NY Giants general manager Joe Schoen has done a masterful job keeping the team's draft plans close to the vest. Nobody expected Schoen to telegraph the Giants' intentions, but he's kept the door ajar for every scenario: trade up, trade down, draft a quarterback, take a receiver.
Everything is on the table. Ideally, though, the Giants come away with a quarterback on Thursday night. That will be easier said than done. Multiple mock drafts have Schoen trading up for Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, while others have them standing pat at No. 6 overall to take a receiver.
Appearing on "NFL Live," ESPN's Adam Schefter offered a ray of hope this week when he reported that Drake Maye could fall to the No. 6 pick. That's the dream scenario, but the latest intel from ESPN Giants reporter Jordan Raanan could squash those dreams entirely.
Latest draft buzz could crush Giants' dreams of taking a quarterback
"Spoke with multiple GMs this week. They were all of the belief that QBs will go in each of the first 4 picks in the draft. That means Giants would have to trade up to get one of Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy. Not going to be cheap w/Vikings + others on the prowl."ESPN's Jordan Raanan
It seems written in the stars that Caleb Williams will go first overall to the Bears. It's unclear what Washington does with the second pick, but a simple reading of the tea leaves hints LSU's Jayden Daniels is the favorite. That leaves Maye and McCarthy.
This is a tough situation for Schoen and Brian Daboll to navigate. It seems they want a quarterback, but are they prepared to give up significant draft capital (likely two first-round picks) to move up two spots?
Joe Schoen is "comfortable" with the Giants' current quarterback group heading into the 2024 NFL Draft https://t.co/uSTHKVOiTW pic.twitter.com/RSxeR8KvBq
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 18, 2024
Schoen is on the record saying the Giants aren't a player or two away from contending. Getting a franchise quarterback will obviously expedite the rebuild project, but what if they don't love the remaining gunslingers?
It'd be foolish to take a QB just for the sake of doing so. Already down to six picks in the draft following the Brian Burns trade, Schoen might want to hang on to each pick and revisit the QB conundrum next offseason.
If there's a quarterback that Schoen loves, the Giants are in pole position to move up being they have the No. 6 pick. The Vikings and Broncos are seemingly the only other threats to trade up for a QB, but they both sit outside the Top 10. Minnesota has two first-round picks this year as ammunition, so they could easily leapfrog New York. That's yet another variable Big Blue must consider.
A dozen more rumors will trickle out before Thursday night, so it's really anyone's guess how the top of the board unfolds. On the surface, though, this rumor means the Giants will have to trade up for a QB and they'll have to pay a premium to do so given desperate teams like the Vikings and Broncos smell blood in the water.