When it comes to crafting a winning football team, most everyone agrees that championship squads must be built through all avenues of player distribution - free agency, waivers, trades, and, of course, the draft. On Sunday night, years of scrupulous roster assembly will culminate in one team hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and the other returning home empty handed.
The following is a breakdown of how both the New York Giants' and New England Patriots' current rosters were constructed. The Eagles are included for comparison.
In bold are the starters for each squad. Of the Giants' 24 starters (including specialists), half were acquired through the draft. Coincidentally, New England has the same number of drafted players starting. The Eagles had 14 starters last season who joined the team as draft picks.
The charts below illustrate just how fleeting life in the NFL can be. Between the three teams, there are only six players who were acquired before 2004 - Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora is the only non-quarterback and non-offensive lineman acquired by any of the three teams before 2004. Amazingly, a third of the players on these teams were acquired just this past offseason. Take a look below and see how these teams were built.
| NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | |
| DRAFT | |
| 1999 | RB Kevin Faulk (2nd) |
| 2000 | QB Tom Brady (6th) |
| 2001 | OT Matt Light (2nd) |
| 2004 | DT Vince Wilfork (1st) |
| 2005 | G Logan Mankins (1st) |
| 2006 | K Stephen Gostkowski (4th) |
| 2008 | LB Jerod Mayo (1st), WR Matt Slater (5th) |
| 2009 | S Patrick Chung (2nd), DT Ron Brace (2nd), OT Sebastian Vollmer (2nd), WR Julian Edelman (7th) |
| 2010 | CB Devin McCourty (1st), TE Rob Gronkowski (2nd), LB Brandon Spikes (2nd), TE Aaron Hernandez (4th), P Zoltan Mesko (5th), DE Brandon Deaderick (7th) |
| 2011 | OT Nate Solder (1st), RB Shane Vereen (2nd), RB Stevan Ridley (3rd), QB Ryan Mallett (3rd), OT Marcus Cannon (5th) |
| FREE AGENCY | |
| 2008 | RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, LB Gary Guyton |
| 2009 | CB Kyle Arrington, QB Brian Hoyer, OL Ryan Wendell |
| 2010 | S Sergio Brown, LB Dane Fletcher, DT Kyle Love |
| 2011 | CB Sterling Moore, DE Alex Silvestro |
| UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY | |
| 2008 | C Dan Connolly (JAX) |
| 2009 | LB Rob Ninkovich (SD) |
| 2010 | RB Danny Woodhead (NYJ) |
| 2011 | DE Mark Anderson (CHI), DE Shaun Ellis (NYJ), S James Ihedigbo (NYJ), CB Nate Jones (DAL), LB Niko Koutouvides (SEA), OL Nick McDonald (GB), G Donald Thomas (MIA), WR Tiquan Underwood (JAX), G Brian Waters (DAL) |
| WAIVERS | |
| 2011 | LS Danny Aiken (BUF), CB Antwaun Molden (HOU) |
| TRADES | |
| 2007 | WR Wes Welker (MIA) |
| 2010 | WR Deion Branch (SEA), LB Tracy White (PHI) |
| 2011 | WR Chad Ochocinco (CIN) |
| NEW YORK GIANTS | |
| DRAFT | |
| 2003 | DE Osi Umenyiora (2nd), OT David Diehl (5th) |
| 2004 | QB Eli Manning (1st), G Chris Snee (2nd) |
| 2005 | CB Corey Webster (2nd), DE Justin Tuck (3rd), RB Brandon Jacobs (4th) |
| 2006 | DE Mathias Kiwanuka (1st) |
| 2007 | CB Aaron Ross (1st), LB Zak DeOssie (4th), RB Ahmad Bradshaw (7th) |
| 2008 | S Kenny Phillips (1st), WR Mario Manningham (3rd) |
| 2009 | WR Hakeem Nicks (1st), WR Ramses Barden (3rd), TE Travis Beckum (3rd) |
| 2010 | DE Jason Pierre-Paul (1st), DT Linval Joseph (2nd), G Mitch Petrus (5th) |
| 2011 | CB Prince Amukamara (1st), WR Jerrel Jernigan (3rd), OT James Brewer (4th), LB Greg Jones (6th), S Tyler Sash (6th), LB Jacquian Williams (6th), RB Da'Rel Scott (7th) |
| FREE AGENCY | |
| 2005 | LB Chase Blackburn |
| 2007 | DE Dave Tollefson, RB D.J. Ware |
| 2010 | TE Jake Ballard, WR Victor Cruz, FB Bear Pascoe, S Antrel Rolle |
| 2011 | CB Will Blackmon, QB David Carr, C Jim Cordle, LB Mark Herzlich, FB Henry Hynoski, DT Jimmy Kennedy, S Derrick Martin, LB Spencer Paysinger, DE Justin Trattou, OT Tony Ugoh, P Steve Weatherford |
| UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY | |
| 2005 | OT Kareem McKenzie (NYJ) |
| 2009 | DT Rocky Bernard (SEA), LB Michael Boley (ATL), DT Chris Canty (DAL) |
| 2010 | S Deon Grant (SEA) |
| 2011 | OT Stacy Andrews (SEA), C David Baas (SF) |
| WAIVERS | |
| 2007 | G Kevin Boothe (OAK), K Lawrence Tynes (KC) |
| 2010 | WR Devin Thomas (CAR) |
| The rights to QB Eli Manning were acquired by the Giants in a draft-day trade with the San Diego Chargers | |
| PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | |
| DRAFT | |
| 2005 | DT Mike Patterson (1st), OT Todd Herremans (4th), DE Trent Cole (5th) |
| 2006 | OT Winston Justice (2nd), WR Jason Avant (4th) |
| 2007 | TE Brent Celek (5th) |
| 2008 | DT Trevor Laws (2nd), WR DeSean Jackson (2nd), OT King Dunlap (7th) |
| 2009 | WR Jeremy Maclin (1st), RB LeSean McCoy (2nd) |
| 2010 | DE Brandon Graham (1st), S Nate Allen (2nd), LB Keenan Clayton (4th), QB Mike Kafka (4th), TE Clay Harbor (4th), WR Riley Cooper (5th), LB Jamar Chaney (7th), S Kurt Coleman (7th) |
| 2011 | G Danny Watkins (1st), S Jaiquawn Jarrett (2nd), CB Curtis Marsh (3rd), LB Casey Matthews (4th), K Alex Henery (4th), RB Dion Lewis (5th), G Julian Vandervelde (5th), C Jason Kelce (6th), LB Brian Rolle (6th), LB Greg Lloyd (7th) |
| FREE AGENCY | |
| 2003 | C Jamaal Jackson |
| 2005 | LS Jon Dorenbos |
| 2006 | CB Joselio Hanson |
| 2007 | LB Akeem Jordan |
| 2009 | QB Michael Vick |
| 2010 | WR Chad Hall, FB Owen Schmitt |
| 2011 | DE Phillip Hunt, QB Vince Young, P Chas Henry, DT Cedric Thornton, S Tom Nelson, WR Ron Johnson |
| UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY | |
| 2008 | CB Asante Samuel (NE) |
| 2010 | CB Brandon Hughes (NYG) |
| 2011 | DE Jason Babin (TEN), CB Nnamdi Asomugha (OAK), DT Cullen Jenkins (GB), G Evan Mathis (CIN), RB Ronnie Brown (MIA), DT Derek Landri (CAR) |
| WAIVERS | |
| 2009 | DT Antonio Dixon (WAS) |
| TRADES | |
| 2009 | OT Jason Peters (BUF) |
| 2010 | DE Darryl Tapp (SEA) |
| 2011 | CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (ARI) |
