Giants general manager fires back at former center Shaun O’Hara’s criticism of NFL Draft
Former New York Giants center Shaun O’Hara was very critical of the way his former team approached the 2017 NFL Draft.
O’Hara, who helped the Giants win Super Bowl XLII, ripped the team and general manager Jerry Reese for drafting quarterback Davis Webb in the third round and only using one pick on an offensive lineman (sixth-round pick Adam Bisnowaty).
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“You’re going to draft a quarterback that’s not going to play for three to four years? Eli (Manning) hasn’t missed a game in his entire career—not one game,” O’Hara said in his capacity as an analyst for the NFL Network. “They still have some holes on the offensive line.”
O’Hara’s comments were made before Bisnowaty’s selection. That didn’t change his opinion on the selection of Webb.
“I look at this draft and I can’t believe that they’re again not going to help out on the offensive line, create more competition,” O’Hara said. “To me, that third-round pick was a waste. I think that quarterback Webb, as good as his arm is, is not going to see the field.
“So now, any other position, you would not draft a guy in the third round and say, ‘Hey, maybe we’ll see you in three or four years down the road.’ No. This is Eli Manning’s prime. You just went out and got (wide receiver) Brandon Marshall. You added D.J. Fluker to the offensive line. You have a great opportunity to make a huge statement, protect Eli and help him out. I think they’re missing out on it.”
Reese responded to O’Hara’s criticism.
“Shaun can have his opinion, he can say what he wants to say. But we do this for a living,” Reese said in an interview with Michael Kay and Don LaGreca on ESPN Radio 98.7 in New York City.
Reese maintained that there was no value for the Giants to select an offensive lineman earlier in the draft. There wasn’t a plethora of quality offensive linemen in this year’s draft.
“In the first three rounds, there were only 10 offensive linemen taken,” Reese said. “That should tell you something about the depth…that tells you a little bit about the offensive linemen.”
Reese finds the coverage of the NFL Draft and criticism slightly amusing.
“I get a kick out of it,” he said. “It’s pretty funny sometimes, some of the things said by people who haven’t seen two minutes of video tape, or two minutes of a game, about a player that you picked. Two minutes after the draft, you get a grade on the draft, and they haven’t even put a helmet on for us yet. So, it’s kind of funny, and it’s entertaining. I really don’t have a problem with it.”
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