EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The New York Giants have an X-Man, hopefully with the power of a pass rush.
The Giants addressed their need for an edge rusher, taking defensive end Oshane Ximines of Old Dominion late in the third round Friday.
A four-year starter and the first player to be drafted at his school, Ximines had 58 tackles this season, including 18 1/2 for losses. The defensive end had 12 sacks last season, finishing his career with 33. He had 11 forced fumbles in his career.
“As we all get to know ’X-Man’ better, you are going to see why we picked him,” coach Pat Shurmur said.
General manager Dave Gettleman said Ximines had second-round value and the Giants started focusing on him as a potential pick roughly 14 or 15 picks before taking him with the 95th pick overall.
Ximines, who grew up in North Carolina, said his parents were from New York City and they were rooting for him to be drafted by the Giants.
“I figured the NFL was a possibility by my junior year,” Ximines said in a conference call. “They just started reaching out to me and it started to become a reality for me. I just tried to work as hard as possible.”
While Ximines did not play in a top-level conference, Gettleman said he had the ability to start for teams in the ACC. He also said he was unique in that he has to ability to make counter moves against an offensive lineman, something college players usually have to learn after they get to the NFL.
Defensive linemen from small schools have excelled with the Giants. Hall of Famer Michael Strahan was from Texas Southern and Osi Umenyiora played at Troy.
The Giants had three picks in the first round on Thursday. They took quarterback Daniel Jones of Duke at sixth overall, Clemson tackle Dexter Lawrence at No. 17 and Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker at No 30 after a late trade with Seattle.
They waited 65 picks on Friday before taking Ximines.
“I said it last night, we need pass rush help,” Gettleman said. “We feel we’ve addressed it. We got inside pass rusher help (Lawrence) and we got outside pass rush help.”
The Giants will have six picks in the final four rounds on Saturday. They still need help at safety and linebacker as well as a wide receiver who can go deep.
“The draft, it’s a full draft,” Gettleman said. “There are guys in the fourth and fifth rounds that we really like and we still have third-round guys available.”
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