Throughout the pre-draft process I have talked to several NFL Draft analysts, and the general consensus is that the New York Giants will take the best lineman on the board at No. 19 in the 2011 NFL Draft -- whether that be offensive or defensive.
With that in mind, General Manager Jerry Reese was asked lots of questions about the lines during Thursday's pre-draft press conference.
Reese was asked specifically if he would avoid drafting a player at a position like defensive line because of the perceived depth the team already has at the position.
"If a defensive lineman is there at 19 we'll be deeper in our defensive line," Reese said. "We're going to take the best player. We're going to try to pick the best players in the draft."
As for the offensive line, he was asked about the idea that there could be several linemen seen as "value" picks available to the Giants at 19.
"There's good players in the offensive line, we think." Reese said. "There's good players at every position."
Reese, as he did with the linebacker position, reiterated that there are several players on the current roster that the team still expects contributions from, most notably 2009 second-round pick Will Beatty.
"Will Beatty is a guy we picked in the second round. We expect second-round guys to play," Reese said.
"He did a fine job when he was in there. We won a bunch of games when he played left tackle for us. We expect him to challenge."
Reese also said he was expecting to see last season's fifth-round pick Mitch Petrus, as well as reserve Adam Koets "continue to grow and battle for spots."