Should the Giants prioritize quarterback in the NFL Draft? | The Exempt List
Yahoo Sports NFL writer Charles McDonald is joined by contributor and host of The Athletic Football Show Nate Tice to look at the biggest offensive needs for the New York Giants in the 2024 NFL Draft. Hear the full conversation on “The Exempt List with Charles McDonald” - part of the “Zero Blitz” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
CHARLES MCDONALD: The Giants. Well, let me ask you this. Where are you on Daniel Jones?
NATE TICE: He's maxed out. Daniel Jones does nice things, but he's like a worse version of Justin Fields where it's that he doesn't throw over the middle. He's a very safe quarterback in a way. And he's a good runner, and he can scramble and do all that. But it's like there's not a lot of down-to-down consistency with him. I think of him as a spot starter, high-end backup type now that's just getting paid a lot of money and has some pedigree.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Yeah. So would you list quarterback as the Giants' biggest need for the upcoming draft?
NATE TICE: I would, but I don't think they're going to address it.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Yeah.
NATE TICE: That's-- yeah. Yeah, I do think it's the biggest need though.
CHARLES MCDONALD: But would you draft-- do you draft Jayden Daniels or JJ McCarthy to replace Daniel Jones? That's where I'm like, I don't know. I don't know.
NATE TICE: I don't know. Because it's funny. Because Daniels, his statistical archetype-- not just saying exactly the player-- is a lot like Daniel Jones, which is just kind of funny. They actually have some similarities to how they play. Throw some deep, don't work over the middle, run around a little bit, and one-and-done reads.
Not scrambling to throw, always scrambling to run. They both do that same thing. Those two, Justin, Jalen Hurts, they are kind of all from the same archetype. Russ, Russell Wilson, is from that archetype as well. So it's kind of funny that-- is that an upgrade? Is that worth another top-10 pick? I don't know.
CHARLES MCDONALD: To me, it just more seems like you're resetting your timeline. I don't know. But I don't know if that keeps your job for the long term. They're in a tough spot. But I think wide receiver probably makes the most sense for them just because they got-- if you're going to do the Daniel Jones thing, you're losing Saquon Barkley. The running back room is looking pretty rough. In terms of playmakers, they really don't have all that much. Probably looking at Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze. Odunze, to me, is the guy that makes the most sense--
NATE TICE: Oh--
CHARLES MCDONALD: --that's realistic.
NATE TICE: --I love him.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Because I still don't see Marvin falling to six. I'm not following--
NATE TICE: No.
CHARLES MCDONALD: --the smoke on the Nabers over Marvin stuff.
NATE TICE: After watching these guys, there's no way.
CHARLES MCDONALD: No.
NATE TICE: He's just too clean. And his play style, to me, is what I think coaches and evaluators would like. I think coaches are going to love Marvin Harrison, Jr. And then but the thing is, he doesn't have-- he didn't have that testing day to silence everything, even though if you watch him, you see he moves faster and he's stronger than every DB he goes against. So it's like you watch him, you don't care. But he didn't have that flag plant moment. But I don't think he needs to because you just watch the freaking film with him. He's a monster.
CHARLES MCDONALD: Yeah. So Giants draft a receiver. And then if you all still got jobs next year, then go after and get that quarterback.