Jerry’s Highs & Lows

Jerry Reese’s tenure as Giants’ GM came to a close Monday after a decade running the franchise. Below are three highs and lows: HIGHS

• Reese was the GM of the franchise’s two most recent Super Bowl championships — both over the Patriots — and was integral in the building of both teams. While his first season was 2007, the same year of Super Bowl XLII, he was the Giants’ pro personnel director the previous four years, and had a hand in drafting many of the players who won those Super Bowls.

• Drafted Odell Beckham Jr. in the first round (12th overall) of the 2014 draft and found a rising star in the second round in 2015, safety Landon Collins, the team’s most consistent defensive player.

• He picked up Victor Cruz as an undrafted free agent the day after the 2010 draft, and the New Jersey native became a terrific Giant. He picked linebacker Kawika Mitchell, an integral part of the Big Blue defense en route to a Super Bowl XLII victory, off the scrap heap. Reese found tight end Jake Ballard in the same undrafted freeagent class as Cruz, and he was a key to the Super Bowl XLVI team.

LOWS

• His drafts were uneven, especially over the last five years. Yes, there were the Beckham and Collins picks, but just as many busts as well. At a time when Reese needed to hit on top-10 first-round draft picks, he whiffed on Ereck Flowers (ninth pick, 2015) and Eli Apple (10th, 2016). His third-round picks have been shaky at best.

• Ownership gave Reese a lifeline when it fired Tom Coughlin and he used it poorly, by hiring Ben McAdoo. Reese should have known McAdoo lacked the people and communication skills needed to be the voice and leader of the franchise, and he clearly was unwise in risking his own future with the hire of such an inexperienced coach.

• He wasted the twilight of Eli Manning’s career by failing to adequately protect him. Was unable to rebuild the offensive line, relying on mediocre-at-best players such as John Jerry, Bobby Hart and Marshall Newhouse.