And on the third day, the Giants addressed their offensive line.
It took until the 154th pick in the NFL Draft for general manager Joe Schoen to put in the card for Marcus Mbow, who has experience playing guard and right tackle during his four years at Purdue.
He will start out playing tackle for the Giants and he adds a much-needed dose of youth and athleticism to the interior of the line.
Mbow on the board in the fifth round was unexpected for the Giants.
Head coach Brian Daboll said Mbow would have been the pick at No. 105 in the fourth round if running back Cam Skattebo was not there.
There were no major additions to the line in free agency this offseason, with the signings of James Hudson III and Stone Forsythe made to augment the depth chart at tackle.
As it stands now, the starting guards are two returning veterans, Jon Runyan Jr. and Greg Van Roten.
In reserve, there is Aaron Stinnie and possibly Evan Neal, the 2022 first-round pick (No. 7 overall) who has been a bust at right tackle and could be headed for a position change.
The Giants, unsurprisingly, will not pick up Neal’s fifth-year option, general manager Joe Schoen said.
Mbow was projected to go earlier, a projection he took to heart.
Friday night, he had a draft party with family and friends at his house but “things didn’t work out,’’ as he was not selected in the third or fourth round.
A day later, it was a much smaller group poised for the call that came, eventually, from the Giants.
“It was a waiting game, but at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter,’’ a subdued-sounding Mbow said. “Just got to do what you can with the opportunity you’re given and go kill it.’’
Mbow, a college teammate at Purdue of Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. — taken in the fifth round last year — was limited to only six games in 2023 with a leg injury but started all 12 games — at right tackle — in 2024.
This is the first offensive lineman taken by Schoen since center John Michael Schmitz in the second round in 2023.
This is a pick that needs to hit, as the track record for offensive linemen is not strong.
Follow The Post’s live coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft
In 2022, in addition to picking Neal, the Giants also drafted Josh Ezeudu (third round) and Marcus McKethan (fifth round) and neither has done much — McKethan is no longer with the Giants and currently unsigned.
Mbow said: “I feel like I’ll be able to succeed at all five positions.’’ He started working taking snaps as a center as part of his predraft regimen. At the Senior Bowl, he met with the Giants and together they watched tape of him in action.
“Going over it, seeing what I remembered, knocking people over, seeing movement, seeing athleticism,’’ he said.
He liked the “knocking people over’’ part.
“No doubt,’’ he said. “Putting people on the ground, winning reps, demoralizing people. It’s always fun. It’s definitely part of the reason I love the game.’’
