With the NFL Draft starting on April 26, the Giants own the second overall selection and will look to fill holes on their roster that caused them to slump to a 3-13 record in 2017.
Let’s take a look at the Giants’ best and worst Draft Picks each year since 2000. It’s not necessarily the best and worst player of each draft as where they were selected played a role.
Note: Eli Manning is not included as he was drafted by the Chargers, and then traded to the Giants. Additionally, Phillip Rivers isn’t included as he never played for the Giants.
Best
- 2000 - Brandon Short, LB (4th round, 105th overall)
Short started 43 of the Giants’ 48 games from 2001-03 and had two interceptions along with seven sacks.
- 2001 - Will Peterson, CB (3rd round, 78th overall)
Peterson started 39 games from the Giants from 2001-05 and intercepted five passes.
- 2002 - Jeremy Shockey, TE (1st round, 14th overall)
Shockey was named to the Pro Bowl in four of his first five seasons.
- 2003 - David Diehl, G/OT (5th round, 160th overall)
Diehl was a Pro Bowler in 2009 and started 160 games over 11 seasons with New York.
- 2004 - Chris Snee, G (2nd round, 34th overall)
Snee was named to four Pro Bowls and started every one of his career 141 games as a member of the Giants.
- 2005 - Justin Tuck, DE (3rd round, 74th overall)
A First Team All-Pro in 2008, Tuck had 60.5 sacks with the Giants and four years of reaching double-digit sack totals.
- 2006 - Barry Cofield, DT (4th round, 124th overall)
Cofield started 78 of the Giants’ 80 games from 2006-10, not including all four playoff games in their Super Bowl run of the 2007 season.
- 2007 - Ahmad Bradshaw, RB (7th round, 250th overall)
Bradshaw won two Super Bowls with the Giants and twice ran over 1,000 yards.
- 2008 - Mario Manningham, WR (3rd round, 95th overall)
Manningham is best known for his excellent catch near the sidelines that helped the Giants prevail in Super Bowl XLVI.
- 2009 - Hakeem Nicks, WR (1st round, 29th overall)
Nicks combined for 2,244 yards on 155 catches with 18 touchdowns in 2010-11.
- 2010 - Jason Pierre-Paul, DE (1st round, 15th overall)
With 58.5 sacks, Pierre-Paul ranks seventh in team history in the category.
- 2011 - Jacquian Williams, LB (6th round, 202nd overall)
Williams started 22 games over four seasons for the Giants.
- 2012 - Rueben Randle, WR (2nd round, 63rd overall)
A bad draft by the Giants, Randle was the only one who was somewhat productive as he caught 188 balls for 2,644 yards and 20 touchdowns in four seasons.
- 2013 - Johnathan Hankins, DT (2nd round, 49th overall)
Hankins was an excellent run-stopper for the Giants as he started 41 games from 2014-16 and also recorded 10 sacks in that time.
- 2014 - Odell Beckham Jr., WR (1st round, 12th overall)
The 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year, Beckham has already compiled 313 catches for 4,424 yards and 38 touchdowns in his first career 47 games.
- 2015 - Landon Collins, S (2nd round, 33rd overall)
Collins received nine votes for Defensive Player of the Year in the 2016 season, giving him a third place finish.
- 2016 - Sterling Shepard, WR (2nd round, 40th overall)
Shepard has caught 124 passes, 10 of which have gone for touchdowns, over his first two seasons.
- 2017 - Wayne Gallman, RB (4th round, 140th overall)
Gallman rushed for 476 yards and caught 34 passes in 13 games as a rookie.
Worst
- 2000 - Ron Dayne, RB (1st round, 11th overall)
The Heisman Trophy winner in his senior season of 1999, Dayne averaged 3.5 Yards Per Carry in four years with the Giants.
- 2001 - Cedric Scott, DE (4th round, 114th overall)
Scott’s career lasted 13 games (nine in his one season with the Giants) and he didn’t record a sack.
- 2002 - Jeff Hatch, OT (3rd round, 78th overall)
Hatch started all four of his appearances in his rookie season but never appeared in a regular season game again.
- 2003 - William Joseph, DT (1st round, 25th overall)
Joseph started just 17 games in four seasons with the Giants.
- 2004 - Jamaar Taylor, WR (6th round, 168th overall)
Taylor’s career was nondescript as he ended with six career catches.
- 2005 - Eric Moore, DE (6th round, 186th overall)
The Giants made only four draft choices in 2005 and the other three were very productive for the team. Moore played only one season for New York.
- 2006 - Sinorice Moss, WR (2nd round, 44th overall)
A second round pick, Moss caught just 39 passes from 2006-09 with the Giants.
- 2007 - Jay Alford, DT (3rd round, 81st overall)
Alford had just 16 tackles in two seasons with the Giants.
- 2008 - Bryan Kehl, LB (4th round, 123rd overall)
Kehl had 45 tackles, one sack, and one interception in 31 games with the Giants.
- 2009 - Clint Sintim, LB (2nd round, 45th overall)
Playing only two career seasons, Sintim made one start for the Giants in 2010.
- 2010 - Chad Jones, S (3rd round, 76th overall)
Jones got in a car crash before his rookie season began, an incident that broke his tibia and fibula. He never appeared in a regular season game.
- 2011 - Marvin Austin, DT (2nd round, 52nd overall)
Austin played just one season for the Giants recording eight tackles in eight games.
- 2012 - David Wilson, RB (1st round, 32nd overall)
Wilson was forced to retire after just two seasons due to a neck injury.
- 2013 - Cooper Taylor, S (5th round, 152nd overall)
Taylor played just 16 career games and finished with 12 tackles.
- 2014 - Andre Williams, RB (4th round, 113th overall)
Rushing for 2,177 yards as a senior at Boston College in 2013, Williams averaged just 3.2 yards per carry in two years with the Giants.
- 2015 - Ereck Flowers, OT (1st round, 9th overall)
Flowers is finally moved away from the critical left tackle position with the team’s signing of Nate Solder.
- 2016 - Eli Apple, CB (1st round, 10th overall)
Apple struggled mightily in his second year and was suspended for the season finale.
- 2017 - Adam Bisnowaty, OT (6th round, 200th overall)
While it’s too early to really pick a worst draft choice after one year, Bisnowaty spent much of his rookie year on the practice squad despite the team’s offensive line struggles.
