Giants GM Joe Schoen's recent activity might hint at his QB plan for 2024
With the New York Giants looking nowhere close to competing in the NFC East, and quarterback Daniel Jones out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL after underperforming in the six games he played in 2023 (the lowest quarterback rating of his career), it seems likely that the franchise will entertain the […]
With the New York Giants looking nowhere close to competing in the NFC East, and quarterback Daniel Jones out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL after underperforming in the six games he played in 2023 (the lowest quarterback rating of his career), it seems likely that the franchise will entertain the idea of drafting a quarterback in next spring's draft.
In fact, Giants general manager Joe Schoen's recent activity strongly hints that drafting a quarterback is the path that New York will take in the 2024 NFL Draft.
According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, Schoen attended the Washington vs USC game this past weekend, which featured two of the top quarterback prospects for the 2024 NFL Draft — USC's Caleb Williams and Washington's Michael Penix Jr.
The Giants are currently 2-7 and trending toward a top five pick (it'll be interesting to see how the draft order shakes out, but the Giants at least have a shot at landing the No. 1 overall pick with Jones sidelined for the rest of the season).
Schoen's presence at the USC/Washington game should definitely be taken as a hint that New York is strongly considering drafting a franchise quarterback to replace Jones. Remember, Schoen was at the Tennessee/Alabama game in 2022 where former Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt scored five touchdowns in UT's wild win against the Crimson Tide.
The Giants would trade up to select Hyatt in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft six months after that Tennessee/Alabama game.
Schoen obviously attends plenty of college football games to scout players (he also attended another game the day that Alabama played Tennessee last season). But it's clear that those trips aren't just a cheap way to enjoy a big college football game in a great atmosphere. Schoen is all business on those trips. And the fact that he made the trip to see two of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft seems like a sign that a quarterback is going to be at top of the Giants' draft board in the spring.
If the Giants select a quarterback in the first round, Jones would likely remain on the roster next season. New York would take on a $69 million dead cap hit if they cut Jones before the 2024 season. That's unrealistic. And they probably can't trade a quarterback that's owed a ton of money that's also recovering from a torn ACL. So the more likely scenario is that the Giants release or trade Jones after the 2024 season, when they could get out from under his contract with a much more manageable $22.2 million dead cap hit.
Plenty will transpire between now and the 2024 NFL Draft. But for now, starting over with a new quarterback seems like the most likely course of action for the Giants.
Jalin Hyatt explains why his 40 time wasn’t as fast as some expected at the NFL Draft combine
Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt didn’t run the 40 yard dash at his pro day after running at the draft combine in early March
