Giants Sign 4 Draft Picks, 14 Undrafted Rookies

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Four of the Giants' six draft picks are already under contract.

The team announced Friday it has signed cornerback Eli Apple (their first-round pick), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (second round), running back Paul Perkins (fifth round) and tight end Jerell Adams (sixth round).

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The terms of the deals have not been disclosed.

After redshirting in 2013, Apple started 27 of 28 games at Ohio State the past two years, including during the Buckeyes' 2014 national championship season. He intercepted four passes and made 86 tackles.

The 6-foot-1, 199-pound Apple ran a blazing 4.40 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"He was an easy pick, and it was a value pick, No. 1, because he's the highest player on our board and was a need pick because we have two corners, and like I said during the draft, if you only have two corners, you're one corner short in this league," Giants general manager Jerry Reese told WFAN on Monday.

Shepard, who ran a 4.48 40 at the Combine, had a prolific career at Oklahoma, where he amassed 233 receptions for 3,482 yards and 26 touchdowns. Last season, he had 86 catches for 1,288 yards and 11 TDs.

"He's very productive, tremendous football player," Reese said. "He can play inside, he can play out. People try to knock him because he's 5-(foot)-10, but he's one of those guys that plays bigger than his 5-10 frame indicates. He's got a huge vertical jump. … So his strike zone is bigger than his 5-10 frame."

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Perkins, who played for UCLA, also put up monster numbers in college. He rushed for 1,572 yards as a sophomore and 1,343 yards as a junior before foregoing his senior season.

Adams caught 28 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns as a senior at South Carolina. Reese said he believed Adams was perhaps the best blocking tight end in the draft, but admitted that his receiving skills need some polishing.

The Giants also announced they signed 14 undrafted rookies:
• Andrew Adams, S, Connecticut
• Marshaun Coprich, RB, Illinois State
• Donte Deayon, CB, Boise State
• Michael Hunter, CB, Oklahoma State
• Cedrick Lang, TE, UTEP
• Melvin Lewis, DT, Kentucky
• Roger Lewis, WR, Bowling Green
• Ryan Malleck, TE, Virginia Tech
• KJ Maye, WR, Minnesota
• Greg Milhouse, DT, Campbell
• Romeo Okwara, DE, Notre Dame
• Darius Powe, WR, California
• Mike Rose, DE, North Carolina State
• Josh Woodrum, QB, Liberty