Giants Mailbag: Latest on Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, plans for NFL Draft

The Senior Bowl passed. The NFL Combine is next week. The NFL offseason is in full swing.

This is an important one for Giants general manager Joe Schoen as he looks to get his team back on track after a down 2023.

What’s the latest on Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and New York’s draft plans? We addressed all that in this week’s mailbag...

@WilliamWalker09: It seems the likely scenario for the Giants is to let Saquon hit the market and see what kind of offers he receives. The Giants will then match. Why didn’t they do this with Jones last year?

The situation with Jones hasn’t worked out. It’s been a nightmare. No one foresaw such a substantial level of regression. Excuse some of the horrendous play of the offensive line, but the second neck injury and torn ACL are another level. Jones devolved from a player the Giants felt was their franchise quarterback, to one they cannot count on (more because of the injuries than the play). That’s brutal luck.

Your question hedges too much in hindsight, though. The Giants won a playoff game in 2022. They were not in a position to trade for a quarterback for that reason. Schoen was aware of the roster’s many other issues, so he wasn’t in a position to mortgage those draft assets to trade up for a quarterback, either. There was no one in free agency who presented an upgrade over Jones. The Giants could not risk losing him. They couldn’t. Re-signing him also allowed them to tag Barkley (keeping him in East Rutherford) while adding others like Darren Waller.

Look at this year’s class of free agent running backs: Josh Jacobs (Raiders), Derrick Henry (Titans), Austin Ekeler (Chargers), Tony Pollard (Cowboys), D’Andre Swift (Eagles), Zack Moss (Colts), Devin Singletary (Texans). There’s a good chance Joe Mixon (Bengals) is cut, too. It’s a saturated market. That will drive the cost down. The Giants have the luxury of letting Barkley walk because they realize he’s not going to see the money he wants.

There’s no such thing as a saturated quarterback market.

@hwv4x: What would the Giants' justification be for passing on Jayden Daniels if he were to fall to pick No. 6?

There isn’t one. I don’t think the Giants would. They’ve all but screamed from the tops of 1925 Giants Drive they’re open to drafting a quarterback. Their only concern is if one will be there. There are three quarterbacks worthy of a top-10 pick: Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (UNC) and Daniels (LSU). There are three quarterback-needy teams picking one, two and three: The Bears, Commanders and Patriots. 

Conventional wisdom tells you the Giants need to acquire one of those picks if they want a quarterback, but it’s unclear if any of those teams are A) willing to deal, or B) willing to pass on a QB.

Personally, if Daniels falls past the first three picks, I don’t think the Giants draft him at No. 6. To take a quarterback at that selection means you’re convinced they’re a franchise guy. This isn’t about the Cardinals (No. 4) or Chargers (No. 5) drafting him, but a team behind the Giants like the Titans (No. 7), Falcons (No. 8), Vikings (No. 11), Broncos (No. 12) or Raiders (No. 13) trading up with Arizona or L.A. to jump the Giants for that player.

There’s no point in Schoen risking that. He’d likely have to package No. 6 with one of his second-round picks and something in 2025 to go up and get the LSU QB.

@Jp11238156: What is more likely — The Giants sign a veteran quarterback to compete with Jones? Or they draft a quarterback in Round 1, 2?

What they do in free agency will tell you how confident Schoen is that drafting a quarterback is an option. As mentioned above: It’s not that the Giants don’t want to take a quarterback. Who will actually be there?

If Schoen signs someone like Gardner Minshew or Jacoby Brissett to a contract worth north of $6 or $7 million annually — that’s telling you the Giants don’t believe they’re getting someone. Schoen, evident by the Barkley talks, is financially savvy, constantly cognizant of the salary cap. He already has major money invested in Jones (for this year). Now he’s going to give big money to a backup and draft a quarterback in the first round? Then carry all three on the 53-man roster? I highly doubt that.

What I think you’ll see the Giants do is sign a lower-level veteran, setting the stage for a significant investment in draft capital.

@DylanBacker_: Anything on if Jones will be the starting quarterback Week 1?

That’s the plan. Brian Daboll and Schoen aren’t playing coy with that — even if they draft a quarterback. Having that player sit behind someone seems like what they’d prefer to do.

That makes sense. It’s actually what Daboll and the Bills elected to do in 2018. Remember: Rookie Josh Allen, selected in the first round, wasn’t named Buffalo’s quarterback to begin the season. They went with Nathan Peterman, who then stunk in the opener (5 of 18 for 24 yards with two interceptions), and the Bills benched him for Allen. The rest is history.

Some will laugh at the thought of the Giants, with Jones, carrying out the Green Bay or Kansas City model. There is, obviously, a stark difference between Jones and Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith. There’s also the fact social media, back pages and talk shows will be littered with BENCH JONES talking points after his first interception, wanting to see the rookie. As long as the Giants, and Jones, are willing to deal with those punches, maybe they can make it work.

Granted, even if the Giants wanted to get rid of Jones, they can’t. I touched base with multiple high-ranking front office executives regarding Jones in recent months. More out of curiosity than anything else. 

If Schoen decided he wanted to trade Jones, what could he get? The resounding sentiment was nothing. One source told me Jones is "untradeable" right now. He provided a simple explanation: Two neck injuries, a torn-up knee, uncertainty on when he’ll be cleared, just one year of OK film, and a terrible contract. Hard to find fault in that logic.

@SaltPotato6: What really happened with Kenny Golladay?

A tale as old as time. An OK player atop a weak free agent class who got paid far too much. I remember talking to a coach about Golladay right after he signed with the Giants. This team also went after and signed a receiver. Was curious if they had interest in Golladay. He emphatically said no. He felt he changed after that injury in Detroit. Made him "average" at best and the money he was about to get wasn’t worth the risk. He was right.

The Giants hoped Golladay could be for then-offensive coordinator Jason Garrett what Dez Bryant was for him in Dallas — a big-bodied, physical presence. Golladay was simply physically shot. He could not run or separate. These flaws were exposed even more when Daboll came in with his quick-twitch offense that values YAC above all else. He’s just done.

That’s the reason Golladay hasn’t popped up much anywhere else. He’s had a couple workouts, but that’s it. I checked in after one of those with someone who watched it. Didn’t get back a ringing endorsement. Not only were there physical drawbacks, but Golladay seemed uninterested in taking part.

You can kind of understand that. Players know their bodies. They know when they can’t do what they used to. Golladay is only 30. He made $45 million during his career. Go enjoy it.

@j7rollo: What was the actual relationship like between Daboll and Mike Kafka? Can you explain the promotion?

There was absolutely tension there. The idea there wasn’t is comical. This is no different than when so many tried to convince you there wasn’t an issue with Daboll and Wink Martindale. Kafka had his playcalling revoked at points last season — scapegoating him for the unit’s problems. He was open to leaving — maybe even more than that, I was told. The Giants prevented it. They were never going to let him leave for a lateral position.

Replacing all three coordinators in one offseason is a major undertaking when the preference is to not have Daboll call the plays. Remember, too: There could be changes if things go poorly again this year. The Giants need as much continuity as they can to try to return to their 2022 play.

The promotion, or added job title, comes with a pay boost. That’s commonplace in the NFL. A team prevents you from leaving, but gives you extra money in response. To view that as a sign all is A-OK between the two in Giants land is silly.

@Sage_Angell: Will the Giants keep Waller?

That’s the plan. The Giants have $21 million in cap space, per OverTheCap, assuming a team base of $242 million. They can, and likely will, create more by converting some of Andrew Thomas' and Dexter Lawrence’s base salaries ($14.175 million and $16 million, respectively) into a signing bonus. 

Cutting Waller would free $6.7 million, but it’s counterproductive. Remember: You need to replace every player you let go. Waller, when healthy, is still among the game’s best tight ends and easily one of the Giants' most explosive offensive weapons.

They might consider it if there was someone behind him capable of stepping up, but he doesn’t exist. It’s become clear Daniel Bellinger is not that guy. Schoen has enough holes on the roster to worry about to ponder creating another.