At last weekend’s NFL draft, the New York Giants management figured that, with all the holes in its roster, it was going to need all eight of its picks.

Unfortunately, new general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Tom Coughlin got very little quality despite the large quantity.

With the 20th overall pick in the draft, the Giants chose cornerback and punt returner Aaron Ross from Texas. Although the All-American is a solid pick for the Giants with their weak secondary, there was a better candidate for this team.

The Giants cut left tackle Luke Petitgout this offseason, and he will be greatly missed by quarterback Eli Manning. The G-Men were 6-2 when Petitgout was healthy and 2-6 when he was not in the lineup. With Petitgout gone, Jerry Reese should have been thinking OT, especially when the left tackle from Central Michigan University, Joe Staley, was still on the board. As the second best OT in the draft, Staley was arguably a top-10 candidate. Having the chance to get Staley at No. 20 was something that Reese and Coughlin should have salivated over.

To add to that, the draft was filled with first round caliber cornerbacks. If Big Blue had gotten Joe Staley in the first round, and not Aaron Ross, then there would have been three possible franchise cornerbacks in Ross, Chris Houston and Eric Wright still available to the G-Men in the second round. If Reese had used this thought process, then two of the biggest voids in the Giants roster would have been filled in the first two rounds.

The foolish choices made by Giants management last weekend didn’t end with the draft. Shortly after the second day’s conclusion, it was announced that Mathias Kiwanuka will be moved to strongside linebacker next season. Linebacker Zak DeOssie from Brown, the Giants’ fourth round pick on Sunday, will be Kiwanuka’s backup. Basically, instead of starting an actual linebacker, the Giants will be starting a possible Pro Bowl defensive end in a position he has no experience in. That is not even mentioning the fact that Kiwaunka may be needed up front, considering the starting ends, Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan, combined to miss 13 starts last season, and backup DE, Justin Tuck, missed eight games himself.

Coughlin and Co. are also trying to make up for their shortcomings in the draft by shifting another possible Pro-Bowler. Although unofficial, it appears that one of the Giants’ guards last season, David Diehl, will have to answer the Giants’ call this season and shift to the left tackle position. Diehl is an outstanding guard but is a barely decent offensive tackle. So expect Eli ‘I need protection in the pocket to do anything’ Manning to be dropped by division rival rushers such as Jevon Kearse, DeMarcus Ware and Andre Carter.