Hoping to strike gold again with a player whose off-field reputation reportedly caused him to fall down the draft boards, the Giants took Michigan receiver Mario Manningham with their third round pick. Manningham, considered by some to be the best receiver on the board, reportedly had some off-field character issues but those were of no concern to Jerrry Reese and the Giants, who said they did extensive homework on the young man before deciding to draft him.

Reese said that much like Ahmad Bradshaw, last year’s seventh rounder who came in with some character issues, Manningham will be kept n a short leash to where if he screws up, he’s gone. However, Reese said he believes that Manningham has owned up to his past mistakes and is committed to dong what it takes to be a productive receiver in the NFL.

When asked about reports that Manningham had scored just a six on the Wonderlic, Reese didn’t seem bothered by that. “He has good football intelligence. We think he’s ready to go; he fan also be a punt returner as well.”

And what does this selection mean for Sinorice Moss, a former second round pick that has yet to get on track? Reese said that Moss is still very much in the team’s plans. “Last year was like his rookie year because of the injuries. We’re not giving up on Sinorice Moss.”

Of course, what Reese failed to mention though is Moss was sidelined for part sof last year as well and when he was finally healthy, rookie Steve Smith surpassed him on the depth chart. While the Giants are probably not ready to cut their losses with Moss yet, it’s probably say to assume that if he doesn’t flourish this year, he won’t be around much longer.

The addition of Manningham would almost certainly mean that Michael Jennings, who’s coming back from an Achilles injury, will have a steep hill to climb to get a roster spot, as the seven leading contenders for roster spots are Manningham, Smith, Moss, Amani Toomer (who is probably in his final season with the Giants), Plaxico Burress, David Tyree (who is recovering from knee surgery), and Domenik Hixon.  

As for his past, Manningham insisted the past is the past and he's looking forward to contributing to the Giants, whom he kept referring to as "my team."

"I just want to come in, play hard and hopefully one of those receivers will want to take me under their wing," he said.

Q:  You were not scared off by Mannigham’s marijuana use?
A:  We did our homework on him.  Yesterday you guys talked about Kenny Phillips and why didn’t we bring him in.  There really wasn’t a lot to bring him in for.  We brought this young man in.  Our coaches spent a lot of time with him.  We interviewed him at the Combine.  We did our homework on him.  He has tremendous value right now where we are picking.  We think he will be okay.

Q:  Did he convince you that it is over?
A:  He did.  He convinced me, he convinced our coaches – and it’s well documented – that he made a couple of mistakes.  He is a young kid.  He is a junior.  So hopefully he learned from his mistakes and he will come in here and he will give us a big play threat on the outside.  This guy has got the production you want.  He has got a big strike on the outside.  He gets big strikes on the outside.  And that was attractive for us. 

Q:  Talent-wise is he greater than a third rounder?
A:  Oh yeah, talent-wise I think the guy could have really gone in the first row.  Talent-wise he really could have gone in the first row.  But at this point at the bottom of the third row for us we think this is a guy that has great value and he is talented.  He is really talented.  He has talent to go on the first row over there.  And again we did our homework on him.  We have a couple of different testing agencies, physiological testing and stuff that we did with him. We are satisfied that he will be okay.  And obviously when he comes in, probably kind of like Ahmad (Bradshaw) last year, we will bring him in and say, “Look, this is what it is going to be and we expect you to do that.”  And hopefully he will do that.

Q:  Will you treat him as you did Ahmad last year and tell him he is on a short leash.  Do you do the same with a guy who is taken this high in the draft?
A:  Sure you can do that.  You can do that with anybody.  If you are screwing up, we are not going to spend a lot of time on you.  You are on a short leash, just like Ahmad last year – I don’t care if you are seventh round or third round.  If you come in here and do the wrong things, we are not going to tolerate that.  We don’t think he will do that.

Q:  Was he your highest rated receiver?
A:  There were a bunch of receivers in this draft with similar kind of value.  We had him grouped with some of the guys who have already gone.  So we didn’t have a lot of guys that could have gone in our first row.  We thought there was a lot of second-round kind of picks up there.  We had a couple of guys we thought could probably go in the first.  Actually I don’t think anybody went in the first.  But we had a couple of guys that could have probably gone in the first.  And he was one of the guys that we felt like had the skill sets to be in the first row if we had some guys in there.

Q:  He was reported to have a score of six on the Wonderlic.  How does that translate?
A:  I’m not talking about people’s Wonderlics in here.  But we brought him in; we put him on the board.  He is good football player.  He has good football intelligence so we don’t think that is an issue.

Q:  How high did last year’s rookie class set the bar around here for rookies?  And how much do you think it will serve as an example for all of these kids?
A:  I just think that you always want to get good players in the draft.  Again, I always say you try to get more right than you get wrong.  You don’t get them all right all of the time.  Sometimes you get lucky like we did last year and get a few more right.  But we have high standards every year.  We want to go in and get good players coming out of there – coming out of the draft.  And that is what we try to do every year.  It just doesn’t work like that all of the time.

Q:  Can you use last year’s success as leverage with this year’s group?
A:  I think they will see how well the draft class did last year and I think they will come in with some things they feel like they probably have to prove to try to match this year’s class.  When the players come in they are not thinking about how last year’s class did.  They are just thinking about making the team and learning what to do and getting a chance to play. I think they think about that more than what last year’s class did.

RE: Mario’s letter to NFL.  Did that have any influence on you?
A:  No, not really.  We get letters from all kinds of guys saying, “I’m sorry for this, I’m sorry for that.”  If we have an issue with them, we usually send a coach or bring them in here.  We brought him in and spent a lot of time with him.  We interviewed him at the Combine.  So he satisfied all of our concerns when we brought him in here.

Q:  Are there other players who are off the board due to character issues?
A:  Sure.  Yeah, we have plenty of guys that are off our board, yeah.

Q:  Is Mario ready to play now?
A:  Yeah, I think he is going to come in because this guy has a strong skill set for that position now.  I’m telling you, you guys are going to say, “Wow, this guy has got the stuff.”  So we are pleased with him that he can come in and give us some help on the outside.  I think the kid can be a punt returner as well.  Because they had guys in front of him – he was probably the number one guy as a receiver over there.  But I think he could return punts as well.

Q:  This is the second year in a row you have picked a receiver high.  Does that say anything about Sinorice Moss?
A:  Well, no it doesn’t say anything about Sinorice Moss.  It says we are trying to pick good players.  This guy is a good player.  We are trying to pick good players.  We are not giving up on Sinorice Moss.  I think he is going to come in and have a big year for us because, again, last year to me with Sinorice Moss was like a rookie season for him because he missed most of the time his rookie season with injuries.  So Sinorice has got something to prove.  And I love players coming in that have something to prove.  So he definitely has something to prove and I think he will do.  We are definitely not giving up on Sinorice Moss.

What was your feeling when you were drafted?
I was just happy knowing that it is the New York Giants, the Super Bowl champs.  You can’t ask for anything better than that.

Did you have hopes of going much earlier than you did?
I mean the draft is crazy every year.  You just have to relax and when your name gets called you just have to be ready.

Can you talk about your off-field situation and how it may have affected your draft stock?
The past is the past.  It happened.  Hey, I am just excited to play.  The off the field issues that is really nothing or whatever everyone is talking about or whatever.  I am just ready to play.  I am not really thinking about the past.  The past is the past.  I am ready to just come in and make my team better. 

Were you aware of how many rookies contributed for the Giants last season?
No, I am not.

All eight picks played; do you think you can make that kind of impact?
I think I can come in and make my team better and help my team win.

What do you remember about your visit with the Giants at Giants Stadium?
Like I was telling Coach Sullivan, I love it.  When I came up there he was just explaining to us how the system was.  He showed us around real nice.  I like the facility and the players seem to be nice.

Which players did you talk to?
I don’t remember the players’ names, we just went down to the locker room and everyone was just talking, everyone was just cool in the weight room.  It was like a different bond from other teams that I went to.  New York is all about business.

Did you welcome the chance to tell your side of the story to the Giants about your off the field issues?
I talked to the Giants when I was at the combine and I talked to them when I went to visit them.  I let them know what was going on and stuff.  Evidently they believed in me just like I believe in me and they went and picked me.

How much do you think your past problems hurt your draft status as the draft went on?
Like I told you, you never know what can happen because some players that they had going early, they didn’t go early, and some players they had going late didn’t go late.  I am just thankful to get drafted.  I am just thankful to be in the position that I am in, playing for the Super Bowl champions and trying to make a return there next year.

Did you have any regrets about how you handled the whole thing?
No, I don’t have any regrets.  The past is the past.  The past is the past.  It happened and you can’t take back what happened.  Like I told you, I am just going to come in here with a clean head and meet my team’s coaches and do what I have to do to just come in there and play and make my team better.

Do you think you are a risky pick?
I don’t think I am a risky pick.  I don’t think that is the issue.  Everyone’s picks are the same; I mean everyone’s picks are different.  If different coaches believe in different players, they are going to pick those players, but some players go to other places.  I don’t think I am a risky pick.

How much do you know about the Giants wide receivers?
I know Plaxico (Burress) and Amani (Toomer).  They all are talented.  I don’t really know too much about them.  I watch them, they ball, they play hard, and I am looking forward to going up under one of their wings and buying into what their coaches have to tell me and buying into what they have to coach me.

Do you feel like you had to sell yourself more than other players when you came in here and other places for an interview?
When I came to the interviews they got to know me and got to know how I learn and got to know about my past and everything, so I really don’t think that I had to sell myself.  I just feel like I had to just be myself.