As the NFL Draft approaches every year, teams begin to tip their hand when it comes to specific prospect interests and possible strategies they’ll use to acquire them. The New York Giants have made it clear with their recent actions that they’re seriously considering drafting Daniel Jones’ inevitable replacement this year. But which quarterback will they choose? And how will they go about acquiring them?
The most recent buzz in the last couple weeks has been centered around former Michigan quarterback, J.J. McCarthy. But if McCarthy is rising steeply enough to go as early as pick two like some experts (and sports books) believe, he may not actually be available to the Giants at pick six. So, if the Giants don’t want to trade up to pick two to ensure they get “their guy” what do they do? Today’s pro day circuit may have revealed two potential alternative strategies.
According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network the Giants made sure they were present to see Drake Maye at the North Carolina Pro Day today, and sources told him the team is set to meet with Maye officially in the coming days. But Garafolo also made note of the fact that Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll flew 3000 miles across the country to see Michael Penix Jr. at the Washington Pro Day today too.
The #Giants have a presence here at UNC today but Brian Daboll went to UW to see Michael Penix. Sources say the team will work out and meet with Drake Maye in the coming days. https://t.co/WAUTEiKxZ8
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 28, 2024
The Giants are clearly putting in work at quarterback this cycle more than any other position. This brings their total visits with quarterbacks prospects (Combine formals, private workouts, and pro days) up to nine in just the past two months. That’s more than any other position group this draft season. But how do they actually land one?
Giants Possible QB Draft Strategies
Given how desperately the Giants need to replace the embarrassing level of play Daniel Jones gives them at quarterback, the team has two key strategies they could utilize on draft day.
One, they could obviously trade up for one of the top four quarterbacks given how interested they’ve seemed to be, especially with J.J. McCarthy and Drake Maye in recent weeks. However, if they move all the way up to pick two they would be overpaying in draft picks (perhaps an additional future first and more) to move up just four picks. The Giants seem to like multiple QB options up top, so they should work the best deal they can with the Commanders, then leverage that to land at three or four for a much better value. Options are certainly there if they don’t focus too hard on getting up to pick two specifically.
If a deal doesn’t get done somehow, and four quarterbacks come off the board ahead of Giants’ selection, they could attempt what may be the best bet to build around a new young signal caller anyway.
Given the Giants’ interest in Michael Penix Jr., the team could try and trade down out of the six spot to secure him later in the first round, but there’s a specific, perhaps optimal way to position themselves to make that more likely.
The Giants should aggressively move to make multiple trade downs to acquire mid-round picks so that they can then move back up slightly into position to leap frog other quarterback needy teams that may take a stab at QB to start round two. If the team can move back in front of teams like the Saints and Raiders they may secure the QB5 in the NFL Draft of their choosing (Penix or Nix). And if they do pull off multiple round one trade downs they may also be able to keep a few extra of mid-round picks to help build around whoever the team drafts.
There are several options for the Giants if they want to acquire a QB to replace Daniel Jones. Leveraging a deal with the Commanders to inevitably take the best deal from the Patriots or Cardinals might land them a “higher upside” prospect. But even if they can’t, Michael Penix Jr. would be a nice consolation later on.
