With DJ done for the season and the reigns being handed over to the Tank Commander Tommy DeVito, I’ve been thinking a lot about our position in the 2024 NFL Draft.
If the Giants have the top pick, they’ll take Caleb Williams. But if they don’t, what is the plan? Fixing the broken offense needs to be the priority as does bringing in another QB, but how to go about it? I think there are 2 options.
TL:DR - Drake Maye or Marvin Harrison + Bo Nix/Michael Penix
Option A is to draft the consensus #2 QB Drake Maye. Daniel Jones hasn’t shown very much through 5 years as the starter as the Giants have failed to put a team around him. Now after an ACL tear, the Giants have the opportunity to start fresh with a new QB handpicked by Daboll and Schoen.
Option B is a little more aggressive. Start by taking the best offensive playmaker in the draft, Marvin Harrison Jr. then follow that up by taking a QB with your second pick. They can wait until round 2 or easily trade back into the first using the drat capital they acquired from the Leonard Williams trade. IMO the best options after Drake Maye are Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix.
So why pass on the QB to go this route? We’ve spent the last few years arguing with each other over whether DJ’s shortcomings are the product of a broken offense or if he just sucks. To this day we still don’t truly know the answer, and by drafting Drake Maye, we’ll just be inserting another QB into that same toxic situation. We’ve seen how this played out for the Jets when they swapped out Sam Darnold for Zack Wilson. I am not saying Drake Maye is destined to suffer the same fate, but it will require a lot of work from Schoen and Daboll to avoid history repeating itself.
On the other hand, drafting MHJ could have a cascade effect across the entire offense. I like the talent of Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt a lot, but thus far neither looks like a WR1. Harrison would fill that X role immediately and command double teams. Robinson will have more open looks in the slot and opportunities to make plays in space. Hyatt moves to the Z and keeps defenses honest with his explosive deep route ability. More open WRs means less pressure on the OL to hold onto pass blocks and lighter boxes for Saquon to face.
Another factor to remember, as final as the ACL tear felt for the Danny Dimes Era, DJ will be on the roster next year. Knowing how the Giants operate, if he is ready he will be the week 1 starter regardless of who they draft. Getting a QB is still a must as they need to have a contingency plan in place for 2025, but their QB situation is not as dire as it is for some teams. They do have a potential 2024 starter on the roster if needed. If Harrison has the impact I think he can have, maybe DJ plays well and the team can compete. If he continues to play poorly then you can bench him for Nix/Penix and terminate his contract at the end of the season.
All that being said, Drake Maye needs to be seriously considered. The top QB talents don’t often fall past the 10th pick, so this could be Daboll and Schoen’s one shot to get their franchise QB. If they want to have any longevity in NY, picking this high cannot be a regular occurrence. If Maye turns out to be a franchise QB on another team the Giants will sorely regret passing on him no matter how good Harrison is. In the end it all comes down to how the draft order shakes out and how Daboll/Schoen evaluate Maye.
This is the most critical decision the Giants have had to make since they traded for Eli Manning 20 years ago. Nothing left to do now but wait.
Side Note: For superstitious reasons, I’d be much more confident in Drake Maye if we got him 3rd instead of 2nd. Check the history of QBs drafted back to back in the NFL (1998, 1999, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2023) one of them always flops (early for Bryce young but Stroud looks head and shoulders better right now)
I like Hyatt, Robinson, and even Slayton a lot. They’re all great complementary players. I think having a true WR1 would benefit all of them a lot. Wan’Dale is a shifty slot player who can make plays with the ball in space. Hyatt is already a pretty scary deep threat and has the potential to be even better (he could develop into a WR1 but I wouldn’t bank on it). If you add a WR who consistently beats single coverage and commands double teams, it’d have a cascade effect that makes them very hard to defend. You’d have Hyatt on the other side keeping defenses honest because if they shade their safety to the other side he might burn then 40 yards. That would open space over the middle for Robinson to do what he does. That means more options for DJ (or whoever is at QB) to throw too, which takes pressure off the OL bc they don’t have to hold their blocks as long and defenses can’t blitz as aggressively.
We can def improve at QB, but don’t underestimate the impact a great WR will have on this team.