Mel Kiper Jr Sticking with This First-round Pick for Giants
The New York Giants have one of the top picks in this year's NFL Draft and many holes to fill on their roster. However, the Giants will likely spend their first-round pick on an offensive player to help maximize the play of starting quarterback Daniel Jones. The veteran quarterback arguably had one of the league's worst wide receiving and offensive line units.
Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. has often predicted that the Giants will take receiver Rome Odunze sixth overall, and nothing that has transpired thus far in free agency around the league has changed his mind, as indicated in his latest mock draft.
The Giants have improved their receiving corps over the past two years -- Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt, and Wan'Dale Robinson are their top three guys right now -- but they don't have a true No. 1 guy who can dominate on the outside. They could add that in Odunze, a touchdown machine in a 6-foot-3 frame.
Like many others, Kiper Jr. believes the Giants are committed to Jones through at least this season and will not use their first-round draft pick on another quarterback in an otherwise very deep quarterback class.
While trading up with the New England Patriots to draft a quarterback could be something the Giants consider doing, Kiper believes that the risk is likely too high for a team already heavily invested in its current starting quarterback.
There have been rumblings about New York being a team to watch for the quarterbacks, but I just don't see it. The team is committed to Daniel Jones for at least one more season because of the extension he signed last year, and I think this is too high to take J.J. McCarthy.
Are the Giants willing to mortgage their future to try to move into the Patriots' spot at No. 3? The most likely option might be adding a playmaker for Jones and seeing if he can return to his 2022 form. Then again, if Jones struggles, coach Brian Daboll & Co. might be drafting around this spot in 2025.
Kiper raises a good point in saying that if the Giants struggle again this season, they could be back in the top 10 of the draft order. However, the 2025 quarterback class isn't as deep as this year's class. Plus, if the Giants were to move off Jones after this year but delay drafting a rookie next year, that would further set the team back if it had to throw a rookie into the deep end of the pool from the get-go.
The most likely scenario for the Giants is that unless one of the top quarterbacks falters to them, they will go wide receiver and look to address quarterback at some point on Day 2. Regardless of where they take a quarterback, that player is probably going to sit for a year anyway, while Jones and Drew Lock handle the snaps from center, which is why some people believe it's better to take a player who can help the team right away.
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