Josh Rosen may still represent best available QB for New York Giants

The New York Giants don’t seem in any rush to grab their next franchise quarterback.

That’s a risky proposition for Big Blue because you don’t want to be one year too late in your estimation of the quality of play for Eli Manning. Let’s face facts, when Manning is done, that’s it, and it’ll be a lost season for the New York Giants.

One year ago, Kyle Lauletta was the next greatest thing at quarterback. He was Senior Bowl MVP, a diamond in the rough, and a value pick for general manager Dave Gettleman. Now, with the G-Men re-signing journeyman Alex Tanney, Lauletta is one draft pick or trade away from being on the unemployment line.

Such is life on the NFL quarterback carousel.

Back at the 2015 NFL Draft, every pundit thought both Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota were the next best things. They were 1A and 1B of that draft, but neither career turned out like we envisioned.

This year, teams will invest a high draft pick in Dwayne Haskins, Kyler Murray, Drew Lock, and probably Daniel Jones. At the end of the day, the likelihood is that at least two of those four players go bust.

Every team tries to play Cool Hand Luke with the quarterback position prior to the NFL Draft. Even the Arizona Cardinals, who’ve been on the clock for the better part of four months now, won’t even concede that they are close to making a selection.

Maybe Arizona general manager Steve Keim waits for his Sonny Weaver moment, when a crazed and impatient colleague offers up four No. 1 draft picks for the Cardinals No. 1 this year.

A guy can dream, can’t he?

More likely, the Cardinals draft Kyler Murray, and everyone declares “I told you so.” This comes in stark contrast to last year, when John Dorsey and Cleveland Browns had an actual decision to make – Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield?

The overdrafting of Murray, will then lead to the overdrafting of Dwayne Haskins, perhaps as high as No. 2 overall. Do you folks actually forget the Jared Goff – Carson Wentz machinations of just a few years back?

Different draft, same dynamics as this year.

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But when Haskins gets overdrafted, that pushes Missouri’s Drew Lock into the top 10, as panic is sure to set in, and all those arm chair GM’s out there still opine that Daniel Jones can’t possibly go in the first-round.

Be reminded that the supply of NFL quarterbacks never meets the demand for the position, otherwise Mark Sanchez, Josh Johnson, Blaine Gabbert, or Nick Mullens would not have gotten an NFL start in 2018.

Which leads us back to the New York Giants. With two first-round selections, Big Blue needs to tidy up its offensive line at right tackle, find a pass rush, and uncover Eli Manning’s successor. Perhaps the only way this gets accomplished is by drafting the edge rusher/defensive end at No. 6, and following that up by grabbing a right tackle at No. 17.

If a crazed GM hasn’t overwhelmed the Cardinals with an offer for Rosen, then pick No. 37 should suffice. That’s a reasonable offer for one of last year’s shiny new toys, who now has a few scrapes and scratches on his exterior.

Plus he’s burned a year off his valuable rookie contract.

The NFL Draft becomes a lot like your NCAA Basketball pool, especially after that first upset, which shouldn’t come that deep into the first round. When the dust settles, look for the Washington Redskins to move into the top 5 for a shot at Haskins.

With Murray being drafted, it does open up a unique opportunity for New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman to be creative as it comes to the quarterback position. In addition to being in the title-winning business, NFL franchises are in the entertainment business.

Kyler Murray should put some fannies in the seats in the dessert, and for the most part, the New York Giants already have fannies in their seats. So while the Cardinals have to be daring, Gettleman and the Giants can be functional, and in the case of Josh Rosen, that’s to Big Blue’s advantage.