Giants Country

New York Giants Mailbag: Pre-Draft Edition

Let's see what's on Giants fans' minds this week.

Patricia Traina

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If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please use this link to avoid having your question land in spam. You may also post your questions on X (formerly known as Twitter) to @Patricia_Traina, hashtag #askPTrain. Please note that letters may be edited for clarity/length.

(From Joe G.) 1. The smart money is betting the Giants will pick Harrison, Odunze, or Nabors, depending on who is available, and go with a CB to help our defense with the 2nd pick. But how about if the Giants were to be able to trade down and pick TE Bowers?

Unless you're talking in the 20s, no on Bowers. Stay put and draft a WR1. Let's stop playing around and trying to be cute. This team hasn't had a WR1 since Odell Beckham was traded. Get a No. 1 receiver—that will do wonders for whoever the quarterback ends up being and help an already good receiver room get to the next level.

(From Barbara R.) Eli Manning was considered a bust, but then he got an offensive line with a good defense. Then, the offensive line became offensive, other areas of talent faded, and Eli had problems winning. Now we call DJ a bust even though he had the worst OL. DJ is not a bust; he just needs OL and receiver talent. He has the potential to be an SB QB with WR, OL, and TE talent. The D must also support him, which they did not do in his games.

Barbara, I appreciate the letter, but enough of the excuses. Your argument is based on the fact that everything needs to be perfect around the quarterback to succeed and that rarely, if ever, happens.

Good quarterbacks find ways to win. Last year, Baker Mayfield was the third-most-sacked quarterback, yet the Bucs went to the playoffs. Lamar Jackson was tied for being the sixth-most-sacked quarterback, and his team fell one game short of the Super Bowl. Let's stop making excuses for Daniel Jones's shortcomings, shall we?

Even in 2022, when the Giants won, most of those games were by narrow margins. (Jones also threw 15 touchdowns in that season while most of his other playoff contemporaries had thrown for at least 20.)

Jones also has a career success rate (defined as picking up at least 40 percent of the required yardage on first down, 60 percent on second down, and 100 percent on third and fourth down) of 42.8 percent. That's not good—you want at least 50 percent in that category. (For comparison purposes, Patrick Mahomes has a career success rate of 52.6 percent.)

At this point, I think the Giants know what they have in Jones. He is a good kid, works his butt off, and is committed to his craft. What's happened isn't all his fault. But he's still showing the SAME LIMITATIONS he's always shown: a reluctance to uncork it deep (even when he's had time and a receiver open) and, more importantly, he continues to be slow in trusting what he's seeing post-snap, which is a HUGE problem.

Toss in his injury history (the neck issues), which is another HUGE concern, and I don't see how this team can continue forward with Jones as its starter. Again, it's not all his fault, but don't sit there and tell me Jones is playing to the level of his contract because the evidence suggests otherwise.

Nope. So long as the dollar value doesn't offset what they lost, these signings won't move the needle. (According to Over the Cap, the Giants are still in line to receive a fourth-round comp pick next year.)

(From Michael M.) What's the one thing the Giants could do during draft weekend that would most disappoint you?

Great question, Michael. I think I'd have to go with not taking a quarterback. I've said many times that Daniel Jones's injury history is a big concern, and I think it would be foolish for the team to ignore that and pass on a quarterback. I'm not saying they should trade up to get the next quarterback, but I strongly believe they need to add to the position.

(From George S.) Do you think Brian Daboll is on the hot seat this year?

Not really, George. There is pressure to produce better results than last season, but I also like to think that John Mara saw how injuries wrecked this team, particularly on the offense. If the Giants draft a quarterback, as I believe will be the case, let Daboll work his magic with that prospect and see what comes of it. And I only see him getting fired if he does something controversial or loses the locker room.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.