Giants Land Quarterback of Future in New 2024 Draft Redo
If the New York Giants' latest season proves anything, it’s that they are still in dire need of a quarterback to be their arm of the future. But what if they had landed that special guy just several months earlier in the 2024 draft?
If one were to ask general manager Joe Schoen about his choice with the No. 6 pick (receiver Malik Nabers), he probably would proclaim that he would do it over a second time. The Giants’ 2024 class has been a bright spot, with a few guys performing above expectations, including Nabers.
But it still doesn’t make one wonder any less how different things could have gone for New York in what is now a 2–11 campaign if they had made an alternate decision.
Their fate has been spelled out clearly, and the quarterback position is an issue they’ve yet to resolve. Daniel Jones is out of the picture, and his two interim replacements are struggling to yield positive results.
That is why FOX Sports analyst Bucky Brooks, in a re-draft of the top 10 draft picks from this past year’s selection, had the Giants drafting former Oregon product and current Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix with the same No. 6 overall pick.
Nix’s selection would have been the fourth quarterback taken off the board in the first six picks after Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, and Drake Maye each went in the first three selections overall in the mulligan.
As a further twist, only one wide receiver came off the big board in the top-10 picks and that was Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Chicago Bears at No. 9 while the Arizona Cardinals went with tight end playmaker Brock Bowers at No. 4.
Meanwhile, Nabers never made an appearance in the top 10. And while the Giants couldn’t land one of the top gunslingers they coveted back in April, they secured a much less coveted prospect who has had a more successful rookie campaign than many first expected.
In reality, it was a different story. After the Giants failed to move up to the No. 3 slot to select Maye, who ended up in New England in the actual draft order, the Giants went to Plan B in Nabers to serve as the missing No. 1 pass-catching option for Daniel Jones and the offense.
They didn’t like Michigan and now Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy enough to take him at such a high selection. One can argue that decision was wise, given McCarthy’s early injury woes. One might also argue the same about Nix, whose age and other concerns were standing in the way.
The compromise for Nabers felt like a solid one on paper with his electric athleticism and stats from the college level at LSU that featured over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns to make him a highly sought-after weapon, and in most respects, the promise has met the results for the Giants huddle.
Nabers has spent the first 14 weeks of his debut season quickly shattering NFL and Giants rookie records. He has 80 receptions on 126 targets (fourth in the position) for 819 yards and three touchdowns, leading the team leaderboard. He is one of two rookies to average 65+ scrimmage yards per contest in that same span since 2006.
The unfortunate part is that Nabers' production has fluctuated since his return from a concussion in Week 8. That is largely because of constant quarterback changes due to Jones’ exit and injuries and the lack of a game plan that gets him the football early and often in the Giants' recent games.
These are all issues that might have been different, albeit without Nabers’ talents, if they had stuck to this redraft and selected Nix. For a guy who wasn’t on many teams' radars above the other three prospects, Nix has played outstanding and led the Broncos to a surprising 8-5 record within the thick of the AFC playoff picture.
In his first baker’s dozen games, Nix has amassed 277 completions for 2,842 yards for 17 touchdowns, six interceptions, and an average of 218.6 passing yards per game. Generally speaking, he has performed with complete poise in the pocket and mobility that extends plays, and he has elevated the Broncos offense to one of the top 10 in the NFL, all things the Giants do not have.
There certainly have been some road bumps along the way, but the rookie has shown he was worth Denver’s investment and is solidifying a long-term answer under the guidance of head coach Sean Payton. What's most notable is what he’s doing is leading all quarterbacks from his class, which, if that trend continues, could mark Nix as one of the draft’s biggest steals in the first round.
There are certainly a lot of other factors to consider in how Nix would be fitting if he were wearing Giants blue on Sundays, but with a redraft like this one, the Giants could have won a few more games that the position soiled for them.
They could have been more successful in the passing realm and have had a player who would have given the Schoen-Daboll regime a reason to be retained for the new season.
Instead, it has them staring at a much different team and offseason ahead with the troubling spot where they find themselves approaching the 2025 festivities.