A large portion of New York Giants fans are clamoring for a new franchise quarterback to build around in 2024 — but SNY insider Connor Hughes does not expect them to find one.
During a mailbag article on February 2, Hughes explained what he believes to be the scary reality of the rookie QB conversation this April.
“He’s looking,” Hughes voiced confidently regarding general manager Joe Schoen’s willingness to spend a premium draft pick on a quarterback of the future. “He has the means and willingness to trade up to get one, too, unlike his first two years in charge. The problem is quantity.”
The SNY reporter went on to outline why he expects premier QB prospects Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (North Carolina) and Jayden Daniels (LSU) to go one through three in the NFL draft — without any trades — leaving the Giants with more flawed options in Bo Nix (Oregon), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) and J.J. McCarthy (Michigan).
“They’re not near the caliber of player as those aforementioned three,” Hughes stated, cautioning a reach at No. 6 overall. Later, he concluded candidly that while “Schoen wants a quarterback. It might just be impossible to get one with franchise potential [in 2024].”
Connor Hughes Urges Giants to Stay the Course With Daniel Jones ‘Escape Hatch’ Despite QB Predicament
The combination of Daniel Jones’ 2024 cap hit ($47.105 million) and the desperate need at quarterback around the league puts the Giants in quite the predicament heading into a pivotal year three for Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.
Despite that, Hughes urged Big Blue to stay the course when it comes to their expected plan to rid themselves of Jones in 2025.
“The conundrum facing the Giants is that the player they paid is not the player they now have,” the insider wrote when asked about potentially restructuring Jones’ deal in 2024. “The injury red flags around Jones are very, very real. He’s now had two neck injuries and a torn ACL.”
“You cannot look past that,” Hughes expressed. “You can’t commit to that in the short-or long-term.”
If the Giants were to restructure Jones for cap relief this spring, rather than leave his contract as is, they’d likely be stuck with him in 2025. That fact led Hughes to deduce that “restructuring Jones is not an option.”
“The Giants can look to other places to create cap space if they need it,” he reasoned. “They need to maintain that escape hatch after this year, where releasing Jones would free $19.3 million with a $22.2 million dead charge.”
Giants Select New WR1 Malik Nabers in SNY Mock Draft
Since we’re talking Hughes’ opinions, his initial February 1 mock draft has the Giants going wide receiver at No. 6 — although he made it clear that there will be other possibilities.
After selecting explosive LSU star Malik Nabers with the pick, the NYG media member admitted that “offensive tackle is an option here.”
“The Giants would likely be all over [Joe] Alt if he fell. He could take over at right tackle (because Andrew Thomas is left), allowing New York to kick the struggling Evan Neal to guard,” he theorized. “This is a deep tackle draft, though.”
Hughes also noted the potential of the Giants, trading back into the first round with one of their two second-round selections to land a prospect like J.C. Latham (Alabama) or Amarius Mims (Georgia) at OT.
“Nabers gives them a legitimate No. 1 option at receiver,” he continued, switching focus back to the WR selection. “The Giants offense has been devoid of a legitimate receiver for far too long. This addition gives them a receiving trio of Nabers, Jalin Hyatt and Wan’Dale Robinson. They also have Darren Waller at tight end and will try to bring back running back Saquon Barkley, albeit on their terms.”
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Giants Insider Hints at Scary Outcome for Franchise QB Search in 2024