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The Giants aren't afraid to draft another quarterback to place behind Eli Manning.

(Rob Carr/Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Giants have two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning on their roster. They selected Ryan Nassib last year in the fourth round.

But don't be confused. There's always room on the roster for a quarterback general manager Jerry Reese and his scouting staff really like.

"If there is a quarterback up there when we're picking at the right time, we won't be afraid to pick him," Reese said.

Even in the first round, where the Giants own the 12th overall selection?

"I don't think it's going to present itself in the first round. But we're not afraid.

“I think that is a reach for us to have a quarterback at 12 that we like well enough to pick at 12. But in the later rounds, if there is a quarterback there that we really like and people are passing over him, we won’t be afraid to pick him.”

Despite a disastrous season, the Giants have repeatedly stated they believe in the 33-year-old Manning as their franchise quarterback. Coach Tom Coughlin actually scoffed at the idea that the Giants might be concerned about their QB following the down year.

“Internal concern? I don’t know where the internal concern is,” Coughlin said. “We’re very confident that Eli will, with the help of others around him, he’s not by himself in this by any means, with the help of his coaches and the help of his teammates, will return to the high stature that we hold him in.

“I feel very good about that. I’ve seen it in his eyes as he’s returned back a couple of times in the last couple of weeks. We’re excited about that too.”

While Reese’s admission that the Giants would draft a quarterback isn’t an indictment on Manning, it may be on Nassib. The Syracuse product was the third-stringer this past season behind Manning and Curtis Painter. Nassib did not dress for a single game, even when the Giants season was long lost.

Painter remained the backup in the final weeks of the season. And when Manning went down in the finale, it was Painter, not Nassib, who received the game experience. Painter is a free agent this offseason. BEGIN SOCIAL BOX

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The Giants would like to bring in a veteran to compete with Nassib for the backup job. But if the draft unfolds to their liking, they could go with two youngsters behind Manning with the hope that one develops into his future successor.

As has been proven many times in the NFL, you can never have too many quarterbacks. And Reese doesn't appear afraid to stockpile them.