EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants went from trying to replace Daniel Jones to giving the quarterback the best wide receiver of his career. That’s how quickly the complexion of the franchise changed in the 20 minutes between the New England Patriots’ taking North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye with the third pick and the Giants’ selecting LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick Thursday night.
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Giants general manager Joe Schoen and the rest of the team’s top decision-makers spent the pre-draft process traversing the country to evaluate the top quarterbacks in this draft class. With USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels locked into the top two picks, the Giants set their sights on Maye.
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It was widely reported Schoen made overtures to move up to the No. 3 pick, including while the Patriots were on the clock. The Patriots’ asking price and the Giants’ asking price aren’t yet known. But what is known is the sides couldn’t reach an agreement, so the Patriots kept the third pick and selected Maye.
“We had a lot of conversations with a lot of teams,” Schoen said. “I’m not going to get into specifics. We had a really good player at No. 6 that was a position I think was a need that we needed to upgrade.”
It was logical for the Giants to try to land one of the top quarterbacks in a class loaded at the position.
“They tell me it’s the most talented group to come out in years,” co-owner John Mara said in March.
Part of the appeal in hiring coach Brian Daboll two years ago was his work developing quarterback Josh Allen as the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator. Daboll rehabilitated Jones in 2022, but any progress was wiped away during a disastrous, injury-plagued 2023 season.
Daboll is coming off a rocky 6-11 season. Another rough season could put Daboll’s job in jeopardy, which would prevent him from ever getting the chance to mold a rookie quarterback in New York.
But no matter how much the Giants coveted a Jones successor, having three quarterback-needy teams at the top of the draft was always going to be a major hurdle. And it proved to be insurmountable.
New York Nabers 🗽 pic.twitter.com/QKnGk9cjGK
— New York Giants (@Giants) April 26, 2024
It became obvious Schoen wasn’t desperate enough to take just any quarterback. After Maye went off the board, the Giants stayed at No. 6. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Oregon’s Bo Nix were all available, but Schoen passed to take Nabers. Those three quarterbacks then went off the board within the next six picks, illustrating the desperation around the league to address the vital position.
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It will take years to know whether Schoen made the right call to pass on Penix, McCarthy and Nix. But what needs to come into focus sooner is the Giants’ plan at quarterback.
Regardless of any talk about a quarterback competition, the clock would have been ticking on Jones’ time with the Giants the moment Maye was picked. Now, the Giants must pivot with no clear succession plan for the quarterback they were prepared to replace.
The Giants didn’t trade back into the first round for a quarterback — there was none left to target after the run in the first 12 picks — and now they’ll be left only with prospects projected to be backups on Day 2 of the draft.
Early reports on the 2025 quarterback class have been underwhelming, but that’s premature. Though there isn’t a Williams-level prospect in the 2025 class, it’s impossible to know whether a quarterback will emerge like Daniels, who wasn’t viewed as a first-round pick a year ago and then went No. 2 to the Washington Commanders on Thursday.
The Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott could be the headliner in free agency, and there’s always veteran movement via trades and salary-cap casualties. And, of course, there’s at least a chance Jones bounces back from the miserable 2023 season and performs like the quarterback Schoen was expecting after handing him a four-year, $160 million contract 13 months ago.
With Jones’ stay of execution comes a removal of all excuses for the player whom the Giants drafted sixth exactly five years ago.
Jones now has the No. 1 wide receiver he had been lacking throughout his first five seasons. And make no mistake, Nabers has the talent to be a game-breaking play-maker as a rookie.
An assistant coach from another team called Nabers the most explosive among the top three wide receivers in this class.
“Nabers could be like Odell (Beckham Jr.) early,” the assistant told The Athletic. “Throw him a hitch or a slant and he’s gone. He’s got that type of talent.”
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A receivers group of Nabers, Jalin Hyatt, Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton (assuming his desire for a new contract doesn’t turn into a trade), is young, dynamic and talented. A quarterback making $40 million per year needs to produce with that supporting cast.
The offensive line remains a question mark, and the heat will be on Schoen’s evaluations there. His 2022 first-round pick Evan Neal is in line for one more shot at right tackle; 2023 second-round pick John Michael Schmitz will be expected to make strides at center; and free-agent signings Jon Runyan and Jermaine Eluemunor need to be stabilizing pieces.
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It’s not a perfect situation, but a big-money quarterback is supposed to cover any weaknesses. Now that Jones finally has a No. 1 wide receiver, he needs to deliver.
If he does, the Giants will be on the track they hoped to be on a year ago. But if he doesn’t, they’ll enter next offseason with even more questions at the most important position on the field.
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(Photo of Daniel Jones: Al Bello / Getty Images)