Giants news, 2/8: Dave Gettleman gets front office help, more

Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are your Thursday headlines, topped by a report that GM Dave Gettleman has brought some help into the personnel department as he tries to navigate through free agency and the 2018 NFL Draft.

Dave Gettleman brings in old friend to help Giants with draft | New York Post

Dave Gettleman has imported help for the upcoming draft, bringing in former Panthers personnel executive Mark Koncz as a consultant to assist the scouting department, The Post has learned, for what will be a crucial evaluation period leading up to one of the most important selections the Giants have had in decades.

Gettleman, as the new general manager, will run the draft this year. One of his first moves after he was hired in late December was to fire Marc Ross, the vice president of evaluation, who since 2008 had run the draft for former general manager Jerry Reese. Filling dual roles is a difficult assignment, and Gettleman reached into his recent past for assistance.

Koncz was with the Panthers for the first 20 years of their existence, starting in the ticket office in 1994. He became the team’s pro scouting director in 2000 and Gettleman as the general manager in Charlotte in May 2017 promoted Koncz to director of player personnel. Gettleman was fired by owner Jerry Richardson in July 2017 and soon after, new general manager Marty Hurney fired Koncz.

Although Koncz’s experience is almost exclusively in pro personnel, Gettleman obviously believes he can be an asset for this draft cycle.

Former Giants GM candidate Louis Riddick explains how he'd handle Odell Beckham's contract | NJ.com

Riddick has been critical of Beckham's antics in the past, and there are questions about the receiver's health after he missed the final 11 games of the season with a fractured ankle. But Riddick doesn't think the Giants should wait to give Beckham an extension.

"It's one of those things where the timing obviously is important to make sure you that have some certainty about how he's doing and how he's feeling," Riddick said. "But it's something you want to have done sooner rather than later so there's no holdout, there's no animosity and you continue moving forward."

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