The New York Giants could be on the cusp of turning the page from the Daniel Jones era.
Slated to select No. six overall, general manager Joe Schoen and the Giants could be within reach to land the quarterback drawing the most buzz and enthusiasm among NFL talent evaluators during the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
That’s exactly how the board plays out in CBS Sports’ most recent 2024 NFL Mock Draft projection, with the New York Giants selecting Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy in the first round.
“I can’t see Joe Schoen leaving the first round without a quarterback,” Chris Trapasso writes. “McCarthy has sky-high upside.”
It is worth noting that neither Schoen nor Brian Daboll were part of the New York Giants regime when Daniel Jones was chosen in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Likewise, Jones is coming off a torn Achilles tendon, which could leave his availability for the start of the 2024 season in doubt.
The New York Giants signed Jones to a four-year contract worth $160 million prior to the 2023 campaign, but the organization could be looking to move on and drop Schoen and Daboll’s handpicked quarterback into the offense.
J.J. McCarthy’s Draft Stock Rising
The New York Giants might actually need to trade up, in order to ensure they emerge from draft night with McCarthy in tow.
After leading the Michigan Wolverines to the National Championship while passing for 2,991 yards with 22 touchdowns to just four interceptions, McCarthy was among the prospects who created the most optimism during the NFL Combine.
“I think there’s a gap between Caleb [Williams] and the rest of these quarterbacks,” former NFL Executive of The Year Randy Mueller told me. “But, you better put J.J. McCarthy in that top group of quarterbacks, because he may have the biggest ceiling of all of them.
“He crushed it in Indy, and he actually crushed it on film, it’s just taking certain people a while to catch up and realize.”
Across his three collegiate seasons, McCarthy completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 6,226 yards with 49 touchdowns to 11 interceptions.
Schoen and the New York Giants may be one of those teams beginning to take notice of what McCarthy has put on film during his two seasons as a starter in Ann Arbor.