Giants finally catch wide receiver Randle

The Giants gave some thought to selecting LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle but ultimately decided to go in another direction. Little did they know they'd get another chance.

After discussing him as a selection with the 32nd pick in the first round Thursday night, the Giants watched Randle fall all the way through the second round until they were able to snatch him with the 63rd overall pick Friday night. It's the second year in a row that the Giants think they found a first-round talent in the second round.

"I really didn't think there was a chance we were going to get him," director of college scouting Marc Ross said. "It was very surprising that he was still there. It was one of those keep holding your breath, keep holding your breath, somebody will take him. Then you start seeing some other receivers go and there's a chance. And then he was there."

Randle was the ninth receiver taken in the draft -- "He wasn't ninth [in the Giants' rankings]," Ross said -- and the last of the 26 players at Radio City Music Hall to have his name called. So while the Giants were hoping not to hear Randle's name called, he was hoping it would be with every pick that passed.

"It was pretty surprising," Randle said of his drop from projected first-rounder to the bottom of the second. "I think it adds a little chip on my shoulder . . . I'll have a lot to prove."

In 2011, he caught 53 passes for 917 yards and eight touchdowns, but Ross noted that he did that without much help from the quarterback position. "You look at him running down the field wide open and them not being able to get the ball to him," Ross said. Eli Manning, of course, does not have that problem.

"We had struggles at LSU," Randle said. "They weren't bad quarterbacks, but we struggled there. Eli, he's capable. He's an elite quarterback in the league. It's going to be great for me to come in and play with him."

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"Rueben is an NFL-ready receiver," Ross said. "This guy is strong, he can catch the ball, he's a good route-runner and he has position savvy. He knows how to get open. To me, those are the successful receivers in the NFL."

With their third-round pick, the Giants selected cornerback Jayron Hosley, who had a solid career at Virginia Tech but has concussion issues and is only 5-10. That didn't scare the Giants away, though. "He does throw the body around, he's one of those," Tom Coughlin said.

Jerry Reese said if Hosley were an inch or two taller, he might have been a first-round pick. He said he plays with "athletic arrogance" and compared his skill set to that of Pacman Jones. Said Reese, "He runs in there like a little linebacker."