00:00I'm really pleased with how the past two months have gone.
00:04Roster building, it's 12 months a year.
00:06It never stops, but these two months are critical.
00:11And really excited and proud of the personnel guys upstairs
00:16and how they attacked it, how they stayed with it.
00:19We used every resource we could,
00:22every different way to acquire guys that we thought were right for us.
00:26They did a great job in identifying,
00:28and they also did a great job in then going out
00:31and securing the guys that we felt we needed for this team.
00:36So really proud of that,
00:38proud of the collaboration with the coaching staff.
00:40They put a lot of work into it, and it goes unnoticed sometimes,
00:44but they do an exceptional job in this area as well.
00:48And with that, who's first?
00:53The last time we talked to you, I would have said,
00:55hey, you're going to add what you've added in that defensive line room.
00:59What do you think your reaction would have been?
01:01And what has it been since adding Dexter?
01:04You know, our plan is always to add as many good pieces as we can.
01:08And, you know, really the star of the show is Katie
01:13and how she was able to fit it all together.
01:15I mean, we're at the top of the league in spending,
01:17and we're making it work, and she makes that work.
01:21And it really was exceptional because we had opportunities come to us
01:26that we weren't expecting financially,
01:28and she was able to still make it work, which was sensational.
01:33We've layered in a lot of costs this year, next year,
01:36and those things are factors as we go forward,
01:39but we'll manage them the best way that we can.
01:41What's the feeling like as you decide,
01:43I'm going to make this Dexter-Lawrence trade,
01:45and kind of can you describe that feeling for you,
01:49maybe making that sort of trade for the first time in your career?
01:53Yeah, I felt good getting big Dex in here.
01:56You know, he's a guy that we've had high opinion of,
01:59you know, since he was at Clemson.
02:01And he's a real guy, and, you know,
02:04these things don't happen very often.
02:06And it's not very often you get a chance to acquire an All-Pro
02:11for a price that you think is acceptable.
02:16And it was a process getting that done,
02:19but it worked out for both sides.
02:21And I think it has to work out for both sides
02:25in order for something like that to come together.
02:27But he fit exactly what we felt we needed.
02:31He's going to elevate the people next to him
02:34and the people behind him, and that's good.
02:37And we've got a lot of other guys there
02:38that are going to elevate those people as well.
02:41Duke, when you were doing maybe simulations
02:42before the Dexter trade,
02:44how much was it a factor that when you did them
02:46and you got to 10 and you looked around and go,
02:48those just aren't guys who want,
02:50or is it just the cost of doing business
02:52giving up that 10th pick to get Dexter?
02:53Yeah, I don't give up the 10th pick in a draft.
02:57You know, I enjoy the draft,
02:58and I think adding those young players
03:00is a real positive.
03:02But, you know, we do an analysis
03:05of who we might be giving up.
03:08You never know, you know,
03:09who the first nine picks are going to be.
03:11But we do those analysis,
03:13and we look at who we might be forgoing
03:17to get this done.
03:18And we felt like whoever it was,
03:19it was a good move for us.
03:22And that's why we went forward with it
03:24and tried to make it work.
03:25And you have to make it work for the Giants as well.
03:29And that pick was attractive enough
03:31to make it work.
03:32Obviously, Duke, there was a lot of emphasis
03:34on your end to rebuild the defense,
03:36rework it, however you want to phrase it.
03:39What was the thinking internally
03:40between the players you liked?
03:42Obviously, you liked the linebackers
03:44the way they are.
03:45You liked D.J., you liked Dax.
03:47and the pieces that you had to add.
03:50What was the thinking,
03:51the conversations on all of the pieces?
03:53Yeah, we were trying to put a group together
03:56that's complete,
03:57that will play together as well.
03:59And you don't get opportunities
04:01in every position group.
04:02So you have to take advantage
04:03of the opportunities you get
04:05when they're in front of you.
04:06And it might not be the exact position group you want,
04:09but it's an opportunity
04:10that elevates our football team.
04:12And that's how we look at the draft as well.
04:15We're looking for opportunities
04:17to elevate our football team.
04:19Whether it's the ideal position
04:21at the moment or not,
04:22we're looking for the best players available.
04:24And we attack free agency
04:26in that way a little bit.
04:28That's more positional-driven
04:31from the onset.
04:32But then you get things that come at you
04:34that you might not have expected.
04:35And you say,
04:36hey, this is also a good move.
04:38We need to consider doing this.
04:40This is probably the most impressive
04:42that y'all have been
04:43in terms of going out and getting extra
04:45and maybe how you've structured things financially
04:47in terms of ways.
04:47Why do you think that is this offseason
04:49that y'all have been more impressive than usual?
04:52Every offseason is different, Ben.
04:53I don't know.
04:55I've never had two identical offseasons.
04:59It's a factor of need
05:02and opportunity meeting.
05:04And sometimes the need is there
05:07without the opportunity.
05:09And sometimes the opportunity is there
05:11without the need.
05:12And you have to decide
05:13whether you want to take advantage of it or not.
05:15But this offseason presented opportunities for us
05:18with guys that we had targeted and liked.
05:21And we went for those opportunities.
05:23You know, whether it was unrestricted free agency
05:26or whether it was guys
05:28who had been released by their teams
05:30or guys who had been traded.
05:31You know, we kind of look at every angle.
05:33You can't put that together at the onset.
05:35You have to be able to adapt and be flexible.
05:39And that's what we were
05:40when the Dexter thing came upon us
05:44and the opportunity to do that.
05:47We had to be flexible
05:48because it was something that was meaningful
05:51for our football team
05:52and would elevate us all.
05:54With Dexter, with the Dexter trade,
05:56you mentioned Katie.
05:57You mentioned statement ownership.
05:59Did that take some time, some convincing?
06:02How did those conversations evolve over time
06:05with all of you guys up there?
06:07We meet all the time.
06:08And there wasn't anybody that wasn't for trying to get it done.
06:12You know, whether it's the compensation
06:13or whether it's, you know, the financial package
06:16that would come with them
06:17if we did get the opportunity to talk to them about that
06:21and how that would fit this year,
06:23not only this year, but going forward.
06:25And those are challenges that we've accepted.
06:30And we're going to be working through those challenges
06:32as we go the next couple of years.
06:34And, you know, but the opportunity to add those players
06:40outweighed the challenges.
06:41And we're willing to go through the challenges
06:43to make it work.
06:45And, you know, you can't just build a team on individuals.
06:49And so the group that's in there right now,
06:52they have to come together and be a football team
06:54and finish games.
06:55And we think we've got some finishers.
06:57We didn't have enough finishers last year.
07:00This year we think we do.
07:01But they've got to come together as a football team.
07:03And it's got to be about 11 playing as one
07:06when we're out there.
07:07And it's got to be about 11 playing as a football team.
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