In fact, the market for those picks could potentially be huge. After months of buzz around the NFL about how nobody loved the quarterbacks in this draft, both Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis had strong showings at their Pro Days this week and suddenly are being viewed as likely Top 10 picks.
That means there could be several teams trying desperately to get into the Top 10 and the Giants’ two first-round picks are in sweet spots for quarterback-needy teams. The picks are sandwiched around the Carolina Panthers at No. 6 and just ahead of the Atlanta Falcons at 8.
The Panthers were finalists in the Deshaun Watson chase before he was traded to the Cleveland Browns and have inquired about nearly every available quarterback for the last two years. The Falcons were always eyeing a long-term replacement for Matt Ryan, but there’s more urgency now that they’ve traded their franchise quarterback to the Indianapolis Colts.
So any team that wants their choice of quarterbacks in this draft will likely have to get ahead of them.
Among the other teams that could be trading partners for the Giants are Seattle (at No. 9), Washington (11), Houston (13), New Orleans (18), and Pittsburgh (20) – all of whom are still eyeing long-term answers at quarterback. And they all know they may have to jump at least to the Giants’ pick at No. 7 to get one, and possibly to the Giants’ pick at No. 5 to ensure they get their top choice.
As for the Giants, there are multiple reasons why they’re interested in trading down, according to sources, one being financial complications. They have nine picks in this year’s draft, which will cost them about $12.5 million in salary cap space, according to OverTheCap.com.
That’s a problem considering they are currently only about $3 million under the $208.2 million cap, according to NFL Players Association records. Even if they eventually trade cornerback James Bradberry, that would only clear another $12.1 million off the books – less if they have to pay some of his salary to make a deal.
Trading the 7th overall pick to a quarterback-needy team like the Saints and dropping to 18, for example, would save almost $2.2 million in cap space. They’d clear more than $5 million if they traded away that pick and didn’t get a first-round pick this year in return – which is something one source said the Giants might be willing to do.
The other possible reason might be more significant. The Giants seem unlikely to pick up the fifth-year option for 2023 on quarterback Daniel Jones’ contract, which they must decide on by May 2 -- two days after the draft.
That opens-up the possibility that they’ll be looking for a replacement in the 2023 draft. Having two first-round picks gives them more options in a draft that scouts believe will have several franchise quarterbacks. It will also give them ammunition if they feel they need to move up to get the quarterback they want.
Of course, given the Giants’ many needs – offensive line, pass-rusher, cornerback, just to name a few – they’d have no problem holding on to both picks to help new GM Joe Schoen restock the roster with young talent.
But given the renewed interest in the top quarterbacks in this class, they’ll likely get plenty of calls about those picks over the next five weeks.
