When Joe Schoen finally assembles his draft board with the input of other members of the Front Office, Analysts and Coaches, I'm curious to know what philosophy they will pursue when it comes to their board.

My hypothetical is, what if Schoen concludes there's only 18-20 players (or whatever number less than 24) who they truly consider 1st Round talent. I'm not talking about "elite" talent, just bonafide 1st Round players.

Do the Giants trade up to get one of the few remaining on their draft board as the first 12 or so picks go off the board? Do they target something lower around pick 20 or 21 but still moving up a few spots from 25? Should the Giants trade up at all to grab their guy?

If the Giants don't trade up, I would assume they would want to trade down the draft board to get more draft assets since the hypothetical assumes there's a maximum of 23 or 24 true first round talents. Yes, I know there's 31 players who will be selected in the 1st Round, but that doesn't necessarily mean years from now they would prove worthy of their 1st Round status.

However, it takes an interested team to move UP to 25 for the Giants pick, and if no team shows that interest because they have concluded just like Schoen has that all the true 1st Round talents are gone, then what do the Giants do? Stay put, and select the best of the leftovers who fills the BPA/Need/Value proposition best? Or should Schoen go selling his pick to take less trade value in return so that he can drop back into the 2nd Round where the values will start to better align with his Draft Board?

I don't know the answer, and I doubt anyone at BBV knows either, but I'd like to know your guesses at what Schoen would do under these circumstances... or if you prefer, what you as GM would do under these circumstances.

The first determinant of course would be figuring out how many players are truly 1st Round caliber and then making a philosophical decision based on that in relation to the Giants Draft Board. I hope this hypothetical can reveal some strategies the Giants can take because I'm not sure what I would do if put into this position.