During the week of practice leading up to this year’s Senior Bowl, the individual competition that NFL scouts scrutinize more than any other, Virginia offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson squared off against Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka. Both were regarded as potential top 10 picks, but when Ferguson consistently dominated Kiwanuka in practice drills, he solidified his spot near the top of draft boards, while Kiwanuka fell.

Running his first draft as the Jets’ general manager, Mike Tannenbaum chose Ferguson with the fourth overall pick of the NFL draft on Saturday, while Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, likely running the final draft of his 35-year career, chose Kiwanuka at the end of the round. Those two picks revealed each team’s draft strategy for the weekend: The Jets looked to add players who could lead to an immediate turnaround of last year’s 4-12 squad, while the Giants looked to add depth to last year’s NFC East championship team.

Top 5 picks often spend their rookie years taking up a huge amount of salary cap space while sitting on the bench, but that won’t be the case with Ferguson, who immediately becomes the starter at left tackle. The Jets expect Ferguson to be worth every dollar of his eight-figure signing bonus because he has incredibly quick feet for a 300-pounder and is one of the most polished pass blockers to enter the league in years.

Most observers expected the Jets fans at Radio City Music Hall to boo their team’s decision to pass on USC quarterback Matt Leinart in favor of Ferguson. But fans generally cheered Ferguson when he took the stage after Commissioner Paul Tagliabue called his name.

The Jets continued their practice of adding players who should start immediately when they used their second first round pick (acquired by trading defensive end John Abraham) to draft center Nick Mangold out of Ohio State. Mangold is the heir apparent to Kevin Mawae, who has been the Jets’ starting center for the last eight years but left for the Tennessee Titans this off-season. Before acquiring Mangold, the Jets had planned to plug in the recent free agent signing Trey Teague at center, but Mangold’s arrival should allow the versatile Teague to move to guard and give the Jets a much deeper offensive line.

But Jets fans are probably less interested in knowing how soon Ferguson and Mangold will start than in knowing how soon the Jets’ second-round pick will start. That pick was Oregon quarterback Kellen Clemens, who will make the Jets’ already tenuous quarterback situation even more uncertain. Clemens will enter training camp as the third-stringer behind Chad Pennington and Patrick Ramsey, but the Jets wouldn’t have spent a second-round pick on him if they didn’t think he could become a starter.

Quarterbacks are rarely taken in the second round – none had gone in Round 2 since 2001 – because teams usually snap up the most talented signal-callers in the first round. So the Jets were happy to end up with Clemens, a three-year starter at Oregon who was on his way to an excellent senior season when he suffered a broken leg and missed the Ducks’ final four games. He finished 2005 completing 64% of his passes, with 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

Clemens probably would have been an even higher pick if his injury hadn’t prevented him from working out at the NFL’s scouting combine, and the Jets are confident that he is the kind of accurate passer who will thrive in the offensive system designed by new coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. His selection is another piece of evidence that the Jets don’t expect Pennington to be around much longer. (The Jets also added Missouri quarterback Brad Smith in the fourth round, but Smith was primarily a scrambler in college and the Jets will convert him to receiver.)

Quarterback was the last thing on the minds of the Giants’ front office, which has already made a long-term commitment to Eli Manning and now hopes to build a championship team around him. Big Blue drew cheers from its fans when it gave Manning a new target on Saturday, selecting Miami wide receiver Sinorice Moss in the second round.

Moss, the brother of Washington Redskins receiver Santana Moss, was the smallest receiver in the draft at 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds, but he is also one of the fastest. Like his big brother, Moss excels at lining up in the slot and turning short passes into long gains. He gives the Giants good depth at receiver and is the heir apparent to veteran Amani Toomer, who is the Giants’ all-time leader in receiving yards but turns 32 in September and is slowing down.

The Giants bolstered their defense in the third round when they picked up Georgia Tech linebacker Gerris Wilkinson. Although not as good an athlete as recently acquired free agent LaVar Arrington, Wilkinson is nevertheless a similar player. He can play both inside and outside linebacker and plays with a hard-hitting style that will make him an immediate contributor on special teams. Special teams was also on the Giants’ minds on the second day of the draft, when they added defensive backs Charlie Peprah of Alabama and Gerrick McPhearson of Maryland.

Before they added those picks, the Giants selected Kiwanuka, who will provide excellent depth at defensive end – which was already the strongest position on the team. Kiwanuka had 9.5 sacks for B.C. last season, but he won’t threaten incumbent starters Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, who combined for an NFL-best 26 sacks last year. Instead, Kiwanuka should maintain the quality of the Giants’ pass rush when Strahan and Umenyiora are taking plays off, and could also log some playing time at outside linebacker in passing situations.

The Jets and Giants will meet for their annual preseason game in August. That game won’t mean anything in the standings, but it will allow Kiwanuka and Ferguson to do battle again.

Mr. Smith is a regular writer for FootballOutsiders.com.