Giants Draft Weston Richburg and Jay Bromley

New York Giants Draft Weston Richburg and Jay Bromley: On the second day of the 2014 NFL Draft on Friday night, the New York Giants selected center Weston Richburg (Colorado State) in the second round and defensive tackle Jay Bromley (Syracuse).

BBI scouting report on Weston Richburg:

Richburg was a 4-year starter at Colorado State. Richburg combines decent size with very good overall athleticism for a center. Good pass protector who has the size and strength to anchor against big tackles and the feet and balance to keep up with quick rushers. Richburg lacks ideal power as a run blocker, but he plays with very good leverage and tenacity. Mobile and agile, Richburg, can block at the second level and pull on outside runs. Smart, tough, aggressive, competitive, and a team leader. Versatile, Richburg can also play guard. Richburg played well at the Senior Bowl practices against DT Aaron Donald.

BBI scouting report on Jay Bromley:

Bromley was a 3-year starter at Syracuse. He combines decent size and strength with good athletic ability. Bromley is more of a 3-technique disruptor than 1-technique run stuffer. He has good initial quickness and will penetrate into the backfield against both the run and the pass. Bromley hustles and pursues well. When Bromley plays with good leverage, he can be very difficult to block. But he plays too high at times. Bromley is a very hard worker both on and off the field. Team leader. Giants want him to add weight.

Here are some YouTube highlights of Richburg and Bromley. Rounds 4-7 will be held on Saturday starting at noon.

GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE’S REACTION (Video – Richburg) (Video – Bromley):

(After Richburg Selection) Richburg, center, Colorado State. A versatile player, a really good athlete. He can play guard or center. High test score. Centers are very important, a very integral part of our new offensive scheme, so obviously we brought J.D. in as a free agent but we tried to create some depth there as well and some competition. This guy is a really good, athletic center. He’s one of those guys, one of those bonus guys. Not a lot of centers can pull, this guy can snap the ball and pull and get out on the perimeter. He was terrific. He was an ideal pick for us, a clean pick. A lot of things we liked about him. I’ll take any questions.

Q: You say an integral part of the new offensive scheme, can you talk a little bit about how that’s different from…?

A: Well, you know, I don’t know how different, I just know that the new coordinator likes the center to be very involved with some of the protection scheme things and this guy is really smart. He was outstanding when we interviewed him at the combine so he fits the mold of what we want, besides being a very good football player.

Q: You mean in terms of making protection calls?

A: Yes.

Q: He had to do that for a while at Colorado State, right?

A: Yeah, I think he’s like a 50-game starter. He’s played a lot of football games out there. What we’re looking for.

Q: How much do you like the size? 6-3, 300 for a center is a little bit bigger than normal.

A: We like big guys. We like big and fast and smart and tough, we like all that. The thing about him, he’s got long arms. His arms are almost 34-inch arms, most centers’ arms are not that long so that’s a bonus in itself.

Q: What does this say about Walton? How has he recovered from whatever injuries he’s had? I know he hasn’t played.

A: He missed last season but he’s been out here and he looked like he was 100 percent out there. He’s doing great for us. We expect him to be the guy who Richburg is going to battle for that center position. Obviously you need depth at every position and that’s the position that we think Richburg will provide for us, some depth at center which is his natural position but we think he could play guard as well. Again, last year we had a couple injuries early on the offensive line and it was pretty devastating, we had to bring some guys in that struggled some at those positions so we’re trying to make sure we have enough depth at every position. This guy will help provide that for us.

Q: Were you intent on getting an offensive lineman in the first two rounds?

A: We were just intent on getting good players. We know what we feel like our needs are and positions that we need to create some depth on our roster but right now we’re focused on getting good football players and he fits the mold of being a good football player for us.

(After Bromley Selection) Bromley, defensive tackle, Syracuse. Size, speed, another team captain. We like team captains. We think this kid has a lot of upside, 10 sacks from the inside position. Lots of things to like about the kid, long arms, all the things that you like for your defensive tackle to have. I’ll take any questions.

Q: Does he compare to any of the recent guys…?

A: I’m not sure, I can’t recall anybody off the top of my head to compare him to.

Q: How much could he do some of the things that Linval Joseph used to do for you guys?

A: Well, this guy, he’s big, he’s got some two-gap ability, he can stand in there and hold the point of attack. He’s got speed, the guy ran 4.9 and some change at the combine so he can get up the field and finish on the quarterback. Like I said, he had 10 sacks. He can hold the point, he can run, he has some range to run lateral and make plays down the line of scrimmage.

Q: Could he line up at defensive end at this level?

A: I don’t think he’s a defensive end. Just body type of sort of reminds me of Canty, a shorter Chris Canty how he looks in his uniform.

Q: When you came into the day was he a guy that you kind of targeted or was it just how the board…?

A: Well it was just how the board unfolded for us. We had him at a value spot and obviously we could use some depth on our defensive line as well. It’s a combination of stuff like we try to get all the time.

Q: Even as a second-round pick?

A: We had him at a good spot on the board to take him right now.

Q: Given the fact that you’ve talked about the importance of the first three picks, you say that a lot, how comfortable, how gratified are you that you’ve got these three guys?

A: We feel good about the… obviously we feel good about the receiver, we have the center who we think will be a starting center at some point. It gave us some depth and will battle right now for that center spot and have some versatility, play guard for us. We’ve got a defensive lineman that can definitely start and jump in our rotation and help us out.

Q: It seemed that the common threads were that football acumen was key; they’re all nearly pro-ready. Are these things that were clearly important on your characteristic chart?

A: They’re all, as you go down, as you get into the later rounds, there’s something wrong with all of them. If they were all clean and perfect, you’d pick them all in the first row. All of those guys you can pick in the first row. None of these guys are perfect but we think they’re all really good football players that are going to help our football team. They’re all clean. Like I said, they’re all captains. They’ve got a lot of things that we like with our first three picks. Those are the kinds of things we look for when guys are going to come in and be good players and good contributors to our football team.

Q: Have you devolved a comfort level at all with Syracuse?

A: I don’t know anything about Syracuse except the football players. It has nothing to do with comfort level. They’re all just good football players. It’s just a coincidence that we’ve had a couple players from Syracuse. You could say that about LSU, we’ve got several players from LSU.

Q: Obviously you do a lot of planning coming into this event, how did this unfold compared to what you were expecting?

A: I think things broke our way pretty good from where we were sitting on the board. It didn’t make sense for us to try to move up or down, we had good players that we like available on the board so we were set where we were and made good picks we think on the players that we picked.

Q: At the end of today you look at it and say, ‘We’ve got a receiver, we’ve got a center and we’ve got a defensive tackle.’ Do you think there could have been any scenario where at the end of this day you would have looked at it and said, ‘We’ve got this, this and this. Humf, I never would have thought of that?’

A: Not really. You never know in the draft. Those are positions that we think can really help us, all three of those positions, but we could have used three positions, three other players at different positions as well. We’re happy to get the three players that we have at those positions but it could have gone a different way and we would have been just as happy.

Q: Was it a goal to go for a defensive lineman somehow?

A: If you don’t have big people, it’s hard to win in this league. If you don’t get big guys, it’s hard to win. Most of the time you’re going to lose so you’ve got to have big people up front, you’ve got to have guys in your rotation on your defensive line, you’ve got to have some depth in your offensive line. That’s where it all starts. You’ve got to have some playmakers. We got a combination of all three of those things I think with our first three picks.

Q: Do you feel Bromley is a playmaker?

A: He had 10 sacks. When you play at a high level of competition, he had 10 sacks, he can run, he has long arms, plays hard. I think our coaching staff is going to really like this kid.

Q: Does what you’ve done so far change anything for how you look at moving forward at this point? Maybe you wouldn’t grab a center but maybe in regards to the other positions are you still… getting more bodies on the defensive line, getting more bodies at wide receiver?

A: We’re just trying to get good players as we move forward. The next best player on our board, in the fourth row, in the fourth round – we’ll try to pick him. It really doesn’t matter that much to me right now what position it is, we’re just trying to get good players to create competition and depth on our team. You may get a starter somewhere in the fourth row. It happens all the time.

Q: Do you seem Bromley as a guy who can come in and play right away?

A: We hope so. He’s a big kid, he’s played at a high level of competition and he’s a strong kid. He had good reps at the combine, big, clean, hardworking, tough football player. We expect him to come in and be part of the rotation.

Q: Was that big to you? Tom mentioned it yesterday that you get guys that can play right away or is that just the way…?

A: Well we try to, we try our best. Most kids are developmental no matter how you cut it. Most college kids that come up and play at this level, they’re developmental in a lot of ways. But the guys that we get that can come in and be contributors for us, we look for that. We hope we can get that because, in this day and age, there aren’t many guys you can sit around and red shirt and wait on for a long time. It happens and everybody… you have to develop players. With all of the young players coming out, the juniors coming out, the draft is younger and younger every year with all of the juniors coming out.

Q: Is that why, I’m not saying targeting but you said you like team captains, seniors…?

A: We like captains. We like captains because we think they’re character guys, they have leadership ability. It’s not easy to be picked captain for your football team and these guys have been captains and that’s attractive to us.

Q: But in terms of accelerating them…?

A: Yeah, we think they’re mature if a guy’s a captain because if you’re a captain on your team, there’s some kind of leadership role that you have to take as a captain. Again, that’s attractive to us.

VICE PRESIDENT OF PLAYER EVALUATION MARC ROSS’ REACTION (Video):

Q: When you look back at the last three rounds how do you view the picks compared to what you were expecting coming into the draft? A: It went pretty well. First round, for sure, went how we liked; second round, for sure; and even this last pick we had a good idea [Bromley] was going to be there. There were not any shockers like in years past where guys were rated real high and falling. This year we targeted and guys fell right where we thought they would.

Q: Coming into today were [Richburg] and [Bromley] two guys you were zeroed in on?

A: Not zeroed in, but there were a lot of discussions about these being two quality players we would like to have, and we think they will fall right for us.

Q: John Mara said a couple months ago in regards to the draft that he wanted to take fewer risks. Are [Richburg] and [Bromley] more of a sure thing?

A: Yes, these guys are high character, team captains, hard workers, smart, competitive guys with no issues whatsoever. These are the things we look for all the time. It does not always happen. Certain things you take a little more calculated risks on at certain times. This just happened to fall right for us where we felt these guys were at the very highest in regards to character.

Q: What do you like specifically about [Richburg] and [Bromley]?

A: It’s not just one quality. Richburg is a throwback. He’s a football player. He is smart, competitive, a good athlete and he’s going to give you everything he’s got every play. Jay Bromley has been an underdog his whole life, so he is going to come in here and you are going to have to kill him to get him off the field. There is nothing to deter that guy with what he has been through. That shows with how he plays. It’s great when the best asset for a player is determination and desire, and that is Jay Bromley.

Q: Jerry Reese mentioned how good of a fit [Richburg] is with what Ben McAdoo is going to do on offense. How much do you ask [McAdoo] what he is looking for in a center moving forward?

A: Yes when we have draft meetings we talk about everything. The scouts and their reports, coaches talk about their reports of the players and then we talk about how everybody fits and how guys can be used and the value to the team. One thing Ben [McAdoo] talked about was how important the center was. It was not like we elevated Richburg because of that. We already had a high grade on him because of that, so that just added to his value.

Q: Were certain skills stressed in needing to play center in this offense?

A: Yes, I think with this offense the center is more of a communicator, pointing things out. He is the quarterback of the offensive line, and he helps the quarterback out by identifying certain things about the line front and the MIKE.

Q: As a talent evaluator, what skill sets are you looking for in order to successfully play center in this offense?

A: You can just tell a guy by watching them, especially with an offensive lineman in regards to their IQ, how he plays, his savvy and his instincts. With centers you look for how they are pointing guys out or some centers just put their head down and snap the ball. Those are some things Richburg clearly does on tape, and being around him and his interview at the combine was tremendous. The guy scored a 31 on the Wonderlic. This guy is a smart guy. Those are things that were very intriguing.

Q: It is fair to say he was your highest-rated center?

A: Yes

Q: With Bromley, how much could you tell by talking to him how little he has been handed to him in his football career?

A: That is what our scouts do in the fall when they go to the schools and talk to all the people they talk to at the universities. That is their job, to get this information. Throughout this whole process, we do more digging and research. We interview the player. [The scouts] start it off and they establish a foundation and we work from there.

Q: Could you personally tell by talking with [Bromley] that nothing has been handed to him football-wise?

A: Yeah, you could tell with his personality. You get a good feel for how they are. You can tell he is a hungry kid.

Q: Can you develop a comfort level with certain [college] programs?

A: For sure. I think you build a trust level with certain schools as opposed to others where you know the information you are getting based off of how the players have performed once they leave school. When you go in there the next year, you get certain coaches that you trust more than others. It’s not like we targeted Syracuse guys. I know that is probably your follow-up question. It just happens to fall that way. [Justin] Pugh is a guy we really liked as well as [Ryan] Nassib at the time and now Jay [Bromley].

Q: [Jerry] mentioned LSU as well…?

A: Our scouts do a really good job and they have great contacts at most schools. It is not as if LSU and Syracuse are the only exceptions.

Q: Does Bromley remind you of any former Giants defensive lineman?

A: No.

Q: What do you view [Bromley’s] top skill as? Obviously the 10 sacks this past year jump out at you.

A: As I said earlier, his desire and determination on the field. That grit that he has is his number one quality. He is still young and developing some skills such as his pad level and hand use and other things of that nature. He is still a young guy. Really his motor is just tremendous. I think that is his best asset. He is a big guy that worked out really well, and he produced. The motor and determination are his best attributes.

Q: Do you see [Bromley] as a rotational guy along the defensive line or more of a passing down situation type of player?

A: He can do a little bit of both. He is a big body; he will throw them in there. I’m not going to say this guy is going to come in and start right away, but hopefully he develops into that. It is a big man’s game. As many of those big guys that you have, the more successful you are, so hopefully [Bromley] can get in there and bang around and make some plays for us.

Q: Do you see more room for him to grow in his frame?

A: Yes, he can get bigger. He is 307 [pounds] now, but eating right up here and getting great meals and lifting every day, football will become his full-time job. He is going to develop and thicken up.

Q: How much would you like him to weigh?

A: 315-320 pounds. He will probably put that on very easily.

HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN’S REACTION (Video – Richburg) (Video – Bromley):

(After Richburg Selection) Good Evening. Second pick was a very good athletic young center. He was a captain and leader while being a four-year starter at Colorado State. All of the scouts raved about this guy. When the coaches got a chance to study him, he can pull, he can block the zone schemes and he makes all the calls. The center position here for us is one of responsibility in terms of dictating to the rest of the offensive line exactly how the scheme is going to go. This guy will fit right in in terms of that. Interesting story about him: He broke his right hand in 2012 and finished the year snapping the ball with his left hand, so you know he can do that as well. We feel like we have a good solid young center who is very smart. He did a good job despite his long arms on the bench press, so he is strong. He is a good worker, and as I said, he has earned his stripes. He is the leader of his offensive line and offensive team. He was voted captain. We are pleased to have Weston [Richburg] on board.

Q: At the extent to who makes the call [for the O-line] Jerry [Reese] just said that could change with the new offensive coordinator?

A: No, the center is very much involved, but in this scheme there will be more responsibility on the center.

Q: How much in regards to responsibility differs for the center? Jerry [Reese] mentioned pulling possibly. He seems more athletic than some of the centers you have had in the past.

A: There may be a possibility of [the center pulling]. He can [pull] if asked to. Whether that happens or not, we will see. He does and has done that in college.

Q: Is [pulling] something that JD Walton cannot do?

A: No. Not necessarily. It is one of the attributes that is very noticeable when you do grade [Richburg], so it is worth mentioning.

Q: [Pulling] was not a trait that you thought was necessary when you think of playing center?

A: Well, it gives you more versatility. Even more, there would be no restrictions in terms of what you would ask [the center] to do. If you were going to pull or there was an opportunity based on the front you’re playing against, where the guard is not in the position to pull, then the center would or could pull. It has been done and you can count on [Richburg] to do that. He would be able to get out in front and make a block etc.

Q: The offense line in the past years has had some versatility. Richburg has had some experience playing guard. How much does that play into drafting him?

A: You always look for versatility if you have it, but this guy is a center. He has been a center, and he is a young center in the fold here. We are first and foremost going to talk about him as a center.

Q: Was he the top player on your board coming into today?

A: I am not going to go into where he was [on our board]. He was among those at the top.

Q: How about his size? He seems to be bigger than most centers at 6-3 300 pounds.

A: Pro Bowl centers are 304-305 [pounds]. He is right in there.

(After Bromley Selection) It’s interesting, Jerry (Reese) comes down and I come down, we’re talking about the same thing, probably using the same references because when you talk about the players that you’re getting ready to draft, what happens is you maybe set aside five or six names and you try to start it early enough where you go to the area scouts and you go to anyone else that’s been asked to go in there and grade the player and then you go to Chris Mara and you go to the defensive coach or the offensive coach, regardless of which side of the ball it’s on, and eventually it comes back to my grade on the individual and Jerry gives his grade on the individual, so there’s a lot of discussion about every player and it’s important that you start out early enough so that you can hear from everybody. That’s usually what we do in this round because it’s five-minute rounds, you’re out there seven or eight picks when you start talking about these guys, so you do hear the comments from the scouts, from the coaches, from Marc Ross, from Jerry, from Chris Mara. You hear all of the comments so that’s why when we come into the room following one another, a lot of what you hear is probably a ditto.

Nevertheless this young man, Jay Bromley, of course, went to a great school, played defensive tackle, had 10 sacks, which is really interesting. You stop and think about it, a kid playing basically a three technique who has 10 sacks, runs very well, he’s quick, he plays hard. He plays hard, he runs well for a defensive lineman, he’s a captain of his football team, he’s well-respected, he’s a quiet guy, he’s some, although you wouldn’t tell by the answer on the phone that I just went through because mom was there and mom was yelling and screaming. And when they heard it was the Giants, being from Jamaica, Queens, they were very, very excited. It’s fun to share in the excitement of someone who is truly, truly… it meshes geographically because this guy is very close to his mom, because he played at Syracuse, because he is a man that’s worked very hard for what he’s got and will be asked to work even harder because he’s around the 310 mark. You’d like him maybe to be a little bit bigger than that and to get back in the weight room and work.

One thing he does do is work so we have no question about this kid’s character, his work ethic, his focus and how serious he is about the job that he’s about to undertake. Those things being said, they speak very highly of what we’ve tried to do throughout this draft up to this point. We’re excited about having this kid. It was great to hear him on the other end of the line and the excitement, which is genuine excitement, with which he answered the phone.

Q: You haven’t talked about the significance of drafting three captains so far. In your experience in football, what does that tell you about a guy when he’s a captain of his college team?

A: It tells me that he is an individual that not only is a good football player but he’s someone that’s well respected and trusted on the part of his teammates. Many times it’s, I remember when I played it was pretty much a selection by the coach. That’s probably not the case most of the time now. The players do have an opportunity to evaluate. When you have an individual, first of all, who is courageous, who is strong of character, strong of belief, an individual believes in the program who’s willing to sacrifice and willing to pay the price when in fact he’s being evaluated by those around him while it’s taking place. Usually it speaks for a guy that gives his all, puts his heart into what he does, is not afraid to be an individual who leads by example that may be helpful to younger players in terms of how they direct themselves. He’s not afraid to do that because he’s putting his best foot forward.

It’s not always perfect, it’s not always the best, but he tries as hard as he possibly can and, by virtue of that, leads by example. Leading by example is the one sure way in which to indicate to people how it’s done. It isn’t about talking; it isn’t about all that stuff. It’s about playing hard, being consistent, having virtues and values that you believe in and are not willing to sacrifice them for popularity. I believe that’s the kind of individuals that we would like to have working for the New York Giants in our program, guys that we can trust, guys that are football players and dedicate their minds and work ethic to becoming the very best that they can be.

Q: How much more of an emphasis was placed on this this year?

A: It’s always an emphasis but I think it’s probably been talked about more this year in the room than maybe last year or two years ago or whatever.

Q: Why do you think that is?

A: Why is it? Because we would like to feel like the people that come here are absolute football players, devoted to it. Let’s face it, where we are, there are areas that could be distractions. We need to have people that can operate in this environment and stay focused and do the job they were brought here for and not get off track.

Q: Is that something that has been a problem?

A: Not necessarily, you’re not going to get any names; you’re not going to get any major discussion. It’s what you want; it’s the desire that you want perhaps when you start at the top of the board. If, in fact, it’s being talked about more now, it’s obviously been talked about by us in the room.

Q: Could part of that be because some of the team players — Tuck, Diehl and other guys — are gone, guys that you used to rely on for that kind of leadership in the locker room?

A: That’s a good point. The fact that some of these players that have been looked upon as outstanding leaders have gone on and we have others here who will take that role, I’m sure. But it’s always good to have a self-starter, it’s always good to have somebody that is completely devoted to their job.

Q: Does that maturity also help when you need to get these guys in as quickly as possible and get going in your program without a rookie minicamp, without being able to bring them along as a group of rookies?

A: There are reasons for why there isn’t a rookie minicamp. They will be here. It’s never been done before. In the past you’ve had to work it so that when they came for the minicamp they stayed. Well we’re into the program, we’re on the field four days a week, so to shut this thing down so we can have a rookie minicamp or do something, a one-day camp on the weekend, we could have them on the field Tuesday. It is integrating them right into the program but it’s not a reason for us not to have a rookie minicamp and certainly they’ll be right with our veteran players right from the get-go. That really isn’t a motive behind what we’re talking about. You like to have mature people, no matter what their age is. We’ve all seen it where a rookie comes in and he gets it and we’ve all seen it where they come in and they don’t get it. If I had, if we had our preference, we’d take the ones that get it.

Q: How much of a priority was it to get a defensive lineman in this draft?

A: Well it was very important. We’ve had some people move on, so we have an offensive line and a defensive line and what we’re trying to do is play New York Giant football, get back to the physical aspect of how we play, the camaraderie, the believing in each other, the ability to be the stronger unit on the field.

Q: You said Bromley is at 310. And you want him to put more weight on?

A: I’d like him to be stronger, bigger as he grows a little bit older and spends a lot of time in our weight room. Sure, absolutely – bigger, stronger, faster.

Q: And you’ve envisioned him as mostly a three-technique kind of guy?

A: He’s a defensive tackle. He’ll be asked to do more than there here. That’s what he did play, yeah, he played defensive tackle. He will be a defensive tackle here.

Q: Does he give up some stoutness against the run, with the sacks?

A: No, I don’t think so. That would not be a concern.

WESTON RICHBURG’S REACTION (Giants.com Insider Video):

Q: Is this about where you expected to go and were you surprised with the Giants or did you think maybe that was a good chance?

A: I wanted to be the first center selected and it turns out I was. I’m just so excited to be selected by such a great organization.

Q: What was in like when you met with them?

A: I just met with them at the combine, we had a formal meeting at the combine, I got to speak with Coach Coughlin a bit and we talked a lot of football and film. We reviewed a lot my film and kind of just went over X and O details with those guys.

Q: What was your impression from that point?

A: You could tell how professional these guys are and how well-run the organization is. Just after seeing that, I’m so excited to be a part of it.

Q: Why was it important for you to be the first center selected?

A: I’ve always been a guy from a smaller school. Even though Colorado State is a Division 1 school, it’s in the Mountain West so we don’t get a lot of respect sometimes. When it comes to going against other big school guys, it’s always been my dream to be the best center in the country. Today I kind of got that recognition by being the first center selected.

Q: Tom Coughlin seemed to love the fact that you broke your regular snapping hand and finished the season with the other. How tough of an adjustment was that to switch hands?

A: That’s something I take a lot of pride in. You don’t see a lot of guys doing that. It was tough, it was a tough kind of change but I took it with open arms. Looking back at it, it was something that I’m really prideful about.

Q: Did you actually have a club on the broken hand while you were snapping with the other?

A: I did, yeah. A big old, goofy looking cast club type of deal on my hand.

Q: I think you started every game at Colorado State. Have you ever missed a game?

A: In high school I only played offensive line one year, my senior year. I had an ACL injury that kept me out my sophomore and junior seasons and before that I played quarterback my freshman year of high school. I’ve kind of been all over the place but when I got to college I started every game on the offensive line.

Q: Do you think you can play right away in the NFL?

A: I do, I think I can come in and contribute. It’s going to take a lot of work but I think that’s something that’s carried me this far is my work ethic. I enjoy working and now it’s my job, that’s even the cool part about it. It’s my job to lift weights, to watch film, to get better playing football. I want to come in and try to contribute to this year and really help this organization be as successful as it can be.

Q: How much did you pull at Colorado State and how much do you think your athleticism allows you to do that kind of stuff?

A: We pull quite a bit. Since I was able to do that, our coaches felt more comfortable using me in that type of way. It’s something I really enjoyed as well and I think I was athletic enough to get out, quick enough, and get out and set up some good blocks for our running backs on the outside.

Q: When you came into tonight did you zero in on a spot that you thought you might go? Did you think the Giants were a team that might take you?

A: I knew there were several teams that were looking at a center. I had been hearing the second round was probably a good spot for me. I didn’t really know specifically what team it would be but I knew the second round was probably going to be when I was going to get the phone call.

Q: Do you think it has helped you and your versatility in the fact that you participated in other sports in high school like throwing shot and playing basketball?

A: I think just being involved as much as you can in every sport you can be really helps your athleticism. With me, I tried to be as involved as I could be, shot put, discus, basketball kind of stuff, so yeah, as involved and active as you can be I think can definitely translate over.

Q: Did you watch the draft tonight from home? Where are you tonight?

A: I’m out in Bushland, Texas, my hometown. I’m actually at my classmate Crockett Gillmore’s house. We’ve got our families together and we’re just having a good time right now.

Q: When do you expect to be here in New York?

A: I’ll fly out on Sunday.

Q: How much more of a challenge is it without a rookie minicamp, the veterans are already going kind of into phase two of their offseason program. Have you talked to the organization about how quickly they can get you up to speed?

A: Yeah, I just talked to coach Flaherty and he said it would be kind of more difficult than normal but I think they have an understanding of what we’re going through. We’re going to work through it. Like I said, I’m just so excited to be a Giant and have an opportunity to come in there and really contribute this year.

Q: Are there any centers that you look up to or pattern your game after maybe?

A: I like the Pouncey twins a lot. I think they have a lot of really good athletic traits. I like to kind of emulate them. I like Logan Mankins. Even though he’s not a center, I think he plays really kind of nasty in the interior and I try to get after people like he does.

Q: What do you know about Eli Manning and what are your expectations? You’ll probably be spending a lot of time working with him.

A: Just talking about how great the Giants organization is, they’ve got one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. It’s kind of crazy, I was just watching the Mannings the other day and now I’m going to have a chance to be snapping to the guy. To be able to learn from a guy like that as a rookie is priceless and I’m really looking forward to being around him and learning from a pro like Eli Manning.

JAY BROMLEY’S REACTION:

Q: Congratulations.

A: Thank you.

Q: How surprised were you when your phone rang and you were told it was the Giants on the line?

A: I thought they were joking, to be honest. I was in the grocery store, I thought they were joking.

Q: Obviously you weren’t sitting at that moment expecting for the phone to ring. What was your night like? When did you think you might get a call?

A: Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to go today. I was just expecting, like everybody else, trying to see how many people in my position went in the second and third round and seeing how everything fell. I didn’t’ expect the call at all tonight.

Q: So how long did it take you to realize that it actually was the Giants on the line?

A: When I talked to Coach Coughlin and it was just surreal, it was like, ‘Man, this is really happening right now. This is why I worked so hard.’ It’s just amazing.

Q: I would guess this was the number one choice for you, is that correct?

A: Oh, the home team, my favorite team. It’s crazy, this is my favorite team – Big Blue. And then I get picked by them, that’s crazy. It’s amazing.

Q: What were you doing tonight? What were your plans? You’re in a grocery store at 10 o’clock at night.

A: I was at the grocery story with my girlfriend getting some juice and getting a movie from RedBox. I’m about to get the movie from RedBox and it’s like, ‘Oh, man.’

Q: Who called you and what did they say? What was your response to them at that point?

A: At first it was the Giants scout before he gave me over to Coach Coughlin. He was just like, ‘Is this Jay Bromley?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, this is Jay.’ He said, ‘I’m a scout for the New York Giants’ and I was like, ‘Yeah this is Jay.’ He was like, ‘I’m calling you because we’re about to pick you.’ I was like, ‘No, you’re lying.’ He said, ‘No, we’re not joking.’ I said, ‘Oh, this is crazy.’ He said, ‘Let me get you over to Coach Coughlin,’ and he was just like, ‘Just get ready to come in and get to work.’ I’m just like, ‘I’m ready.’

Q: You said you went to RedBox to get a movie, has the movie night been put on hold a little bit?

A: Oh man, the movie’s been completely put on hold. The movie’s an afterthought now, to be completely honest.

Q: What movie did you end up choosing?

A: I think we were going to watch Gravity.

Q: They talked about you putting on weight, adding more muscle, maybe even getting up to 315, 320. What did you play at last year? What do you feel most comfortable playing and what do you think about getting up to that weight? How hard would that be for you?

A: I played at 296 last year during the season then I played at 307 during the all-star game. As long as I make sure I get in good condition and make sure I put on more muscle than fat and I can still keep my quickness, add some flexibility, I don’t know, maybe 315 might be a good weight for me, maybe not. I’ll just have to wait and see.

Q: What do you view as your strengths as a player? Obviously the sack number pops out. What do you view as some of your top skills?

A: Getting to the quarterback. It’s really fun to me to rush the passer, to learn different moves and to try different moves to get to the quarterback. I feel like that’s an asset that I bring to the team, just getting in the backfield. If I’m not sacking the quarterback, just disrupting the pocket a little bit.

Q: You obviously said you weren’t expecting to get drafted today. Where did you expect to get drafted? What kind of stuff were you hearing even though you ended up being a third-round pick?

A: I’m one of those guys that think in the worst-case scenario, so I didn’t expect to be drafted. I heard four to six, but the way the draft works, players start going and it’s just a whole bunch of sliding scales that I didn’t understand, so I just thought of the worst-case scenario – going tomorrow at the earliest.

Q: What were your plans for tomorrow? Did you plan on that being your draft day or were you going to do your thing tomorrow also the same way?

A: I did plan on that being my draft day. I graduate tomorrow at 4 p.m. so I was just expecting everything, just to get up tomorrow and do the graduation and then the draft in my head as well, just waiting for it.

Q: Coach Coughlin said he heard a lot of screaming when he was talking to you as well. Who was that and what was their reaction?

A: I was with my girlfriend and my teammate and a couple other people I go to Syracuse with and I got the call and I was like, no. I hit them on the shoulder and was like, ‘Bro, this can’t be.’ I was like, ‘No, no.’ Coughlin started talking and I was like, ‘Man, this is real.’ Everybody started going crazy. It was just a dream come true.

Q: Have you spoken to Ryan Nassib or to Justin Pugh about the Giants yet?

A: I haven’t. I look forward to talking to these guys, get to go to a team I’m familiar with the boys I know. I can’t wait.

Q: Obviously you’re a Giants fan, you know about the legacy here on the defensive line. What does it mean to now be a part of that?

A: That’s the thing. The defensive line, that’s why I love the Giants. The defensive line back with Osi and Strahan and it’s like, ‘Man, I grew up watching that.’ When they beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl with the sacks they got and with the pressure, it’s just so exciting because I love to sack the quarterback and it’s like that’s what they do.

Q: You’re graduating tomorrow, have they given you any idea of when you’re going to be heading down here to the facility?

A: They told me that we start on Monday and I graduate tomorrow. I don’t know how soon I’ll be there; probably the latest will be Sunday. Then we get things going from there.

Article on WR Odell Beckham, Jr.: Rich athletic heritage made Odell Beckham Jr. a natural for Giants in first round by Conor Orr of The Star-Ledger