Here are a few stories of interest as the clock ticks ... slowly ... toward this weekend's NFL Draft.
- The great Mike Garafolo has come up with a scenario for how the Giants can move up into the middle of the first round. It's very plausible, and I love it. Without giving it all away, it involves the New Orleans Saints, Jeremy Shockey and .... Darrius Heyward-Bey.
- FOX Sports columnist John Czarnecki has a list of the best 5 and worst 5 draft decision makers. The only justification I can see for Giants General Manager Jerry Reese being left off the list of the best is that he has not been GM long enough.
- The National Football Post, which every diehard football fan should be reading religiously, ranks the Giants as the second-best run organization in football. Only Pittsburgh ranks ahead of our Giants, and I can't really argue with that. Here is what NFP said about the Giants.
Like the Steelers, the Giants have a unified approach to scouting, drafting and player replacement. And perhaps more than any other organization, especially one in the media capital of the world, the Giants are not managed by the wind generated by talk radio or newspaper columns. They are also a symmetrical organization with equal focus on football, business and league governance.
- Pat Kirwan of NFL.com assesses the risk of taking an underclassman in the first round.
- Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline has a look at a small-school player who could be a big-time sleeper in this weekend's draft.
- SI.com looks at overrated and underrated prospects heading into the weekend.