The New York Giants are preparing for a crucial offseason and an NFL Draft that could dictate the direction of the franchise for the next several years. The team could target a new quarterback in the first round to reboot their rebuilding process. But, picking sixth overall, the opportunity to land that quarterback may not fall into their lap.
The Giants could elect to double down on QB Daniel Jones and surround him with new weapons to hopefully spur a major comeback campaign in 2024. In recent mock drafts, that seems to be the popular projection with many top analysts having the Giants target wide receivers in the first round.
The Giants could land an elite playmaker in the first round
NFL Media Analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his first mock draft of the offseason week. The renowned draft analyst had the Giants take game-changing wide receiver prospect Malik Nabers out of LSU.
“This continues the Giants’ quest from last offseason to add team speed,” Jeremiah explained. “Nabers is the most explosive wideout in the draft.”
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. also had Big Blue taking Nabers with the sixth pick:
“I keep coming back to getting (Daniel) Jones more help, as he has never played with a true No. 1 wide receiver. Nabers could be that.”
Dane Brugler of The Athletic and Bucky Brooks of NFL.com projected a different wide receiver to Big Blue, however, with both analysts projecting that Nabers will be off the board by the time New York is on the clock. Brugler and Brooks had the Giants selecting Washington WR Rome Odunze.
“With his size/speed profile and ability to play through contact, Odunze is a quarterback-friendly target with the tools to be a legitimate No. 1 option,” Brugler wrote of the Washington playmaker.
Of the 17 mock drafts listed in the latest Mock Draft Tracker on Giants.com, nine of them had New York taking a wide receiver and 11 of them projected an offensive playmaker with two projections for Georgia TE Brock Bowers. Only two mocks had the G-Men taking an offensive lineman and the other four had them going quarterback.
But what about the quarterback position?
Perhaps the Giants are content with sticking with Jones in 2024. After all, they did hand him a four-year, $160 million contract just last offseason. Poor performances and injuries have damaged Jones’ reputation among fans, prompting them to become eager for a new signal-caller next season.
But drafting a wide receiver in the first round doesn’t completely rule out drafting a quarterback. The Giants could aim to pair their top playmaker with a developmental quarterback prospect in the second round of the draft.
Of course, there is still a long time between now and the draft, so everything is speculation at this point. But picking sixth overall, the Giants will have an opportunity to land a difference-maker in the 2024 NFL Draft.