With the 31st pick, the final one in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, the Super Bowl champion giants selected Miami (Fla.) safety Kenny Phillips.

According to most pre-draft forecasts, Phillips was the Giants’ target to help out in the secondary, which lost Gibril Wilson to free agency. Adding Phillips certainly makes sense. He could learn the ropes for a season and contribute in sub-packages and special teams as a rookie then in 2009 step in full-time for Sammy Knight. Or Phillips could come to his first training camp and battle his way past Knight or James Butler for a starting job.

There is much to like about Phillips, starting with his size (6-foot-2, 212), pedigree and his air-tight resume. What hurts him is that the once-renowned Miami program sagged around him and that he is not considered in the same class as former Hurricanes safeties Ed Reed, Sean Taylor and Brandon Meriweather.