Giants are Benefiting From Reese's Shrewd Drafting

On the day after the NFL draft, the Internet buzzes with report cards grading the 32 teams, purporting to know which general managers picked the next NFL star and which ones chose the next bust — even though none of those rookies has played a game.

But eight months later, we've seen enough of the Giants' rookie class to say this: Giants general manager Jerry Reese deserves an "A" for his 2007 draft.

The Giants drafted eight players, and all eight of them not only made the roster but have played for the Giants in the playoffs. The Giants have had major contributions from the first player they chose, cornerback Aaron Ross, and the last, running back Ahmad Bradshaw. And the six players drafted in between have been productive members of the team as well.

When the Giants play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, the most important member of the rookie class will be Ross. Ross suffered a shoulder injury during the Giants' game against the Dallas Cowboys, but he says he expects to play against the Packers, and the Giants need him to. Cornerbacks Sam Madison and Kevin Dockery both sat out in Dallas with injuries, and if they play at all against Green Bay, they won't be playing at 100%. Without Ross, Packers quarterback Brett Favre would pick the Giants' secondary apart.

Wide receiver Steve Smith, the Giants' second-round pick, didn't contribute nearly as much as Ross did during the regular season, but he is catching on at just the right time. After missing most of his rookie year with injuries, Smith has caught seven passes for 77 yards in the playoffs, ranking second on the team, behind only Amani Toomer in both categories.

Third-round pick Jay Alford and fourth-round pick Zak DeOssie are rarely noticed, but that's a good thing. Although Alford is listed on the roster as a defensive tackle and DeOssie is listed as a linebacker, their real jobs are as long snappers, with Alford snapping on field goals and extra points and DeOssie snapping on punts. As every Giants fan knows from playoffs past, long snappers get noticed when they make mistakes. DeOssie and Alford have both been solid this year.

The Giants' most pleasant surprise has been fifth-round draft pick Kevin Boss, a tight end from Western Oregon. When the Giants drafted the 6-foot-6-inch, 253-pound Boss, they just hoped he would adjust to the pro game quickly enough to contribute on special teams, and maybe do some blocking in short-yardage situations. But when tight end Jeremy Shockey was lost for the season with a broken leg during the Giants' December 16 loss to the Washington Redskins, Boss became the starting tight end. In that role, he has far exceeded expectations, making several big plays in the passing game. In Sunday's win over the Dallas Cowboys, Boss caught a 19-yard pass on third down late in the second quarter, setting up a game-tying touchdown pass on the next play that gave the Giants all the momentum heading into halftime. Although Boss doesn't have Shockey's speed and will never be the deep threat that Shockey is, he has played well enough that the offense hardly seems to miss Shockey at all.

Sixth-round pick Adam Koets, an offensive tackle from Oregon State who didn't play at all in the regular season, got on the field for the first time in the playoff game in Tampa Bay and contributed on special teams. Koets has been the least productive of the Giants' draft picks, but on most NFL teams, the least productive draft pick doesn't even make it out of training camp.

Seventh-round pick Michael Johnson, a safety from Arizona, has started five games on defense and contributed on special teams. Johnson has recently played an increased role in the safety blitzes that Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes to call, and against the Cowboys, his pressure on Tony Romo forced an incomplete third-down pass that ended a Dallas drive.

Bradshaw has gone from playing his college ball at Marshall a year ago to becoming the Giants' leading rusher this postseason, with 23 carries for 100 yards in two games. The Giants will need big plays on offense to beat the Packers, and Bradshaw, probably the Giants' fastest offensive player, might be the man to make those big plays.

The contributions from the Giants' rookies show what a wise decision it was for the team to promote Reese, a longtime scout, to general manager in January of 2007. Reese first worked as a college scout for the Giants in 1994, and he spent the next dozen years advising former general manager Ernie Accorsi about which free agents to sign and which college players to draft. Reese, a former defensive back at the University of Tennessee at Martin, has a reputation for identifying talented small-school prospects, and he did that again in last year's draft with players such as Boss and Bradshaw.

If the Giants get to the Super Bowl, the relatively anonymous Reese will begin to receive the credit he deserves for his work in the Giants' draft room last April. But even if the Giants' season ends on Sunday, Reese has passed his first year as a general manager with flying colors.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.