Did Giants want Maclin?

Interesting nugget in a New York Daily News Giants chat with writer Ralph Vacchiano today.

Vacchiano was asked why the Giants didn't try to trade up for Jeremy Maclin, instead letting the Eagles grab him at No. 19.

Here's what he said:

Did they "try" to move up? I suppose that depends on your definition of the word. I don't know that they made an actual offer, but they made enough calls that they were aware of the asking price. They just decided it was too high and that they were better off staying put. They never wanted to move up that high anyway. And remember, in order to trade up, someone has to want to move down. Would the Browns have wanted to drop all the way to 29? I just don't know. If they weren't willing, then there's no way a deal could have gotten off the ground. I had been told that Maclin was the highest rated WR on the Giants board, even over Crabtree. So I'm sure they gave it some thought as he started falling. It just wasn't ever close to becoming a reality.

Pretty interesting that the Giants reportedly had Maclin rated above Michael Crabtree.

And it appears they were not alone in their assessment.

NFL insider John Czarnecki of FoxSports.com wrote that Maclin was the top receiver on 18 teams' boards. I'm no math major, but even I know that's more than half the teams in the league.

The Giants, meanwhile, picked up North Carolina WR Hakeem Nicks at No. 29. They also picked up big target Ramses Barden out of Cal Poly in the third round and Wisconsin tight end Travis Beckum.

As of now, it looks like Nicks and Steve Smith could be the team's starting receivers. While the team's identity will undoubtedly be a run-heavy offense behind Brandon Jacobs, will those weapons get it done when Eli Manning needs to make a play? And don't forget, Derrick Ward is gone also.

I'll offer my take on the Eagles' draft tomorrow, but the mindset of moving up for Maclin looks even better now than it did when the deal went down.

Note: Thanks to reader/chatter Yahmpy for the link to the Giants chat in the comments section of our last post.