How the Giants' NFC East rivals did in the NFL Draft first round

Let's take a quick buzz around the NFC East to see what the Giants' fiercest rivals were up to Thursday night in the first round of the NFL Draft.

First stop, Philadelphia, the team that was supposed to tear the draft apart to get their quarterback but wound up picking from their original 20th slot and selecting a wide receiver for, well, whoever the quarterback is (Sam Bradford, it appears, at this moment). They took Nelson Agholor from USC. Scouts say he's a very polished route-runner, plus he has explosive speed. He could be used as a returner, too. Good thing the Giants beefed up that special teams unit in free agency!

Next stop, the defending division champions in Dallas. They went with cornerback Byron Jones from Connecticut. He's a little bigger than the corners that the Cowboys usually bring in (6-1, 199) and probably fits the Giants' mold better in that regard. Maybe Jones will wind up covering Odell Beckham Jr. on opening night? The Cowboys had gone offensive line in three of the last four drafts before making this pick.

And finally, anyone know who Washington selected? Oh, that's right, the guy the Giants wanted. Brandon Scherff from Iowa, a tough, nasty, big offensive lineman who can play guard or tackle. It's a good thing the Giants put in all of that pre-draft analysis on Scherff because it seems like they'll be facing him twice a year for the next few years. Washington figures to use Scherff at right tackle this season, pitting him against, um, whoever the Giants put at that end opposite Jason Pierre-Paul. Robert Ayers Jr.? Damontre Moore? George Selvie? Maybe a second-round pick who will be named Friday night?

A few other notes on 2015 opponents as they pertain to big storylines from the draft:

FALCONS: The first first-rounder on first-rounder battle of the season for the Giants should come in Week 2 when Ereck Flowers lines up against Atlanta pass-rusher Vic Beasley who was taken one spot ahead of him at 8.

SAINTS: Andrus Peat, who was probably the third offensive lineman on the Giants pre-draft board after Scherff and Flowers, was taken by the Saints and the Giants are in New Orleans in Week 8 when they get to see if they made the right decision.

BUCCANEERS: First overall pick Jameis Winston faces the Giants in Week 9 in Tampa Bay.

JETS: And finally, all the attention will be on Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Darrelle Revis in Week 13, but the Giants will have to figure out how to stop Leonard Williams up front, too, when they play the Jets.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.