It is no secret the New York Giants have been contemplating drafting a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Currently holding the 6th overall pick, the Giants have plenty of ammunition if they want to make a deal, but the Minnesota Vikings aren’t going quietly into the night. They are gearing up for a war to move up in the draft and potentially leapfrog the Giants.
On Friday morning, the Minnesota Vikings acquired the Houston Texans’ first-round pick, number 23 overall, in exchange for the 42nd overall pick, 188 overall pick, and a second-rounder in 2025. The Vikings also added the number 232 pick, so they essentially moved several second-rounders in exchange for a first-round pick, which provides them with the capital to move up and grab a quarterback if need be.
The Giants Will Need to be Aggressive to Land a Quarterback
Reports have indicated that the Vikings are interested in Michigan passer J.J. McCarthy, and the Giants are well within range to make a deal to land him as well. Still, there will be competition, and that ultimately drives the price up.
Assuming that a quarterback-needy team will have to move up to the 4th overall pick, swapping with the Arizona Cardinals, the Giants may be in the best position to make that move.
According to the draft value chart, the fourth pick is 200 points more than the sixth pick but 450 points more than the 11th pick. Based on value, Minnesota would be giving a bit more in terms of points to the Cardinals to move all the way up to the 4th selection, but that would also put Arizona out of range of a top receiver prospect, which may not be their preferable move.
There’s no telling if the Giants see a player like McCarthy as a worthy selection in the top five. Still, if they want to reset that quarterback window and utilize the additional cap space in the future, they may have no choice but to reach for a player with the tools to be a good NFL quarterback, but plenty of development is still left to achieve.
With the draft about five weeks away, the Giants have plenty of time to develop a strategy and counter any possible moves the Vikings may make. If they do trade up ahead of the Giants, that basically rules out any possibility of securing a quarterback, which may force them to pivot to another option in the later rounds or acquire Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears.
Fields is entering his fourth season in the NFL and has a $6 million cap hit this upcoming season, but the Bears would have to take on some of that guaranteed money, lowering his hit to around $3 million if the Giants wanted to go in that direction. However, his fifth-year option sits at $25.6 million, so the Giants could consider acquiring him and looking to extend him immediately, giving him a chance to win the job and become the team’s quarterback of the future — this is not my preference.
Of course, these are simply alternatives for the Giants, and the future is up for grabs at this point in time.