With Ohio State standout quarterback, Dwayne Haskins, enjoying his second interaction with the New York Giants, this time at their facility, the writing is on the wall.
Haskins impressed in his first full season of action in 2018, recording 50 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. He’s a pure pocket passer that has the ability to succeed Eli Manning after the 2019 season. If the Giants are considering taking the star passer with the No. 6 pick, they must also be considering Kyler Murray – dual-threat QB out of Oklahoma.
Both Murray and Haskins present solid cases for a high draft pick, despite the latter’s draft stock reportedly slipping only a week and a half before the draft.
Peter King stated last week that Haskins’ stock has dropped in recent weeks, potentially finishing as the 4th ranked signal caller in a weak 2019 crop. Of course, these reports could be smoke screens to deter other teams from taking him with a high pick, but King is a good source of information.
How the New York Giants would go about developing Haskins:
Featuring Dwayne behind Manning for a season would allow him to refine his skills and gain experience at the NFL-level. Having only one full season of playing experience in college presents certain issues for Haskins as he prepared to take the jump to the professional stage.
If Manning fails to perform at a high level, Haskins could be inserted earlier than expected. He has the tangible and intangible skills to be a plug and play passer. He showed a keen ability to learn quickly and progress as the season developed last year.
The Giants might just be doing their due diligence on him with the late visit, but it could also indicate that he’s at the top of their draft board as his meeting is awfully close to draft day.
Head coach Pat Shurmur spoke about the retention of Manning for the upcoming season and what he offers a young quarterback looking to learn:
“I’ve spoken frequently about what I think of Eli and how he handles himself, how he prepares, and, really, everything he does behind the scenes.
“And I think a young player would greatly benefit from that. We all want to learn from somebody that’s done it, players, coaches. He’s done it at a very high level, and so being in a room with him, I think, would only help that player.”
There’s no question that the Giants should groom a prospect behind their two-time Super Bowl-winning veteran, it would be ludicrous not to, so I anticipate the team taking a quarterback in the first round.