2024 NFL Mock Draft: Giants Trade Up for Caleb Williams

The G-Men make a bold move for a new franchise quarterback in this early first-round projection for the 2024 NFL Draft.
2024 NFL Mock Draft: Giants Trade Up for Caleb Williams
2024 NFL Mock Draft: Giants Trade Up for Caleb Williams /

The New York Giants just signed Daniel Jones to a lucrative contract extension this past offseason, but could they still be tempted to start over at quarterback in 2024?

That's the scenario that plays out in the latest 2024 NFL mock draft from Pro Football Network, which has the Giants trading up three spots in the first round to land USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 2 overall pick.

This projection has the Giants sending their second-round picks in 2024 and 2025 to the Arizona Cardinals in return for swapping their top-five slots, giving New York the opportunity to leapfrog the QB-needy New England Patriots at No. 3 overall to grab their quarterback of choice.

Jones is just one year into his new contract, but he'll be coming off a torn ACL next season, and the Giants will have a manageable dead cap hit if they move on from his deal after the 2024 season. Whenever he returns to full strength, he could be an expensive backup to Williams for the rest of 2024 before finding a new team in 2025.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones
Could the Giants move on from Daniel Jones just one year into his new contract extension? :: Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com-USA TODAY NETWORK

Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. goes No. 1 overall in this projection to the Chicago Bears. He and Williams are joined in the top five by North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye (No. 3 overall, New England Patriots), Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu (No. 4 overall, Chicago Bears), and Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt (No. 5 overall, Arizona Cardinals).

Williams and Maye are joined in the first round by three more quarterbacks: Michigan's J.J. McCarthy (No. 14 overall, Las Vegas Raiders), Georgia's Carson Beck (No. 23 overall, Pittsburgh Steelers, and LSU's Jayden Daniels (No. 29 overall, Atlanta Falcons), leaving the likes of Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon's Bo Nix still on the board for Day 2.

To check out the full first-round mock draft at Pro Football Network, click here.


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Luke Easterling
LUKE EASTERLING

Luke Easterling (he/him) has been covering college football and the NFL for more than two decades, with a particular focus on the nexus of both, the NFL Draft. Writing for some of the largest and most recognizable brands in sports media, Luke's experience and expertise in evaluating potential NFL prospects and evaluating team needs/fits has earned the appreciation of his readers, and the respect of his peers. Luke cut his sports journalism teeth at The Tampa Tribune before spending two years at Bleacher Report as a featured columnist covering the NFL Draft and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Luke then spent nearly seven years at USA TODAY Sports Media Group as editor of Draft Wire and Bucs Wire, building both into authoritative destination sites for their respective audiences. Now at The Arena Group, Luke covers the NFL and college football for Athlon Sports, and runs Sports Illustrated's FanNation site for the NFL Draft. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Luke has been a featured guest on ESPN Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Fox Sports Radio, SiriusXM and more.  Based in Tampa, Florida (the true home of the Cuban sandwich), Luke plays the drums, loves 2000s pop-punk, watches way too many British murder mystery shows, and channels the energy of his deep-south Grammy and his full-Italian Nana in the kitchen. Twitter: @lukeeasterling Email: luke.easterling@si.com