There’s nothing wrong with the selection. It’s a great one, actually. It’s the rare scenario NFL general managers dream of: A marriage of the best player available, and team need. The Giants landed Malik Nabers with the sixth pick in the NFL Draft.
Ask any with even the slightest semblance of draft knowledge and they’ll tell you the same thing about New York’s new No. 1 receiver: He’s explosive. That’s a very good thing considering how awful the Giants offense was a year ago.
But what Nabers is not is a quarterback. And Giants GM Joe Schoen picked him over Michael Penix (No. 8 to the Falcons) and J.J. McCarthy (No. 10 to the Vikings).
That’s a bold move. For the Giants sake, they best hope it’s the right one.
Schoen, at his pre-draft press conference, said he’d be “comfortable” if he had to go into next season with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito as the only quarterbacks on his roster. Most considered it a smokescreen at the time – not wanting to tip his hand. He’ll likely have to see that through now.
The Giants tried desperately to trade up with the Patriots for No. 3. They couldn’t get it done, with New England taking Drake Maye, believed to be the top player on the Giants board, for themselves. They picked Nabers over not just Penix and McCarthy, but Bo Nix, who landed with the Broncos. Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) and Michael Pratt (Tulane) were also potential options, but neither would be considered a legitimate threat to Jones – this year or next.
Basically, in taking Nabers, the Giants kept their eggs in Jones’ basket.
That’s a good thing if Jones returns to his 2022 form. He went 9-6-1 as a starter, led an undermanned Giants roster to the playoffs, then stunned the Vikings in the first round. He finished the season with 3,205 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He ran for another 708 yards and seven scores. The issue is how bad Jones was a season ago, one year after the Giants gave him a $160-million extension.
Jones went 1-5 as a starter last year. He suffered a neck injury. Came back. Then tore his ACL. He threw two touchdowns to six interceptions in six games. Those injuries changed the Giants outlook on Jones’ future with the team. It’s why they made such a run at Maye.
Clearly, the Giants had doubts at the alternative quarterbacking options in this class. It’s why they selected Nabers. And that’s perfectly fine as long as Jones returns to form. But if Jones looks no different than he did last year, while McCarthy or Penix develop into franchise players with their respective teams, it calls into question everything the Giants are doing.
Passing on a franchise quarterback often carries more damning ramifications than selecting one who doesn’t pan out.
Again: You can’t fault the Giants for picking Nabers. They needed a No. 1 receiver. They haven’t had one since they traded Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns. You’re talking about a player who caught 14 touchdowns and had over 1,569 yards for LSU last year. Pairing Nabers with Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson gives the Giants their most potential at the position since Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz were catching passes from Eli Manning.
Manning, though, was the key in all of that. The talent outside doesn’t matter if you don’t have the player to deliver the ball. Jones, outside of that one year, hasn’t shown the ability to do that.
The Giants faced a similar decision not long ago — 2018. They held the second pick and, after Baker Mayfield went first, had Sam Darnold sitting there for them. They, instead, took running back Saquon Barkley. They didn’t believe Darnold to be a franchise quarterback. It turns out the Giants were right: Darnold flamed out with the Jets, and hasn’t experienced success with his other two teams (Panthers, 49ers).
If that situation repeats itself again this year, with McCarthy and Penix failing to experience elite NFL success, the Giants will look like geniuses.
They just can’t afford to be known as the team that picked a receiver instead of a bonafide franchise quarterback.
Only time can answer that question.