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The Giants have been major players in free agency this offseason, splashing money around on several additions to a defense that has been short on talent for several years.

It was a needed infusion this offseason, but it isn’t an approach that the Giants would like to make an annual tradition. Avoiding such spending sprees in the future will require the team to do a better job of identifying, acquiring and developing younger players than they have done in recent years.

That process will start with this year’s draft. Speaking from a press conference announcing a Paul McCartney concert at MetLife Stadium this summer, co-owner John Mara said, via Tom Rock of Newsday, that it is “time to pick it up” and that the team’s need for “impact players” makes this draft a more important one than usual.

Mara’s words would seem to put more pressure on General Manager Jerry Reese as he’s the one who has overseen some unproductive drafts as the Giants have been on their four-year playoff drought. Mara’s message when the team dispatched former coach Tom Coughlin was that we can work it out with Reese, but further changes to the organization may wait for no one if things don’t turn around with this year’s rookie class.