Let’s get one thing straight, it is smokescreen season for teams looking to potentially move up in the 2024 NFL draft and secure a quarterback. Why would it benefit Giants‘ general manager Joe Schoen to divulge his plans to the public, giving other teams leverage over his strategy?
In fact, over the last week, it seems the Giants have launched a massive media campaign to confuse the general public and potentially opposing teams about their plans for draft night. In just the last seven days, insiders have linked the Giants to Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy, and Drake Maye, but now we have another insider suggesting it is “unlikely” that the team lands a quarterback at all in the first round.
According to ESPN’s Matt Miller, the Giants may skip out on a QB in the 1st round altogether.
“A high-ranking official with the team told me their draft plans are unlikely to include a first-round passer. However, that doesn’t rule out a quarterback being a target in Round 2, where the team owns pick No. 47. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix are expected to be off the board by that point, but a small trade up on Day 2 — similar to what the Titans did last year to land Will Levis at pick No. 33 — is possible.“
The Giants Are Purposefully Putting Out Fake Narratives
Considering the four different narratives that are currently circling in the Giants community, it is safe to say that nobody really knows what Schoen and the Giants brass are going to do.
Obviously, the Daniel Jones contract doesn’t present any solutions since if he gets injured again, they will owe him his entire 2025 salary, which counts $41.6 million against the salary cap. Coming off an ACL tear and another neck injury, there’s no reason to believe that Jones can lead this team to a Super Bowl in the future, so the Giants may be better off moving on, resetting the rookie quarterback window, and opening up financial freedom in the future to help support other roster needs.
After all, the Giants let Xavier McKinney and Saquon Barkley go in free agency, allocating that money toward Brian Burns on a five-year, $141 million deal, including $76 million guaranteed at signing at $87.5 million totally guaranteed.
If the Giants want to allocate more salary space toward other positions, they will need to move on from Jones after 2024, so it is in their best interest to draft a quarterback.
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Despite Shane suggesting the team has other needs that could be addressed in the draft, his actions this off-season indicate he will prioritize positional value. Letting a running back and free safety go in free agency to acquire a star pass rusher should tell the entire story of what the Giants are trying to accomplish.
They are cutting financial liabilities at positions that are easily replaceable, so why wouldn’t he be focused on securing a young quarterback, the most important position of the game?
Logic suggests the Giants will take a quarterback, even though Miller is reporting they may try to avoid one of the first rounds altogether.
However, Schoen is the one who said, “Scared money doesn’t make money,” so if the team is in a position to trade up and secure a quarterback that head coach Brian Daboll can develop, I don’t think they will hesitate to make an aggressive move.