QB or Not QB? Is This Really a Question for New York Giants?

The New York Giants can't possibly pass on adding a quarterback to their roster this year, right?

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll (right) and general manager Joe Schoen. / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s get this out of the way.

The New York Giants’ interest in quarterbacks this year is very real. How could it not be? The evidence points to their interest as more than just doing standard due diligence; it virtually screams that a quarterback is on the radar.

How could it not be, given the current situation? Yes, the Giants brass still believes in Daniel Jones, who is recovering from a torn ACL—those sentiments are real. They still want to see how Jones might fare with a better supporting cast around him.

But let’s be realistic. After last year’s disastrous showing by the offensive line, regardless of who was under center, a better-supporting cast was a top priority going forward, regardless of who the quarterback is this year.

Regardless of what you think about Jones and his ability or lack thereof to be this team’s franchise quarterback moving forward, his injury history (and in particular his two neck issues over three years) combined with the fact that this is the deepest quarterback class in years (and the fact that the 2025 class is nowhere near as deep talent-wise as this year’s class) are all reasons why by the end of the three-day draft period, the Giants are all but certain to emerge with a quarterback prospect.

So, let’s explore some questions about this very realistic possibility.

Okay, let's start with the obvious: Which quarterback do the Giants really like?

Contrary to what is out there, only Joe Schoen, Brian Daboll, and the rest of the Giants' internal brass truly know who they like and how they've ranked the various prospects on the team's draft board. There have been whispers that they have a field of about four guys that they have a strong interest in—and no, don’t use their recent appearances at pro days as a gauge to determine who those guys are because pro days feature more than just the quarterback.

For example, does anyone think the Giants’ brass attended USC’s pro day just to see Caleb Williams, who is expected to go to the Chicago Bears with the first overall pick in the draft? Nope. They were likely there to see other positions, like receiver Brenden Rice, for example.

The Giants likely have two tiers of quarterbacks they’ve honed in on. You have the Drake Mayes, Jayden Daniels, and J.J. McCarthys of the world in the first tier. These are the guys who, if they appear to be falling down the board, the Giants are likely to pounce on.

Then you have the second tier, or the Day 2 prospects, like the Bo Nixes, Michael Pratts, and Michael Penixes of the world. More on this in the next question.

Would the Giants trade up to get one of their top-tier quarterbacks?

They’ll inquire—they’d be foolish not to. But unless it seems that one of their Tier 1 guys will fall past the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots, both quarterback-needy teams, it might be worth staying put at No. 6 rather than trading up from that spot.

A more realistic scenario we could see happening is the Giants trading back into the bottom of the first round (a more likely and cheaper solution) to get the guy they want from their Tier 2 cluster.

Some might argue that the Giants still have a lot of needs to address, so a trade-up would be foolish. We disagree. The Giants went all in on building up the offensive line. They added to a lethargic pass-rushing group and reshaped their running backs group to be more of a committee rather than a reliance on a bell cow.

Their remaining top needs—WR1 and CB2—are positions where the class at each position is insanely deep. They might also look to grab a developmental offensive tackle for the future, as that class is insanely deep.

If they do draft a quarterback, what happens with Daniel Jones?

This year? Absolutely nothing. Jones, once healthy, will be the starter, and it makes all the sense in the world, regardless. Whoever the Giants were to draft at quarterback will sit for the better part of the upcoming season, if not the entire season, so that the coaches can bring the guy along and get him ready for what will hopefully be a long and productive future.

Beyond this year? If Jones comes back and balls out, then the team could look to trade him to get out from under that monstrosity of a contract that will cost them $41.605 million against the 2025 cap (a trade would result in a $19.395 million cap savings with only a $22.21 million dead-money hit). If they still believe he’s the guy moving forward, perhaps they look to trade the draft pick instead.

Before you laugh at the proposal, look no further than the San Francisco 49ers for a recent example of a team that took a similar path. After moving on from Jimmy Garoppolo in favor of Brock Purdy, the 49ers flipped Trey Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, to the Dallas Cowboys when it became apparent that Lance wouldn’t beat out Purdy for the starting job.

To be clear, such a possibility for the Giants is a longshot—even if Jones were to make it through the 2024 season unscathed, his injury history doesn’t automatically disappear. If a trade involving a Giants quarterback were to happen, the most realistic scenario would be for the team to try to move Jones to a team needing an experienced backup.

They wouldn’t pass on drafting a quarterback—would they?

Never say never, but if we had a mortgage, we’d bet they wouldn’t pass on drafting a quarterback. If you draft a quarterback and find out you don’t need him, you go ahead and develop him because there might come a time (see 2025) when the position isn’t as rich in the draft and some team that all of a sudden finds itself as quarterback-needy might be willing to cough up a few premium draft picks.

(See Jimmy Garoppolo, whom the New England Patriots traded to the 49ers in 2017 in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2018 draft.) 

Wouldn’t it make more sense to take a player in the first round who can be a Day 1 starter this year?

That’s usually what you aim for, to have at least your first three draft picks be Day 1 starters. But there is no harm in letting a guy sit and get acclimated for a while. The Giants did so with Eli Manning, and that worked out just fine. The Chiefs did so with Patrick Mahomes, and look where he is today among his peers. The Packers had Jordan Love sit, and that worked out as well.

On the flip side, we will go to the grave believing that the Giants rushed Jones into the starting lineup well before he was ready. While he flashed at times during his rookie season, in retrospect, how differently might things have played out had former head coach Pat Shurmur not been in such a hurry to jettison Manning just for the sake of getting a mobile quarterback like Jones into the lineup to unlock that part of his playbook?

That all said, ask yourself this: Are the Giants on the doorstep of being a Super Bowl contender? If the answer is no, what's the rush in taking a quarterback in the first round only to push him out there while the rest of the team is settling in and looking to jell?

As previously mentioned, the Giants made this mistake with Jones, who didn't have a solid supporting cast around him. Isn't it better to ensure that everything is as close as possible to being in place before potentially risking ruining your most important player for the sake of making a change?

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