NY Giants Final Mock Draft: Joe Schoen trades up for the next franchise QB

As we are officially at the week of the 2024 NFL Draft, there’s a general feeling that the NY Giants are a team that wants to trade up for a quarterback. Given the uncertainty surrounding Daniel Jones and his health, plus the contract that continues to be the subject of a lot of criticism, it makes sense that the Giants make a move up for a star QB.

Well, 20 years ago in the 2004 NFL Draft, the Giants made the draft-day trade to acquire Eli Manning from the Los Angeles Chargers. At the time, the Giants could have stuck with Kerry Collins, who had gotten the Giants to a Super Bowl and another playoff appearance the year prior. However, with Manning not wanting to play for the Chargers and the Giants in need of a quarterback for the future, the Giants drafted Philip Rivers, only to send him and several other picks to get Manning - yeah, that turned out pretty well.

Now the Giants, who have the No. 6 overall pick heading into Thursday night, have a choice to make. Do they decide to stick it out with Jones, or do they roll with the next guy at quarterback? Again, it sure seems and feels like the Giants are trying very hard to move up.

Ever since Joe Schoen took over as the Giants general manager back in 2022, he has yet to draft a quarterback in the two drafts he’s overseen. He has, though, made several trades in both of them. In the 2023 NFL Draft, Schoen traded up twice to land cornerback Deonte Banks and Jalin Hyatt, choosing quality over quantity. His term was, “scared money doesn’t make money.” So with that theme in mind, he decides to go all in for a stud out of North Carolina in Round 1:

TRADE ALERT: NY Giants trade No. 6, No. 70 and a 2025 first-round pick to the New England Patriots for No. 3 and select UNC QB Drake Maye

It was a tough swallow to give up a 2025 first-round pick, but in order for the Giants to move up and move ahead of the Minnesota Vikings to get their guy at quarterback, they had to offer something to the Patriots as well for New England to be enticed enough to pass on a new QB too. The Giants had to do it back in 2004 in order to get Manning, so in order to get Drake Maye, that’s the price Schoen pays.

The junior quarterback had a fine season for the Tar Heels, as he threw for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. The year before as a sophomore, Maye threw for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. With the Bears having the No. 1 pick secured for what seemed like the entire 2023 season, the focus of most Giants fans shifted from Caleb Williams over to the idea and hope of drafting Maye.

In Schoen’s third draft with the Giants, he gets his guy and puts Jones on notice. There also might be a chance that Drew Lock plays the majority of the 2024 season if Jones still hasn’t recovered from the ACL surgery or suffers another injury. By the time 2025 rolls around, Jones and Lock are gone and it’s Maye’s time to shine.

NY Giants second-round pick: South Carolina WR Xavier Legette

In most mock drafts, if the first pick was a quarterback, the next one was a wide receiver, or vice versa. In this case, the first pick was in fact a quarterback and the quarterback the Giants had long coveted. So in the second round, the Giants go and get Maye a wide receiver to pair with him in Xavier Legette.

If you have been watching our mock drafts over the last couple of months, Legette is no stranger to them, as we have selected him in previous ones, so it’s no surprise to see Legette selected again for the Giants. He's got the tools to be a stud wideout for the G-Men and he could make a big-time impact for the offense from Day 1.

Legette was a monster for South Carolina in 2023, as he hauled in 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns. Those numbers from Legette would be welcomed for a Giants wide receivers room that hasn’t seen a 1,000-yard receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. back in 2018.

With Darius Slayton possibly holding out for a new contract, drafting Legette will ease that process, especially if Slayton decides to hold out any further and makes things more complicated. Regardless of Slayton, having Legette with Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt, along with a returning Isaiah Hodgins, should improve the passing game for the Giants.

NY Giants fourth-round pick: Penn State TE Theo Johnson

In our last mock draft, we had the G-Men taking Theo Johnson given the fact that the Giants have no idea what Darren Waller is doing for the 2024 season. Some might think the team is operating as if Waller intends to retire, so in that case, we will treat it the same way with Waller not being on the team.

The Giants started this back in free agency when they re-signed Lawrence Cager to go with Daniel Bellinger. Plus the Giants signed Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz as well, so NY has depth and options at the position. Granted, none of them have the same impact that Waller would have, but that’s why drafting Johnson comes into play.

Before a hamstring injury took Waller out for several games, he was the team’s leading receiver. Will Johnson be able to replicate what Waller can do? Probably not, but the Giants need that extra big body and big pass-catching type at the position. Johnson with Bellinger can give the Giants another two tight-end set that the team was hopeful for when they initially traded for Waller last year and paired him with Bellinger.

NY Giants fifth-round pick: USC RB MarShawn Lloyd

Some of these picks might seem like repeats, but the Giants' needs haven’t changed much since they haven’t added many players since the start of free agency. One of their biggest departures was Saquon Barkley, who took a free agency deal with the Philadelphia Eagles last month. With that, running back suddenly became a need for the Giants.

The Giants added Devin Singletary, who is a familiar face to Brian Daboll from their time with the Buffalo Bills. They also have second-year back Eric Gray, but he didn’t exactly show much last year in the limited time he played. With the Giants likely going back to the “back-by-committee” approach, this is where drafting MarShawn Lloyd comes into play.

At one time, the fan base got excited over a former running back who used to have breakaway speed and home-run potential when he touched the ball. However, the injuries took their toll on Barkley and eventually, he priced himself out of the Giants future plans. However, with Lloyd in place, he could give the Giants fans that same kind of hope again.

What is even better is that it won’t cost the Giants $13 million a season and a minimum of three games on the sidelines with an injury either. Who knows, maybe there really is addition by subtraction.

NY Giants sixth-round pick: Alabama DT Justin Eboigbe

Sticking to the script and the game plan of the previous mock drafts, the final pick for the Giants, as they do not have a seventh-round selection, will go to addressing the defensive line and putting a big body next to Dexter Lawrence.

When the Giants traded away Leonard Williams at the trade deadline and let A’Shawn Robinson walk in free agency, the Giants were in need of another body, as the pass-rush took a hit back in October and was never truly the same. Williams played off of Lawrence and they were a good pair on the line. However, now the Giants need someone to go along with Lawrence, which is where Justin Eboigbe comes in for the Giants.

New Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said the expectation is that the Giants will use more of a pass-rush as opposed to blitzing. In order to do that, you need good pass-rushers, which Eboigbe is, as he recorded seven sacks in 2023 for the Crimson Tide,

Having Eboigbe will take the pressure off of Lawrence, who draws a ton of attention up the middle, and will help on the edge with Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns as well. As we have mentioned, on paper, the Giants defense has a lot of potential for success. If the pass-rush can live up to what it could be, then the Giants could give themselves a chance to be in games in 2024.