jones this year. Perry got hurt and ended up on IR his rookie season, but before that, he was playing tremendous football. Datone Jones, Clay Matthews, BJ Raji, and Nick Perry in that front 7? The Packers will not be fun to run against, and they will have a pretty deadly pass rush if those guys stay healthy.

[JMFP]

Still, I'm okay with Pugh in this spot.....you can tell by what Coughlin is saying that he's a classic NY Giants offensive lineman - versatile, smart, and technically sound.

 

I'm okay with the pick.....but if the Giants don't take a defender in rounds 2 and 3, I'll be nervous.

 

Khaseem Greene is the guy I'm tracking now.....might be available in 2nd round for Giants, and would be perfect linebacker in a Cover-2 scheme.

[BlueInCanada]

Yep, those guys aren't in the 2013 NFL Draft. We also draft Beatty, a LT, the premium position on the OL, in the 2nd round. Has nothing to do with this year. You get Jones you get a game changer. Pugh is not a game changer. You don't get Pugh and you get Winters instead in the 3rd, and you get the same, or very similar, player, the difference is negligible.

 

If Tank Carradine is available at 49 all is forgiven. But a OG/RT prospect at 19 is too early, especially for the talent that was there. But hey, they have a whole staff of talent evaluators, I have to defer to them. Doesn't change my opinion. You have San Fran jumping ahead of the Giants to get Eric Reid, which is nuts. The Giants could've gone back to 31, given SF the #19 pick and had a good chance of getting Pugh there... and if Pugh's NOT there, you get Menelik Watson, who is a terrific RT, who may be versatile and agile enough to play LT, something Pugh probably can't do, and good value at 31.

 

Or you know, the Giants draft a player that they wanted to at 19 that they feel like will give them the best chance to win game.

 

Shocking I know to think that the Giant scouts are trying to draft players that will win games but trust me it's true, I have inside information on the organization that they are trying to win another SB championship.

[Allstarjim]

Or you know, the Giants draft a player that they wanted to at 19 that they feel like will give them the best chance to win game.

 

Shocking I know to think that the Giant scouts are trying to draft players that will win games but trust me it's true, I have inside information on the organization that they are trying to win another SB championship.

 

That's what every team is trying to do. But what fun would it be if none of us had opinions? No need for the sarcasm. It's not like Pugh is the only player there that would help win games, though. The fun in talking about draft is that everybody has different opinions. No need for sarcastic poopy-headedness.

[BlueInCanada]

That's what every team is trying to do. But what fun would it be if none of us had opinions? No need for the sarcasm. It's not like Pugh is the only player there that would help win games, though. The fun in talking about draft is that everybody has different opinions. No need for sarcastic poopy-headedness.

 

I know, I think I'm just a little jaded.

 

I went over to the fabled Giants.com forums to see about the draft buzz and I forgot the amount of stupid over there and brought some of it back here.

 

I forgot people here actually put thought and facts behind their opinions.... well most people here heh

 

At the same time I see what people are saying that other players on the board could become better players and who knows even HoF players while Pugh could just be a back up his entire career.

 

I just like the pick, in my opinion and others here don't like it in their opinion.

[Allstarjim]

LOL, BiC, that's cool. I'm reviewing the tape and the combine stuff about him. Just frustrating to me, because I do see what the Giants see in Pugh, I really do. I see a good player with a high floor... I just love upside players, and I thought with Sheldon Richardson gone, Datone Jones was the real BPA. The Giants won't look back at this pick and be unhappy, but in terms of opportunity cost, I think they could've done better.

[RandolphScott]

I didn't read any of the above comments, but seriously? This FUCKING REEKS of the William Joseph year when there was a run on defensive line players and the Giants panicked.

 

The New York Giants took a MOTHERFUCKING CENTER IN ROUND ONE. A MOTHERFUCKING CENTER. Whatever, not a good pick. Anyone who brings up "well...the Giants ALWAYS draft best player available" is fucking stupid, don't talk to me. Anyone who scouted one iota knew this guy wasn't a first rounder. He FUCKING BETTER start opening day.

[osi724dasack]

Guys, this is a good pick.

 

He would have went to the Bears with the next pick had we passed on him.

[osi724dasack]

Seriously, what more can you want?

 

We desperately need OL, and this was the best guy.

 

He can play every position and looks to be a very tough guy and hard worker. Great athlete as well.

[osi724dasack]

 

 

Man, I was hoping for Warwick...

And I was hoping we can have world peace.

[RandolphScott]

Guys, this is a good pick.

 

He would have went to the Bears with the next pick had we passed on him.

 

Who gives a fuck if he went to the Bears? Jay Culter sucks cock. This pick reeks of the Williams Joseph draft. We better nail the 2nd rounder tomorrow.

[UK-Giantsfan]

what an anticlimax ! ( as the Draft usually is ..to be honest )

glad i didnt stay up all night to watch it

i wanted OL ......but who the hell is Justin Pugh ? .....at 19 ......

Looks like a poor pick from Reese .....but i hope im proved wrong over time

[RandolphScott]

I don't pretend to know much about the college game, but from what I've heard tonight, I'm intriqued. Technician. Good feet, Can pull and quick to get to the second level. Smart. A leader.

 

That reminds me of Shaun O'Hara. I'm wondering if we didn't ultimately draft a center. It wouldn't be the first time we moved a college tackle to that position, and before Koets blew out he knee, he wasn't half bad.

 

You don't draft centers unless they are like Mike Webster. Period.

[osi724dasack]

He's not a center...