Giants' Reese looks for best over need

It seems like a simple word to define. When something is the best, there are none better. End of discussion.

But when it comes to an NFL draft, being the best is where the discussion starts. Best player? Best value? Best fit? All of it goes into the beaker and bubbles forth an answer. So when Giants general manager Jerry Reese insists that he will attack this year's draft as he always does, intent on picking "the best players on the board," it can mean a lot of different things.

It can also mean something entirely different when the first round begins Thursday night at 8 than it does when the Giants are on the clock for the 19th overall pick later in the evening.

"Every year the draft changes after every pick," Reese said. "It's always high drama on draft day."

The Giants most likely are hoping to land a plug-and-play offensive lineman with their first pick. It would help to improve a unit that is overcoming injury and fighting off age. So if they get to their pick and Anthony Castonzo (who many consider the most polished offensive tackle) and Mike Pouncey (the top interior lineman in the class) are both available, which best is better?

With no real idea about how free agency will develop in the coming weeks or even months, the Giants are unsure of how their running back situation will play out. Ahmad Bradshaw will be some kind of free agent -- either restricted or unrestricted -- and there's no guarantee that he'll be back with the team. If a Heisman Trophy winner with Big Blue bloodlines like Mark Ingram were to still be on the board at 19, perhaps the Giants would take him. Though they have drafted only one offensive lineman in the first three rounds since 2005, they have not drafted a single running back at that tier in the same time.

Akeem Ayers is a speedy, playmaking outside linebacker from a 4-3 system at UCLA. He could be the best player on the Giants' board when they are ready to select. And they certainly could use some athleticism on the edge, having to play Michael Vick twice a season. Would that make him the best at that time?

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Reese insists positions don't matter, but his history tells a bit of a different story. Kenny Phillips and Hakeem Nicks were both first-rounders who helped fill position gaps. Jason Pierre-Paul, last year's first-round selection, added depth to a defensive line only months after a lack of depth at the position was a big reason for their missing the playoffs.

"You're always cognizant of what your needs are," he said. "But still, if we need a running back and there is high value at defensive tackle, we are not going to take a running back just because we need a running back. We are going to take that high value defensive tackle, or any other position."

So even now, with a glut of defensive linemen accumulated over the last six years of Giants drafts and through free agency, the Giants would consider adding even more high-priced, first-round talent there?

"If a defensive lineman is there at 19, we will be deeper in our defensive line," Reese said. "If he is the highest player on our board, we will be even deeper on the defensive line. We are going to pick the best player, guys."

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It's just a matter of how the Giants will choose to define him as such.