The New York Giants used their First Round Pick in 1980 (8^thOverall) on Mark Haynes, a star Cornerback from Colorado.  While Haynes never achieved the fame of some of the Defensive Ends and Linebackers who played ahead of him, he was a bona fide top player in his own right.

Erich Barnes was only with the New York Giants for four seasons of his 14-year career, but it was easily the best run of his career.

Del Shofner was a two-time First Team All-Pro in the four seasons he was with the Los Angeles Rams, but the restructuring Rams traded their star to the New York Giants for a First Round Pick in 1961.  The Rams would draft Roman Gabriel, but the Giants did just fine with their end of the deal.

Ward Cuff was a multi-sport star at Marquette, where he was a boxer, a javelin thrower, and a Back, who competed in the first ever Cotton Bowl.  The New York Giants only had use for the latter skill, and they drafted him in the Fourth Round of the 1936 Draft.

At the University of Southern California, Red Badrgo did it all.  He was a star athlete in baseball, basketball, and football and was an elite performer in all of them.

Leonard Marshall was a massive component of the New York Giants defensive group that would win two Super Bowls.

Osi Umenyiora is one of the most successful Defensive Ends in the history of Troy University, and the former All-Southland player helped put his old school on the football map.

Steve Owen achieved far greater notoriety as a Coach, but he was a very good football player in his own right and one of the first real stars of the New York Giants.

You could argue that Carl Banks is one of the most underrated players in the history of the National Football League.

The long and storied professional football career began in 1929, where he was with the Long Island Stapletons and was twice a First Team All-Pro.

Ray Flaherty came from Gonzaga and played in the semi-pro Los Angeles Wildcats of the American Football League.  The End would later join the New York Yankees of the NFL, but that was short-lived as the squad folded late in 1928.  Flaherty then joined the New York Giants, where he would play until 1935.

When it was all said and done, Phil Simms is considered one of the best Quarterbacks in the history of the New York Giants.  During the first five years of his career, it sure didn’t feel like that was possible.

Before there was Eli Manning, a Quarterback from Ole Miss, the New York Giants had Charlie Conerly…a Quarterback from Ole Miss.

The First Overall Pick of the 1951 Draft, SMU’s Kyle Rote was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1950.  With their selection, the New York Giants believed they had the offensive weapon they thought could lead them to a title.

After a good college run at George Washington, the New York Giants drafted Tuffy Leemans in 1936, where he would have an eight-year career with the New York Giants.

Arnie Weinmeister was one of the toughest players in football, and after two seasons with the New York Yankees of the AAFC, Weinmeister made history as the first native of Saskatchewan to play in the NFL when he joined the New York Giants in 1950.

Fran Tarkenton began his pro career with the Minnesota Vikings in 1961, but the Vikes did not have a lot of talent around him.  The scrambling Quarterback was a star and was a Pro Bowl Selection in 1964 and 1965, but he grew frustrated and demanded a trade.  That wish was granted after the 1966 season, when the Giants, hungry for a top Quarterback, traded four high Draft Picks for Tarkenton.

Keith Hamilton played his college ball at Pittsburgh, and the New York Giants were happy to land him with their Fourth Round Pick in the 1992 Draft.

Playing for your dad is hard.  Playing for your father-in-law has to be harder.  This was life for Chris Snee, a Boston College product who married the daughter of Tom Coughlin, who became the Head Coach of the New York Giants in 2004. That was the same season that the Giants drafted Snee in the Second Round.

One of the most successful football players to come out of Dayton, Jim Katcavage, was drafted by the New York Giants in 1956, which would be the only team that he ever played for on the professional level.