Giants sign Eli Apple and Sterling Shepard, top draft picks
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The New York Giants have signed their top two draft picks.
The Giants announced Friday that Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple and Oklahoma receiver Sterling Shepard were signed along with UCLA running back Paul Perkins and South Carolina tight end Jerrel Adams.
Apple was taken in the first round, Shepard in the second, Perkins in the fifth and Adams in the sixth.
All four players signed four-year contracts. Apple received $15.1 million, or an average of $3.78 million annually. Shepard got $5.94 million, or $1.48 million annually. Perkins will earn an average of $648,934, while Adams will get an average of $620,714 annually.
The Giants also signed 14 free agents: quarterback Josh Woodrum of Liberty University; running back Marshaun Coprich of Illinois State, receivers Roger Lewis of Bowling Green, K.J. Maye of Minnesota, and Darius Powe of California; tight ends Cedrick Lang of UTEP and Ryan Malleck of Virginia; defensive ends Romeo Okwara of Notre Dame and Mike Rose of North Carolina State; defensive tackles Melvin Lewis of Kentucky and Greg Milhouse of Campbell; and defensive backs Andrew Adams of Connecticut, Donte Deayon of Boise State, and Michael Hunter of Oklahoma State.
The Giants also hired Chris Watts and Marquis Pendleton to their scouting department.