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Still a Giant, Shockey is the talk of the draft

Bob Glauber

April 27, 2008

The Giants had just drafted Miami safety Kenny Phillips in the first round of yesterday's draft, and the first question general manager Jerry Reese got was about tight end Jeremy Shockey.

"Can we talk about our draft pick?" Reese snapped. "Let's talk about Kenny Phillips, OK? Jeremy Shockey is our starting tight end, and I'm going to leave it at that. Anybody want to talk about the draft pick?"

Oh, all right.

Reese clearly was miffed at the talk about Shockey, who was the center of attention once word got out a couple of weeks ago that the Saints had made an offer. Forget that the defending Super Bowl champion Giants were busy prepping for a draft. All anyone wanted to know was whether Shockey would be traded.

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Shockey has turned into a lightning rod since he first brought his demonstrative style and wacky quotes into the Giants' locker room. Even though he has said nothing publicly since the trade talk started, Shockey dominated the pre-draft buzz. Especially with the Giants closing out the first round at 31st overall.

In the end, the Saints never made a good enough offer for Shockey. Nor did any of the other teams that called the Giants, although the options were further limited Friday night when the Dolphins acquired tight end Tony Fasano from the Cowboys.

The Saints were the most interested suitor, but as we suspected, their interest in moving up in the first round for a defensive tackle - they couldn't get LSU's Glenn Dorsey but did get USC's Sedrick Ellis - left them with little to barter in a Shockey deal.

The Giants wanted a second-round pick and then some. The Saints weren't willing to go that high. A league source familiar with the Giants' situation described the Saints' pursuit of Shockey as "not very hard." In the end, Reese stood pat because the value just wasn't there.

As he should have.

Unless you can get commensurate value for a player, you don't trade him. I'm convinced that Reese was willing to make a deal, and would have, if he had gotten an offer that was worthwhile. In other words, at least a second-round pick, and probably more.

Shockey has been to four Pro Bowls and is one of the league's best tight ends; you don't just give the guy away, even if you believe he's a locker-room disturbance.

Besides, Shockey has plenty to prove as he returns from a broken leg. The Giants won a Super Bowl without him, and that has to bother him, even though he's never publicly admitted as much.

Despite the controversy he always seems to bring on himself, his teammates legitimately value him as a major contributor on offense. You don't have to like everyone on your team, but if you respect what a player does on the field - and Shockey is respected - that is the bottom line in the NFL.

Shockey still might be traded if someone comes along with the right offer, although with the first two rounds over, it's now a longshot. And if he's still on the roster after the draft is over, it's silly to think the Giants are worse off.

Kevin Boss may have done a terrific job in Shockey's absence, but you can't tell me the Giants are better prepared to defend their Super Bowl title by simply doing away with No. 80.

The Giants are better off today with Shockey and the two players they got yesterday. They got a blue-chip safety in Kenny Phillips, the latest in a long line of top safeties from Miami, and a promising corner in USC's Terrell Thomas. Reese always has valued defensive backs, and he got two good ones - one to replace safety Gibril Wilson, who left for silly money in Oakland, and the other to supplement the corners they already have.

"We felt great about [Phillips], that he fell down to us," Reese said. "We felt like he was a really good player in the first [round]."

And they got a good one in the second, too.

"Terrell has excellent size for a corner," director of scouting Marc Ross said. "He's really a top-notch athlete - a big, fast corner who has played at a high level and has been productive. He's really a smooth, fluid athlete and has played in big games. He won't be intimidated when he gets on this stage because at SC, they obviously have played a lot of big games, and this guy performed well in those."

With four more rounds to go today, rest assured that Reese and his staff will come up with a few more gems. No, it won't stop all the talk about Shockey. But it will make the Giants a better team.