Should the Giants draft a QB or WR in Round 1? The case for each

Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff WriterApr 7, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It’s a year filled with a wide variety of top wide receiver and quarterback prospects in the NFL draft. It’s perhaps a stroke of luck for the New York Giants, who have the No. 6 pick and could benefit from a top player at either position.

It’s the Giants’ pre-draft conundrum: Draft the quarterback to replace the oft-injured Daniel Jones or sit tight and let the true No. 1 receiver the Giants haven’t had since Odell Beckham Jr. fall into their laps?

“Do you want the heir apparent to Daniel or do you want to help Daniel? That’s what it boils down to,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said recently.

That is what general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll are weighing. It seems more likely by the day that four of the top five picks end up being quarterbacks, especially with the Minnesota Vikings — who own the No. 11 pick — having made it clear in league circles that they are serious about landing one of the top quarterbacks.

No matter how it ultimately plays out, it seems inevitable that quarterbacks and wide receivers are going to be taken fast and furiously in the first round. The first five prospects currently on Kiper’s Big Board are at those positions.

Quarterbacks Caleb Williams (USC) and Jayden Daniels (LSU) sit atop Kiper’s list, followed by wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), Malik Nabers (LSU) and Rome Odunze (Washington). North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is seventh and LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. 11th. Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is 14th.

There seems to be two lines of thinking:

The Giants need a franchise quarterback to build around, given Jones’ injury history and performance. They are at least in striking distance of a franchise quarterback with a pick this high in a strong quarterback draft, go get one!
The roster isn’t good enough at this point to support a young quarterback. Get a No. 1 receiver in place, keep improving the offensive line and fill the quarterback position either later in the draft or down the line.

One thing we know is that this decision is ultimately on the shoulders of Schoen and Daboll. Ownership has publicly said it will not get in the way of them taking a quarterback at the top of the first round and that the contract Jones signed last year should not influence the selection.

“If they fall in love with a quarterback and believe that it’s worth pick No. 6 and we’re moving up, I certainly would support that,” owner John Mara said recently at the NFL’s annual meetings. “I let the general manager and the head coach build the roster. We have operated the same way for many years here. If they have a conviction about a player, I’m not going to get involved. I’ll question them about it, make them defend their position, but the only time I’m going to get involved and exert any influence is if I think it’s a conduct issue off the field.”

The biggest impediment of the Giants landing a quarterback this year is that it could be costly. It’s likely they need to trade with the New England Patriots at No. 3 or the Arizona Cardinals at No. 4 to get their desired choice. The Giants currently only have six picks in this year’s draft, and a trade up will likely cost them a future first or second-rounder. That’s not ideal for a team that still has so many holes on its roster.

Schoen has not been shy about being aggressive in the draft if the right player is available. He’s made a pair of draft-day trades in each of his first two years as general manager, including moving up to grab wide receiver Jalin Hyatt in the third round last year.

When it comes to this year’s quarterbacks, Daniels is a name to keep an eye on, if he’s not among the top two picks with Williams. He is a player who is well-regarded within the organization and that multiple sources with connections to Schoen and Daboll believe would be an ideal fit in their offense. There is also interest in McCarthy, especially if he is available at No. 6.

“There’s really been since 2000, 13 quarterbacks that have won a Super Bowl. That’s it,” Daboll said. “Seven of them were Tom [Brady], and three of them were Pat [Mahomes], and two of them were Eli [Manning], and two were Peyton [Manning], and two of them were Ben [Roethlisberger], and I think nine other ones have won it the other times. It’s a premium position, obviously.”

It’s at least worth noting that Schoen and Daboll were part of the group that got the quarterback in place first in Buffalo when the Bills selected Josh Allen at No. 7 in 2018. His No. 1 wide receiver, the recently traded Stefon Diggs, came later.

This is also considered to be a deep wide receiver group well into the second or third round.

“Would it be nice? Yeah, it would be nice to have a No. 1 receiver,” Schoen said. “I think every team would sign up with that, and especially with an offensive head coach. I think all teams would want that.”

It’s all part of the equation when it comes to the Giants deciding between a quarterback or wide receiver at the top of this draft.