The New York Giants, unfortunately, are not involved in this weekend’s NFC Championship Game. That right belongs to the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. There is, however, a small Giants connection to each team.
Both the Packers and Bears each have players who were originally drafted by the Giants — safety Charles Peprah for Green Bay and punter Brad Maynard for Chicago.
Peprah was a fifth-round pick by the Giants (158th overall) in the 2006 draft. He did not make the team, however, and was claimed by the Packers. He has spent four of his five seasons with Green Bay, though he did spend 2009 with the Atlanta Falcons.
Peprah has enjoyed the best season of his NFL career in 2010, starting 11 games (he had only one career start before this season), making the only two interceptions of his career and totaling 60 tackles.
Maynard was drafted by the Giants in the third round of the 1997 draft, and never really met expectations. He moved on to Chicago as a free agent for the 2001 season and has been there ever since. He is no longer a guy with the ability to boom punts, and averaged a career low 40.1 yards per punt in 2010.