When the New York Giants‘ quest to trade up and land their preferred quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft fell short, they had a pretty clear backup plan.
In the final episode of “Hard Knocks: Offseason With the New York Giants,” general manager Joe Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll and the rest of the Giants’ front office showed they wanted Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick, presuming that Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and Marvin Harrison Jr. would be selected with the first four picks.
After sweating out the Los Angeles Chargers‘ selection of offensive tackle Joe Alt with the fifth pick, though, the Giants received a pair of trade offers for the sixth pick. First, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard called Schoen, offering the 15th overall pick, the 46th and a 2025 second-round selection.
“That’s too far, I’m not going back,” Schoen told Giants staffers of the Colts’ offer.
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It wasn’t clear who the Colts wanted to select, but there had been rumors prior to the draft that they were interested in Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. The Las Vegas Raiders wound up drafting Bowers with the 13th pick, while the Colts added UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu with the 15th pick.
Schoen received another call right before he was about to select Nabers, as New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas made an offer for the sixth pick, though the exact offer wasn’t made clear.
“Yeah, I think we’re going to pick,” Schoen told Douglas. “What are you thinking? … Yeah, I think we’re going to stay.”
Similar to the situation with the Colts, it wasn’t indicated on “Hard Knocks” who the Jets wanted to pick at No. 6. There had been rumors that they were interested in Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze ahead of the draft. The Chicago Bears took Odunze with the No. 9 pick, while the Jets selected Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu at No. 11 after trading down one spot with the Minnesota Vikings.
The episode also showed the Giants’ approach to Day 2 of the draft. New York entered the second round prioritizing a cornerback, ranking Alabama‘s Kool-Aid McKinstry as its top target, with Georgia’s Kamari Lassiter second on their board. However, the Giants held the 47th overall pick and watched those two come off the board before they were on the clock. The New Orleans Saints drafted McKinstry with the 41st overall pick and the Houston Texans snagged Lassiter with the next selection.
“It didn’t make sense to move up this year and give up picks when we needed to utilize all six of your picks,” Schoen said on why the Giants didn’t trade up to pick McKinstry or Lassiter. “In order for us to move up in the second round, we probably would’ve had to give up a fourth-round pick. As much as some of those players that we liked and would’ve helped us that were there before we picked, the plan was to be patient, and we knew we were going to get a good football player based on your numbers and how our board was set.”
The Giants wound up selecting Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin with the 47th overall pick. They got a corner with their third-round selection, drafting Kentucky‘s Andru Phillips 70th overall.
“Andru Phillips would be a starting nickel,” Schoen told Giants owner John Mara ahead of the draft. “He can play inside, outside, so he’d be the last corner that we would be fired up about getting before we get into the developmental guys.”
When the draft concluded, the camera panned toward a board in the Giants’ facilities that showed every selection from the 2024 NFL Draft. Most of the players had a white marker with their number, but several others had different colored markers behind their names, causing a bit of a frenzy on social media. For instance, Maye, Harrison and Alt had a blue marker with their names. Wide receivers Adonai Mitchell and Ladd McConkey were among the group that had a red marker next to their names.
Additionally, there were grey, purple, pink and yellow markers for different prospects. Offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga was the highest-drafted player with a gray marker. Cornerback Nate Wiggins was the highest-selected player with a purple marker, while cornerback Elijah Jones was the first player selected with a pink marker. Quarterback Joe Milton was the only player that had a yellow marker with his name.
Many on social media tried to guess the meaning of each marker color. But as the Giants detailed much of their offseason process on “Hard Knocks,” it appears some things will remain a mystery.
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