ESPN Weighs in on What New York Giants Should Do in Round 1

With so many possible scenarios, trying to predict what makes the most sense for the Giants in the first round is tricky.

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen speaks during a / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Trade up? Trade down? Stay put? No one knows for sure what New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen is planning to do in the first round of the draft that takes place in less than three weeks--Schoen himself might not even know at this stage of the game other than for the objective of taking the best available player.

But that hasn't stopped an influx of opinions about what the Giants should do in the first round, though in the case of ESPN's Bill Barnwell, he's not even sure what is in the Giants' best interest. But what Barnwell does know--and this is no secret among those who follow the Giants closely--is that New York is in dire need of a WR1 capable of drawing double team coverage and being the alpha male in a receivers room that is solid, but could be on another level with a legitimate X added to the mix.

So does that mean the Giants should stay put at six, where they are all but certain to get that WR1? Barnwell writes that it all depends on what happens with the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers, both of whom are the two teams directly ahead of the Giants in the draft order.,

" If the Cardinals and Chargers both stay put and take wide receivers, the Giants would be drafting the third-best wideout in the class and also be in a position to benefit from those teams that want the QB4," Barnwell writes. "In that scenario, New York would be staring down the opportunity to land multiple first-rounders to pass on a receiver such as [Washington's Rome] Odunze. In a class this deep, that's a risk it needs to be willing to take."

But what about the quarterback, a position widely thought to be high on the Giants' to-do list given Daniel Jones's injury history, which includes two neck ailments in three years and a torn ACL that may or may not affect his mobility, a staple in his toolbox?

With Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels projected to go off the board as early as first and second, respectively, if the Giants want either Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy, they will likely have to trade up to get them.

"If they want McCarthy, they probably need to talk with the Cardinals at No. 4," Barnwell writes, adding, "Arizona could move down two spots and still ensure it would be in position to land either Harrison or Nabers, while New York would beat everyone else to the punch for its quarterback of the future."

Because of all the possibilities--and there could even be some that no one has even thought of--trying to predict the direction the Giants will go in the first round is no slam dunk. But we do know that the team has done a lot of work on quarterbacks this off-season. We also know that Jones's injury history (and that $12 million injury guarantee) loom large in terms of what might drive the Giants brass's decision on draft night, probably more so than anyone cares to admit.

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