Mel Kiper Jr. Predicts New York Giants Taking Haskins Over Murray

Could the New York Giants draft Dwayne Haskins with the No. 6 overall pick?
Nov 10, 2018; East Lansing, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Dwayne Haskins (7) drops back to pass the ball during the first quarter of a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

More and more mock drafts are coming out, with months to go until the NFL Draft, and the wild card so far has been Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who only recently declared for the draft after many speculated that he would choose baseball.

There’s been plenty of predictions about where Murray will land, with some placing him in the top ten and others in the late first round or in the second round, and of course, a lot of that speculation has been about whether or not the New York Giants will take Murray with the sixth pick in the draft. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has released his first mock draft, and according to him, the Giants won’t do so.

Kiper has the Giants taking Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. instead. It’s a bit of a surprise, because Haskins is the top ranked quarterback in this year’s class and some mock drafts have even had Haskins being selected with the number one overall pick, if the Cardinals decide to trade it away. If Haskins is available at number six overall, it might be wise to select him, but it’s debatable whether or not that will even be the case.

While claiming that Haskins has a high ceiling, Kiper also warned that other teams could move above the Giants to select him. “Haskins is far from a finished product — he started only 14 games at Ohio State — but he has an extremely high ceiling. One thing to watch is whether QB-needy teams get aggressive and try to trade up to get in front of the Giants.”

Kyler Murray is one of the other names in the running to be the Giants draft pick, but this mock draft has him getting selected at #13 overall by the Miami Dolphins. It certainly makes sense that the Giants would take Haskins rather than Murray, because while Murray is the current Heisman Trophy winner, his small size makes him a longshot in the NFL.

The Giants may be forced into a decision between picking Murray and someone else anyway, even if Haskins is the player that they would prefer. Haskins has also been mocked to other teams in the top ten over the past month, such as the Jaguars, who some predict will trade up, and the Raiders. Both of those teams select above the Giants.

However, mock drafts mean nothing and it’s only January. There’s still plenty of twists and turns to unfold before the NFL Draft happens in April.