USC quarterback Caleb Williams is seemingly a lock to be drafted by the Bears with the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft. Although most prognosticators believe the next three players off the board will be quarterbacks, it is less clear who those quarterbacks will be, and which teams will be selecting them.
Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post recently suggested that the Commanders, owners of the No. 2 overall pick, will select Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, whose draft stock has soared thanks in no small part to an excellent pro day performance. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe (subscription required) says that, of the seven team executives, coaches, and scouts that the publication recently polled, three of them believed Washington would select LSU’s Jayden Daniels, two believed UNC’s Drake Maye would be the pick, and one said it would be McCarthy (the final executive said a trade-down maneuver would be the Commanders’ best bet).
The opinion of that cheeky non-conformist notwithstanding, it would be surprising if the Commanders traded down or picked a non-QB with the No. 2 selection. But if Washington opts for a player other than Daniels, then the Giants could suddenly become a team to watch, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com notes.
In possession of the No. 6 overall pick, Big Blue has been doing its due diligence on this year’s top collegiate passers and scheduled “30” visits with each of Maye, McCarthy, and Daniels. According to Raanan, Daniels is particularly well-regarded within the organization, and sources close to GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll believe the reigning Heisman Trophy winner would be an “ideal fit” in the Giants’ offense.
That said, New York would almost certainly need to trade up to land Daniels, and the Patriots’ No. 3 overall pick likely represents the highest choice that could be available via trade. It appears that New England is prepared to stay put and select a QB of its own, though a trade could still be on the table if the right offer comes along. The problem is that the Giants have just six picks in the 2024 draft and a great number of roster holes, so efforts to jump up the draft board could be cost-prohibitive.
While owner John Mara has consistently endorsed incumbent QB1 Daniel Jones — who is on track to be back from his ACL tear by training camp — Mara has also given Schoen the green light to select a quarterback with the Giants’ top choice. Schoen is no stranger to trading up the board, and the team has been connected to such a move for at least a month. Regardless of the overall strength of a roster, there is almost no price too steep to pay for a franchise quarterback, particularly since Jones has generally failed to impress during his pro career and since the 2025 class of signal-callers is generally considered to be a weak one.
In the above-referenced piece, La Canfora says the Giants are actually higher on McCarthy than any other non-Williams quarterback, a sentiment that Raanan apparently does not share. Raanan does say the team has interest in McCarthy, but he suggests that such interest would be at its zenith if the former Wolverine should fall to the No. 6 pick. In other words, the ESPN scribe seems to believe that while Schoen would contemplate a trade up to land Daniels, he may not sacrifice additional draft capital to acquire McCarthy.
One way or another, as Howe succinctly puts it, “there’s more mystery surrounding the 2024 quarterback class than there’s ever been.”
Feel bad for the QB who is unlucky enough to get drafted by Washington. They have no running game so defenses will just tee off on this guy the same way they did with Sam Howell.
It would be so Washington-like to draft J.J. As a lifelong 49ers fan, I hope that they do
Well, this is a completely different Washington ownership and FO, so anything they do at #2 will be the first thing they ever do. The person making this pick is hired out of the 49ers FO, but as a lifelong fan, I’m sure you know that already. I just hope they don’t make a huge Trey Lance style mistake. That was one of the worst trades then draft selections in the history of the NFL, but as a lifelong 49ers fan, I’m sure you know that already!
I’m aware it’s Adam Peters making the decisions. And I still believe Trey Lance will be far more successful than J.J, even in WASHINGTON! So watch your smug tone with me from now on
Smug is the only tone I have with lifelong 49ers fans as a lifelong Seahawks fan! More Smug than Thurston Howell.
Watch your own smug tone, J*ckw*d. Throw snark at someone? Enjoy getting some back.
SMH
“Big Blue has been doing its due diligence on this year’s top collegiate passers and scheduled “30” visits with each of Maye, McCarthy, and Daniels.”
They’ve scheduled 30 visits with each QB?! That’s an insane amount of meetings.
But 30 is in quotes. Clearly this is because the writer is skeptical they actually had 30 interviews. NYG is so hellbent on drafting a bad QB that JJ has probably not left NYC since he got there.
Each team gets to hold personal interview sessions with only 30 draft eligible players. That is why they are called “30 visits”. Not because they met with one player 30 times.
Aside from the number six similarity here, and the name mirroring, is there anyone else who sees a few similarities between Daniels and Jones stylistically? Daniels will hopefully begin with a more stable and proven coaching staff, but it appears initially to me that both have similar tendencies.
Coming out of college, Jones was judged an intelligent player with good footwork, who lacked extreme arm talent, and was productive on the ground to compensate for lesser talent on the roster. That’s more or less what we see from Daniels stylistically, who played a much better team and did so at a higher level. It seems though that Daniels, while having a precise and strong arm on intermediate and short throws, loses strength and precision on deeper passes.
Jones had nearly the same evaluation at Duke-adequate arm strength, not weak necessarily, but definitely not a noticeably powerful arm. Both were thought of as having footwork as a plus-Jones’ was noticeably good coming from David Cutcliffe-and both had more success as rollout passers than scrambling passers (the opposite of which would be, say, Lamar Jackson or Mahomes, who often use their scrambling to improvise on tosses outside the pocket). Daniels is slightly smaller than Jones, but much, much faster (his 40 time is probably between 4.35-4.40, and Jones, while faster than his time suggests, surprisingly only ran somewhere in 4.8 range).
I know I’m making it sound like I think that the two are the same player, but I do not. Obviously Daniels’ achievements dwarf those of Jones in college, albeit on a much better team. However, it seems that there could be some stylistic similarities. I am no scout, and as such could be (and likely am) completely wrong. There are certain areas of the game that it appears that New York would have to treat Daniels similarly to Jones, particularly on deep balls or fades, until/unless there is development. The Giants won’t have great receivers, at least without some great acquisitions, or a great offensive line. I speculate about whether they would, at the and of all of this, be getting an upgrade to Jones in Daniels if he is their pick, and not an entirely different type of quarterback. That is, of course, assuming that Daniels’ more accomplished college profile translates to be a better pro player than Jones has-as you well know, he may not. You’d think that New York would think that Daniels is more than that, as it appears many teams do. At least, they fo publically.
Imagine if all the first round QB’s in the 2024 draft fall flat on their faces. As was the case with the 2022 draft, where only Mr Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, a seventh round pick is still standing. Or the 2021 draft, where only Trevor Lawrence is still a starter.
2020 was better with Joe Burrow, Tua, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love all considered franchise quarterbacks.
2019 was no great shakes with Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones and Dwayne Haskins topped a board where only Jarrett Stidham and Gardner Minshew offered much value.