New York Giants co-owner John Mara: "Time to pick it up" in the draft

New York Giants co-owner John Mara is tired of watching his team play bad football. He has been making that obvious for months, and on Wednesday he turned the screws just a little tighter on general manager Jerry Reese, the guy in charge of finding enough talent to get the situation fixes.

"Every draft is important, but I would say this one moreso than usual," Mara said. "Because we're picking so high, and because we're coming off of three-and-a-half losing years.

"It's time to pick it up. We spent all this money in free agency, and we got better. But we're still not there, and we need some impact players."

Mara made those remarks while attending a MetLife Stadium press conference to announce a Paul McCartney concert. They are consistent with what Mara has been talking about the entire offseason, and with his statements that it is up to Reese to get it straightened out.

Question is, how will the added heat impact the way Reese approaches the draft? We have already seen the Giants go on a risky and unprecedented free-agent spending spree in free agency. Will the fact that Reese obviously knows his bosses aren't in the mood to wait two or three years to fix things change how he drafts? Will he be less risk-averse? Will he pass on a player like Robert Nkemdiche of Ole Miss for one who offers more stability? Under these circumstances, would he actually be willing to take a risk with Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith at some point?

There is no way to know, but with the draft just a couple of weeks away it is fair to wonder about those possibilities.