USAT: Giants Wire audio clip

USAT: Giants Wire

Mar 20, 2022

The New York Giants hold the fifth and seventh overall selections in the 2022 NFL draft. It is the first time they’ve had two picks in the top-10 since the amateur draft began back in 1936. - Throughout their history, the Giants have had 21 picks in the top-7, 11 of which came after the 1970 NFL/AFL merger: - - No. 1: Kyle Rote (1951), Tucker Frederickson (1965) - No. 2: Skippy Minisi (1948), Lawrence Taylor (1981), Saquon Barkley (2018) - No. 3: John Hicks (1974), Carl Banks (1984) - No. 4: Ed Widseth (1937), Paul Page (1949), Philip Rivers (2004), Andrew Thomas (2020) - No. 5: George Connor (1946), Gary Jeter (1977), Cedric Jones (1996) - No. 6: George Franck (1941), Steve Filipowicz (1943), Billy Hillenbrand (1944), Daniel Jones (2019) - No. 7: Travis Tidwell (1950), Phil Simms (1979), Ike Hilliard (1997) - - Of these 21 players, only two went on to Hall of Fame careers. Taylor, of course, and Connor — but not as a Giant. In 1946, Connor decided to forego the NFL for Notre Dame. He eventually would end up with the Chicago Bears where he became an All-Pro tackle. - Rote played 11 seasons for the Giants, making the Pro Bowl four times and was a key contributor on their 1956 NFL Championship team. Frederickson was not so lucky. After a Pro Bowl rookie season, a knee injury would dog him for the remainder of his career, which ended in 1971. - Hicks was a star at Ohio State but fizzled with the Giants on some of the worst offenses in team history. Banks became a star at outside linebacker and in enshrined in the team’s Ring of Honor. - Rivers never played a down for the Giants, getting traded on draft day in the deal that brought Eli Manning to New York. Both will be in Canton shortly. - Jeter played six seasons for the Giants before being traded to the Rams, where he played six more years. He is credited with 79.5 sacks in his 12-year career. - Cedric Jones was the player the Giants ended up with in the 1996 draft after losing out on Kevin Hardy, Simeon Rice and Jonathan Ogden. He played in 79 games over five seasons and recorded just 15 sacks. In retrospect, they could have used the pick on Eddie George, Marvin Harrison or Ray Lewis. - Simms became the Giants’ franchise quarterback in the team’s resurgence in the 1980s. He led the Giants to their first NFL Championship in 30 years in 1986 in Super Bowl XXI, where had a record-setting day and was named the game’s MVP. - Hilliard had a solid eight-year career with the Giants and is sixth all-time in receptions and tenth in receiving yards for Big Blue. He played four seasons with Tampa Bay after the left New York. - Jones and Thomas are still with the team and are key starters. Jones, the quarterback, just received a vote of confidence from management after three trying seasons. Thomas, after a slow start, has become a reliable player at offensive tackle. - - List - - 2022 NFL draft: Giants select a new QB in full 7-round mock - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Giants Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Giants Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

F i l t e r   &   S o r t