The New York Giants were widely criticized for taking quarterback Daniel Jones at the expense of neglecting the team’s defensive concerns and possibly passing on a higher rated quarterback, Dwayne Haskins, during the 2019 NFL Draft. This came after they passed on Josh Allen, possibly the best pass rusher available, who was taken immediately after the Giants’ selection of Daniel Jones by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The pick also ruled the Giants out from getting any of the other highly rated defensive players that could have been on their draft board such as Ed Oliver, Devin Bush, or Rashan Gary. Could the team, however, have gotten one of these players not with the sixth overall pick but with the tenth? According to Broncos GM John Elway, who talked with Peter King, the Giants made a competitive offer to move up to number ten overall.
The report claims that both the Giants and the Falcons talked to Denver about a trade but in the end of the day, despite a competitive offer from the Giants, it was the Steelers that won out. The trade was made and the Steelers picked up Michigan linebacker Devin Bush, while the Broncos dropped down later in the round and would select Noah Fant before getting their quarterback in the second round.
While it is encouraging that the Giants tried to gain another top ten pick after spending the number six overall one on a player that most aren’t very confident in, something which could have offered more improvement to the defense while also letting the team take the quarterback they wanted, one must ask why the team prioritized Jones so highly in the first place.
It would have made more sense to most if the Giants selected Allen with the sixth pick and then tried to trade up to draft Jones if they still believed that Jones was the best quarterback available. Instead, they took Jones with the one pick that they did have and assumed they would be able to trade up to find another player. Which of course, ended up being a bad assumption as Pittsburgh was able to offer more.
But you can’t change the past, and the Giants will have to live with the choices they made. Choices which could look genius in the future, but more likely will result in the end of Dave Gettleman’s time as General Manager.