Pittsburgh versus North Carolina was a notable game for NFL scouts. The ACC matchup featured two of the top 2022 quarteback prospects, Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and UNC’s Sam Howell. The New York Giants were among the NFL teams represented in attendance, as assistant GM Kevin Abrams was there to scout players.
However, Giants head coach Joe Judge says not to read too much into it. When asked on Monday if the Giants were doing their due diligence on quarterbacks, Judge claimed there were other players the Giants were checking up on.
“There’s a lot more than just quarterbacks that were in that game. We look at a lot of players. That was one of the more notable games last week during the bye week for our guys to get out and watch different players,” Judge told the media. “In terms of our responsibility, it’s our job to know everyone who’s available on the street, through these transactions and the draft next year, through free agency.”
“I wouldn’t read too much into that,” Judge concluded with.
Were the Giants scouting for a quarterback?
The quarterback class coming out next year has no clear number one player, like Trevor Lawrence this year. But Pickett is currently considered the best by Todd McShay and Mel Kiper. He’s generally projected to go around the 15 to 20s range in the first round, slightly lower than where the Giants are likely to pick.
With that being said, it’s pretty clear the Giants are committed to Daniel Jones right now. At least, the current administration is.
Let’s face it; whether you’re a fan or detractor of Jones, there’s little chance of the Giants moving on from him while Dave Gettleman is still the GM. The current front office has put a lot of trust in Jones being the one to lead the Giants out of their rebuild, and Gettleman getting fired seems more likely than that trust running out.
Abrams probably wasn’t making that scouting trip because of Pickett, or Howell for that matter. If the Giants had a different GM this season, that might be a different story. Obviously, though, that’s not the case.
And that might be a good thing. Neither Pickett nor Howell is a Joe Burrow or a Trevor Lawrence. Arguably, neither player is even as solid of a prospect as Mac Jones was coming out of Alabama this year.
Even if you want the Giants to eventually make a change at quarterback, this doesn’t look like the class to do it. The front office probably feels the same way, and this scouting trip was probably just checking out mid to late round prospects and potential undrafted free agents.