New York Giants Fans' NFL Draft Dream Might be Dead

The New York Giants flirted with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, but two straight wins to end the regular season bumped the Giants all the way down to No. 5.

While that's still a good pick, it isn't quite the same as laying claim to the top overall selection and owning all of the flexibility in the world.

Had New York landed the No. 1 pick, it could have traded down and reaped a treasure trove of assets to fill out the roster. That isn't happening now.

In fact, the idea of a trade down in general might be dead.

Yes, in theory, the Giants can still move down from No. 5. Perhaps there will be a player still on the board at that spot that another team really wants, such as Rueben Bain, Arvell Reese or Caleb Downs.

But I'm not so sure that John Harbaugh himself wants to trade out of the pick.

During a recent appearance on the Mike Francesa Podcast, Harbaugh told Francesa that this was the highest pick he has ever had as a head coach, calling it "pretty exciting."

Harbaugh then — when prompted — proceeded to rave about Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs, which should not come as a surprise considering Harbaugh has coached numerous fantastic safeties throughout his career.

He also said that he wants to takes the best player available (a philosophy that I hate) once New York is on the clock.

Is Harbaugh indicating that the Giants are planning on staying at No. 5?

Of course, this could just be a smokescreen on his part, and it seems hard to imagine that Harbaugh wouldn't even consider trading down for more draft capital, but it does appear that he is fairly content just staying put and making a pick.

This will certainly come to the chagrin of New York fans who were hoping that Big Blue would be able to net a bunch of draft assets, but in a draft class this thin at the top, I'm not so sure teams will be falling over themselves to trade for the No. 5 pick, anyway.

There are still a couple of months left until the NFL Draft, so a whole lot can change between now and then. But you kind of get the feeling that Harbaugh already has a vision in place for the Giants' first-round selection, and that doesn't involve trading it.

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