SI.com At The Draft (cont.)

East Rutherford, N.J., 1:33 p.m.

Radio City Music Hall, where the boos from Jets fans still echo through the building. David Bergman/SI

Five things I'm thinking about as I get ready to hop on a New Jersey Transit bus out to Giants Stadium, where GM Jerry Reese and his staff are huddled for the day:

1. Will the Giants make a deal for Cleveland wideout Braylon Edwards?

After releasing Plaxico Burress and deciding not to re-sign 13-year veteran Amani Toomer, the Giants could certainly use a playmaker at wide receiver, though during a pre-draft press conference, Reese explained the position was not "a glaring need." It's been said New York won't consider trading away its first-round pick (29th), which would likely be one of the Browns conditions for parting with Edwards, but Reese could conceivably work out the deal during the draft. "If it's best for us to trade our number one pick, we can do that," said Reese. "But you always want to have your number one pick going into the draft."

2. It's supposed to be a glorious 85 degrees in sunny New York City today. What will the temperature be inside the windowless Giants media room?

3. If the Giants don't orchestrate a trade for a wide receiver today, how might they use their first-round selection to draft one?

By the time the Giants will be on the clock with the 29th pick, Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech), Jeremy Maclin (Missouri) and Percy Harvin (Florida) should all be gone. Darrius Heyward-Bey (Maryland) and Hakeem Nicks (UNC) could still be available, and while Kenny Britt (Rutgers) may not be first-round material, the Giants also have two picks in the second round, thanks to last July's Jeremy Shockey trade with New Orleans.

4. Will the Giants be able to maximize their picks?

New York has five picks among the first 100, and the team has 10 picks overall. Only the Patriots, Bengals and Cowboys (all with 11 picks) have more opportunities to stockpile talent over the weekend.

5. Thank goodness I am riding the bus and not driving out to Giants Stadium. I am letting someone else worry about traffic in the Lincoln Tunnel.
--Elizabeth McGarr

Foxboro, Mass., 1:21 p.m.

The weather dude said that this will be the first 80-degree day in Boston in seven months -- yet most winter-beaten, sports-mad New Englanders will be packed into barrooms, beer halls and lyric little bandboxes for some afternoon delight: the red-hot Red Sox hosting the Yanks at Fenway at 4:10 p.m. and a critical draft for the Patriots, who should make their first of four scheduled picks today a couple hours after first pitch.

A large group of Patriots fans even dished out 70 bucks a pop on this first summery day since September for the honor of hunkering down inside Gillette.

Of course, nobody knows what the post-Scott Pioli Patriots will do with their bounty of picks today (one in the first, three in the second). But it's pretty obvious what they should do.

The Patriots need tons of help on defense, particularly when it comes to defending the pass. Bill Belichick has not uncovered an impact defensive back since Asante Samuel in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. In fact, there have been so many swings and misses along the way that you'd think that a 1999 vintage Mariano Rivera was hurling the picks at the Patriots.

Safety Guss Scott was taken in the third round in 2004. He was out of football by 2006. Dexter Reid (fourth round 2004) started two games with the Patriots. Brandon Meriweather (first round 2007) has yet to live up to expectations of a top pick. And cornerback Terrence Wheatley (second round 2008) spent most of his rookie year on IR.

The impact of the draft gaffes has been felt on the field, where the Patriots were among the worst pass defenses in football last year, with an 89.8 Defensive Passer Rating. You can't win titles that way, no matter who's at quarterback.
--Kerry J. Byrne

New York City 1 p.m.

Welcome to the second annual SI.com At The Draft Blog. Today, we have dispatched 12 writers throughout 10 cities across the country. They have one goal: To bring you behind the scenes of the first two rounds of the 2008 NFL Draft. The dozen:

• Peter King: Want to know what Kansas City executives are going to do with the No. 3 pick? In between Starbucks runs, Peter is at the Chiefs headquarters to bring you the scoop.

• Don Banks: After putting the finishing touches on Mock Draft 7.0, Don flew to Detroit on Friday to see how the Lions new regime would handle its first draft.

• Jim Trotter: The Broncos are in prime position with first-round picks at No. 12 and No. 18, so this SI magazine writer is in Denver to see what happens.

• Ross Tucker and Dominic Bonvissuto: This duo, which includes a former NFL offensive lineman in Tucker and a puny editor in Bonvissuto, has every corner of Radio City Music Hall covered.

• Arash Markazi: The party is in Seattle, where USC quarterback Mark Sanchez is a possibility with the No. 4 pick.

• Steve Aschburner: Giving the NBA playoffs a rest for a day, Steve will check in from Minnesota to see what the Vikings are going to do with the No. 22 pick.

• Kerry J. Byrne: The publisher of the brilliant ColdHardFootballFacts.com is in Foxboro, where he'll keep an eye on the unpredictable Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

• Adam Duerson: This SI Presents writer is at Jets headquarters, where he'll see if Rex Ryan and company stay put at No. 17 or try to move up.

• Elizabeth McGarr: What's going on with the Giants? Elizabeth took a bus out to Jersey to see if the Giants deal their No. 29 pick for a veteran wide receiver.

• Richard Deitsch: SI.com's media guru is on his couch in Ann Arbor, Mich., to offer instant analysis on how the talking heads on ESPN and NFL Network are doing.

• Ted Keith: Closing out our crew, Ted has been embedded with top prospect Aaron Curry and will keep us apprised of the Wake Forest linebacker's every move.

The blog will run from now until the end of the second round. Have any thoughts along the way? Feel free to weigh in with your reactions here.
--Dominic Bonvissuto