Giants news, 2/16: Mock drafts, salary cap, Odell Beckham, more

Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are some Giants-related headlines to start your Friday. The 2018 NFL Draft is quickly approaching and mock drafts have the Giants going many different directions.

2018 NFL mock draft: Five QBs off the board in Round 1, but none to Giants | Washington Post

2. New York Giants (3-13)

Needs: RB, QB, OL

Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame

A guard never gets anyone really excited — and a trade could be in the cards here if New York decides not to select a quarterback — but Nelson is one of the best players in any of the past five or six drafts. The Giants had no running game the past three years and have lost the bully identity that defined them in their four championship years. Drafting Nelson won’t answer the nagging questions surrounding Eli Manning’s future. But if they add Nelson, draft a dynamic three-down running back in the second round and then get a healthy Odell Beckham Jr., back, the Giants could be more ready to compete than if they turn to a rookie QB. An offensive tackle would make the most sense, but there isn’t one worth this selection.

Salary cap situation won’t prohibit Giants from making significant moves | ESPN

It is that time of the year when everyone starts keeping tabs on salary cap space. They look at the numbers and pretend to understand how much money each team has available to sign free agents and conduct business. The reality is that it is significantly more complicated than most people (including myself) are able to completely comprehend.

Here is what we do know: The New York Giants are expected to have somewhere in the range of $25-30 million available under the salary cap this offseason, depending on the cuts they make in the coming weeks. It may sound like a relatively small number -- the Jets are expected to have about $80 million -- but it’s not anything overly prohibitive to a team in need of rebuilding certain position groups, beginning with the offensive line.

As one executive involved in handling a team’s finances once told me: “We can always make things work.”

The Giants likely fall into that category this offseason. They don’t have an exorbitant amount to spend given their current situation -- salary cap site Over the Cap suggests they will have $25 million in cap space -- but it is enough to make some significant moves.

Traina: Why the Giants should wait to extend Odell Beckham Jr. | The Athletic

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who last year made headlines when he shared his desire to become the NFL’s highest-paid player, has not backed down from wanting to get his big-money payday sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately for Beckham, he’s likely looking at “later” to collect.

“We will deal with that at the appropriate time. That is not necessarily right now,” said Giants COO John Mara last month.

“I’ve said before many times that we want him to be a Giant. We will get something done at some point. I first want (new head coach) Pat (Shurmur) to sit down with him and for them to have a good understanding of how we are going to act going forward. I have a lot of confidence that it will work out well, but we’ll see.”

There are the obvious concerns on the surface, starting with Beckham’s season-ending broken ankle injury, for which he had surgery in early October.

Galko: 'A lot of teams feel Buffalo covets Josh Rosen' | WGR 550 SportsRadio

On the Bills wanting a quarterback

"They have aggressively scouting quarterbacks all year long. I think Josh Rosen is the apple of their eye. It'll be hard to go up and get him, but I think the tie between Buffalo and Giants GM David Gettleman kind of paints a picture of where they both might be thinking to go."

On the connection between the Bills & Rosen

"They've traveled to see him multiple times. I've been told by people around the league that a lot of teams feel Buffalo covets Josh Rosen.... People consider that Buffalo and Josh Rosen are a match. It'll be difficult to get him, they'll need to get into the top two picks."

On the Bills ammunition to trade up

"The Bills have been stock piling assets. One reason to do that is to make a move to get a quarterback. Whether it's moving up in draft, trading to get a guy like Nick Foles, or to just take multiple quarterbacks in this draft. They knew that we're a playoff team, to get to that next step we need a franchise quarterback, and they don't believe Tyrod Taylor or Nathan Peterman are those guys."

Have a great weekend Big Blue Nation!