Giants looking at drafting receivers

Amani Toomer will be 33 on Sept. 8, the day before the Giants open the 2007 season. He had reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in November. He said the other day that he's on track to be ready to sprint and cut on the knee by training camp, but can the Giants afford to be patient with their all-time leading receiver?

Tomorrow may reveal the answer. There are many quality wide receiver prospects that should be available for the Giants, either with the No. 20 pick or their second-rounder, which is the 51st overall pick.

"They have their own plan," said Toomer, who is entering his 12th season with the Giants. "Whoever they get, I hope they bring in somebody to help the team."

Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson is the consensus top receiver available, probably the top athlete available. After that, most draft-watchers believe it's a long way to the next group of receivers, and that group is pretty equally regarded.

Maybe the slight leader is LSU's Dwayne Bowe, just ahead of USC's Dwayne Jarrett and Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr.
Bowe is 6-2, 221 pounds, not as big as Plaxico Burress but similar in style, according to one Giant who knows both receivers.

"He's not as tall as Plax, but he's long," said Corey Webster, who was a teammate of Bowe in 2003 and 2004 and has worked out with him the past two offseasons. "He gives smaller corners a lot of trouble."

Drops gave Bowe a lot of trouble in his first three college seasons, but he had LASIK eye surgery last summer and became JaMarcus Russell's main target, with 65 catches and 12 TDs.

The Giants' options for wideouts in the second round may be even more plentiful. LSU's Craig Davis, USC's Steve Smith and Washington State's Jason Hill may all still be on the board, so the Giants may be able to wait and catch whichever receiver falls to them.

Eli Manning noted this week that he told all his receivers he'd like them to be at Giants Stadium May 14 so they can work on route-running. The only folks he needed to call were Burress and Jeremy Shockey. If neither of them shows, that may only reinforce the Giants' decision to draft a wide receiver if they decide Burress' act is wearing thin.

The Giants also will likely be looking this weekend for a rookie to back up Shockey, with Visanthe Shiancoe gone to the Vikings. Western Oregon's Kevin Boss (6-6, 252) visited the Giants recently, and Giants tight ends coach Mike Pope attended the pro day of Minnesota's Matt Spaeth (6-7, 270).

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