Giants Free Agency Rumors: Running back Shane Vereen on Giants' radar

The New York Giants missed out on a pair of big free-agent prizes they wanted, coming up short in bids to land safety Devin McCourty and defensive end Brandon Graham. The Giants, however, could be on the verge of snaring the pass-catching, change-of-pace running back they have been seeking. According to the Daily News, the Giants have a "serious chance" of signing Shane Vereen of the New England Patriots.

Vereen would be an excellent complement to Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams. Jennings is an all-around back, but he will be 30 next season and he is not an explosive play-maker. Willliams is a power back and not necessarily a home run threat.

Here is some of what we wrote earlier this offseason in profiling Vereen as a potential free-agent target for the Giants:

Vereen, 25, was a second-round pick by New England in 2011. He caught 47 passes in 2013 and 52 in 2014. He has been mostly a pass-catcher for the Patriots. For his career, he has 907 yards rushing on 217 carries, an average of 4.1 yards per rushing attempt.

"Vereen picked the Super Bowl to give one of his best performances in a Patriots uniform. He's not really a threat in between the tackles, but he might be better suited for a zone-based rushing game, instead of the power run that the Patriots favored this season," said Rich Hill of SB Nation's New England web site, Pats Pulpit. "He has wide receiver ability (check his TD catch against the Jets this season) and is an incredible weapon out of the backfield."

Pro Football Focus ranks Verren No. 6 among available free-agent running backs, and says "His receiving ability brings a different dynamic that many other players do not offer."

Your thoughts, Giants fans? Would you like to see Vereen join the Giants?