Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive
Two years ago the Giants felt some urgency to find Eli Manning's heir apparent, and they gave some serious thought to taking a quarterback early in the 2017 draft. Last year, they didn't feel any urgency at all and let a lot of potential franchise quarterbacks slide right by.
This year, there seems to be a sense of urgency again -- which make senses with Manning turning 38 years old and entering the final year of his contract. The Giants still don't have an answer to who their quarterback will be when Manning is finished.
And they seem to feel like the time to make that decision is now.
"It's still early, but obviously they're looking hard at the quarterbacks in the draft," said one NFL source familiar with the Giants' plans. "At this point, it would be a surprise if they didn't take one in the first two rounds."
That's not a guarantee, of course. To do that, the Giants first have to decide if they love any of the available quarterbacks compared to the other available prospects. Their love of Saquon Barkley, for example, is why they passed on the quarterbacks at the top of the first round last year. And their scouting process is still in its early stages, with the combine still to come at the end of February, plus Pro Days throughout March.
But the Giants clearly will be taking a good, long look at the available quarterbacks in the draft -- and almost certainly not in a limited free agent market. There seems to be a very good chance that they'll take one with the sixth pick of the draft where quarterbacks like Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins, Missouri's Drew Lock, Duke's Daniel Jones and maybe even Oklahoma's Kyler Murray are possible options. Several others, like West Virginia's Will Grier, could be options on Day 2.
The Giants could also use their second-round pick to trade back into the first round if one of those top-tier quarterbacks slips farther than they expect.
So their options are open, but they do seem more serious about finding Manning's heir apparent than they were at this time last year. Manning, as SNY has been reporting, is expected to return as the starter for the 2019 season. But the Giants are hopeful that right behind him on the depth chart his eventual successor will be on board.