The Giants continued the overhaul of their roster on the second day of the NFL draft by selecting saftey Xavier McKinney and Tackle Matt Peart late Friday night.
McKinney who played for Alabama admitted during his media conference call that he had more contact with the Giants since the regular draft process had been altered.
“I communicated with them (Giants) a good bit, especially towards this ending part of it with us not having pro day and stuff like that” said McKinney during his media call. “So, I’ve been in contact with them a few times and I always got a good vibe with them. It was people I felt comfortable with, it was coaches I felt comfortable with. Just knowing that everything was smooth when we talked, and they were more just trying to get to know me as a person instead of a player because they already knew what I could do on the field. They wanted to know what I could do off the field. But you know, I enjoyed talking to them. I’m surely very happy, very excited that they were able to draft me.
McKinney was an All American with Alabama last season and came with high praise from Head Coach Joe Judge.
“I was down in Alabama actually scouting a couple other guys for the draft and had an opportunity to pass on through one of the practices, and he just stuck out as a guy on the field who flies around” Judge said during Friday Nights Media call. ” He plays with a lot of passion and energy. He also has that ability to be the quarterback on the backend and really be the signal caller for our defense. Knowing the program he comes from, he fits the mold of a smart, tough, fundamentally sound guy we’re looking to build with. We’re very excited to have him. Like Dave said, we had a first-round grade on him, saw him hanging around and we’re very fortunate to be able to take him at the position that we did.”
Matt Peart:
The Giants used their third round pick on Offensive Tackle Matt Peart out of UConn. The Jamaican native was the Giants 99th overall in the third pick on Friday night.
During his session with the media, Peart openly admitted they grew an admiring the Giants.
“I came from Jamaica at a young age and growing up in New York, I kind of fell in love with the Knicks and then also the Giants soon after that” said Pearlt. “Just watching them on the TV, just the culture and everything the Giants stand for was something that was appealing for me as a young kid. Especially growing up, especially that moment in high school when they had that Super Bowl win my freshman year. That was a very, very fun time for me. “
Head Coach Joe Judge did discuss the strength of having a young prospect on the roster. Hoping he can build into a great player in their system.
“I think they are all one of those players for me. He definitely has a lot of upside. I don’t want to say he is developmental, he is developing, and they all are. He’s got tremendous work ethic, he’s got a great attitude” Said Judge. “I think we are going to see a lot better football in the future than we’ve seen from him already. That’s what makes us really excited to work with these guys that we’re bringing in.
The Giants will have seven more picks during Saturdays portion of the NFL Draft.
