No Giant rush for a QB pick
Eli heir can be had in middle rounds
INDIANAPOLIS — The Giants are not going to take a quarterback early in April’s draft. That’s an opinion, not a fact, but it’s the only conclusion to draw coming out of a week at the NFL Combine regarding Jerry Reese’s search for Eli Manning’s eventual successor. Aaron Rodgers fell to the Packers at 24th overall in 2005, and so Green Bay took him even with Brett Favre the incumbent. But there does not seem to be a Rodgers here, a top-10 talent who will go underappreciated enough to fall but is still enough of a stud for Big Blue to draft at 23, or even further in the early rounds.
Deshaun Watson might be the one player who would qualify, but a team will draft him early. He is a winner and too athletically gifted to plummet. North Carolina’s Mitch “Call me Mitchell” Trubisky didn’t command the room at his combine media availability yet still will tempt a GM with his physical tools and upside.
After that, while Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer looks the part and shows an admirable attitude, neither he nor Texas Tech’s confident Patrick Mahomes or any of the other prospects — Trubisky included — feels like the kind of player the Giants should abandon early plans to snag.
Saturday was a big day for quarterbacks at the NFL Combine. This year’s QB prospects broke up into two groups to throw in front of talent evaluators representing all 32 teams. And the Daily News was one of a handful of media outlets allowed into Lucas Oil Stadium to view the morning session, headlined by Kizer, Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans and Miami’s Brad Kaaya.
The group’s so-so performance, though, demonstrated why NFL GMs and scouts are not enamored with this class of passers. All of them made some strong throws, but Kizer struggled with accuracy to the far left sideline. Kaaya seemed to aim some passes. Evans, though talented, came off as shockingly raw.
To be honest, Tennessee’s Josh Dobbs was most impressive in that morning session.
Coming off an encouraging Senior Bowl performance, Dobbs on Saturday demonstrated a strong arm, athleticism and size, more consistency than the scouting reports show — albeit against no defense — and ran a 4.64 40-yard dash, secondbest among quarterbacks behind Texas A&M’s Trevor Knight (4.54).
The Giants are not believed to have met with Dobbs this week. They did however conduct formal interviews with at least two QBs, Mahomes and Evans, and Dobbs would seem to fit the theme of what New York’s front office is looking for: A mid-tolate round project with upside and a high ceiling. “I think Brad Kaaya from Miami and Josh Dobbs from Tennessee are the two quarterbacks I would classify as having some talent, but kind of long-range, developmental prospects,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said this week. “They have talent. So if you took a guy like that in the third round, for instance, and tried to develop him, I think that would be a pretty good plan.” Dobbs attended the Manning Passing Academy last summer and talked with both Eli Manning and his Volunteer predecessor Peyton Manning, seeking advice on how to improve. The Dallas Cowboys selected Dak Prescott in the fourth round last year out of Mississippi State. Could the Giants take a player like Dobbs in the fourth and keep the SEC rivalry going, once Eli Manning of Ole Miss is out the door and Dobbs and Prescott clash twice annually? “I have a lot of confidence in my ability, so I understand and I know what I can do at the next level,” Dobbs said this week. “So it was definitely great to see all the success that Dak has had this past year. I met him at the Peyton Manning camp and he was a great individual. You could tell he was going to be successful at the next level … You go from playing in the SEC, one of the top conferences in the nation and playing in the NFL against guys that you’ve been playing for a while, so I’m excited to see what the future holds.” Another value option from the SEC could be Chad Kelly of Ole Miss, an intriguing prospect whose draft stock could take a hit due to character concerns. Kelly was not invited to participate in this combine after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, related to an arrest for punching two bar bouncers and threatening to shoot up the place. Teams still will do their homework on Kelly regardless. The point is that there most certainly is some intriguing talent and leadership and upside in this quarterback class, and the Giants are doing their homework on selecting one. It’s just not shaping up like there are many scenarios in which Reese would be justified to reach or even trade up. Mahomes falling to the second round would be interesting, given his assertion this week that he is not a project and wants to start immediately. And he most certainly would not start right away in New York, which could make him a bad fit if expectations don’t align.
The Giants’ priorities seem to be in order here, though: Look tight end (O.J. Howard) or running back (Christian McCaffrey) or left tackle (Garett Bolles) in the late first round to help Manning’s current offense; remain cognizant of the strong defensive back and pass rusher classes; and keep an eye on a long-term QB solution in the middle rounds. No earlier.