3 QBs Giants may target in draft to succeed Jones
Two showed out in Saturday’s USC-Washington game
The 2022 NFL season brought New York Giants’ fans hope and excitement not seen since the team won 11 games in 2016 or even all the way back to their fourth Lombardi Trophy in 2012 after they went 9-7-1 and qualified for the postseason for the first time in six years.
Less than a calendar year later, and seemingly all hope has vanished.
Through nine weeks, the Giants already have the same amount of losses as last season after the team’s 30-6 soul-crushing loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
To make matters worse, QB Daniel Jones suffered a right knee injury at the beginning of the second quarter and is confirmed to have a torn ACL, ending his season and potentially putting his ability to start next year on time in question.
Now sitting at 2-7 and likely picking in the top seven of next spring’s NFL Draft for the fifth time in seven years, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Giants try to find Jones’ replacement and select a quarterback early in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
If the Giants do go the quarterback route in the first round, here are three names and some honorable mentions you should keep an eye on as the next potential Giants signal caller:
Caleb Williams, USC quarterback
It’s been a bit of a roller coaster of a season for Williams.
Red hot after a 6-0 start, USC has lost three of its last four games -- with each of them coming at the hands of ranked opponents inside the AP Top 25 poll.
Williams, who was the preseason betting favorite to win his second consecutive Heisman Trophy (+450), has dropped all the way to 90/1 or even 100/1 odds at some sportsbooks after being sacked 16 times and having a three-interception performance in the last month.
Even though it’s unlikely he’ll win back-to-back Heisman trophies, the soon-to-be 22-year-old is still the heavy favorite on FanDuel and DraftKings Sportsbook to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft next May.
Despite USC’s recent struggles, Williams has amassed more than 9,400 passing yards, 970 rushing yards and 117 total touchdowns (91 passing, 26 rushing) in his three-year college career with Oklahoma and USC.
While the teams currently projected to pick ahead of the Giants (Bears and Cardinals) are not guaranteed to select a QB, the Giants are almost all but certain going to need to have the one of the top two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft in order to land Williams.
Michael Penix Jr., Washington quarterback
If the Giants are unable to pick Williams, the next best option right now is Penix.
Following a 2022 campaign where threw for 4,641 yards, 31 touchdowns and led Washington to its first 11-win season since 2016, the Tampa, Florida, native has followed it up with an even better season in 2023.
Penix has already thrown for 26 touchdowns, 3,201 passing yards (most in Division I) and is completing a career-high 69.4 percent of his passes, good for 13th-best in all of college football, while leading Washington to a No. 5 ranking in the country at 9-0 entering Week 11.
What might be most important (especially to Giants fans) is that he’s only been sacked 27 times in 43 games, which is the same amount Williams has been sacked this season alone. However, turnovers have been a concern for Penix, as he’s thrown seven or more interceptions in three straight seasons and has 30 career INTs compared to Williams’ 13 interceptions in 35 games.
It should be noted that the team thinks highly of these two quarterback prospects, as the Giants’ front office brass, including general manager Joe Schoen, were in attendance for Washington’s 52-42 victory over USC this past Saturday evening in Los Angeles.
Now the consensus betting favorite on multiple sportsbooks to win the Heisman Trophy, Penix should be without question in play for the Giants if they hold a top five selection next spring.
Drake Maye,
North Carolina quarterback
Rounding out the top three is Maye. Similar to Williams, North Carolina suffered back-to-back losses after winning six straight games to start the season, but it wasn’t all on him. Maye recorded three total touchdowns and 300+ passing yards in the Tar Heels’ 3127 loss to Virginia and in a 46-42 shootout defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech.
Maye is the biggest QB of the bunch (6 feet, 4 inches tall and 230 pounds) and has been the best dual threat of the group, rushing for 254 yards and six touchdowns after having nearly 700 yards and and eight rushing touchdowns on the ground a season ago.
While sacks and turnovers have plagued WIlliams and Penix this season, my biggest question mark is the quality of competition UNC has had to face so far. North Carolina has played only one ranked team this season and is coming off a 59-7 win over FCS team Campbell University in Week 10.
Last year, Clemson dominated Maye and North Carolina, 39-10, in the ACC Championship game. Then in the Holiday Bowl, UNC scored only six points in the second half after being up 21-14 at halftime in a 28-27 loss to Oregon. Maye can’t control who he plays, but it could be a cautionary sign if his struggles continue again this bowl season against higher-quality opponents.
If the Giants miss out on both Williams and Penix, Maye will definitely be in the conversation, especially if he finishes out this season on a high note.
Other QBs Giants could target in NFL Draft
Oregon QB Bo Nix, LSU QB Jayden Daniels, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.