INDIANAPOLIS — If the Giants end up drafting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, this week’s NFL Combine will stand as the beginning of his development behind Daniel Jones.
The national champion revealed Friday that in his Giants meeting this week, the coaches translated one of McCarthy’s college plays into Brian Daboll’s offensive terminology to show him what it would be like to run their system.
That’s not just information gathering. That’s trying something on to see if it fits before buying.
“I really loved how I drew up a play that I could run in every situation: third down, fourth down, first and second — all that good stuff — and then the [Giants] coaches were kind of changing my verbiage and making it their own,” McCarthy said at his press conference. “It was really nice to kind of get a feel of what that offense would be like. And it was actually a lot more simple. So it was good.”
The Giants are preparing as if Jones will be their starting quarterback again in 2024 when healthy. They are locked into at least one more year of Jones due to the structure of his four-year contract that runs through 2026 anyway.
But it would be appealing to draft a talented quarterback with upside who could develop and sit and watch before eventually taking over. Think of how Jordan Love blossomed in 2023 for the Green Bay Packers after watching for three seasons and taking over the starting job in Year 4.
Drafting a quarterback No. 6 overall and keeping him on the bench in New York is difficult to do, as the Giants can attest from Jones’ 2019 rookie year. But multiple scouts here in Indianapolis view McCarthy as a skilled but unfinished product who could use some seasoning before he plays, anyway.
So would the Giants trade into the back half of the first round for a quarterback like McCarthy, or would they use one of their second-round picks on the proven winner?
Not only does that scenario seem plausible. It seems like the most likely way for the Giants to acquire a young QB in this draft, based on a host of factors both in and outside of their control.
“[I’m] a tough, gritty guy who only cares about winning at the end of the day,” McCarthy said. “Love the game of football with a burning passion, love [my] teammates. Just pretty much everything you’d want in a starting quarterback.”
Granted, McCarthy’s stock could rise, and some team could fall in love with him and draft him higher, even the Giants. That’s possible with any high-level prospect, especially the quarterbacks, some of whom will take the field to throw in front of NFL GMs and coaches here at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Giants GM Joe Schoen, however, has to improve his current roster significantly this spring to give Jones and Daboll more pieces to win in 2024. And that means reaching for a player, especially one who isn’t supposed to play this year, would be dangerous — when a wide receiver or offensive lineman would instantly help their roster for both the short and long term, ideally.
McCarthy is just one quarterback, though, in an attractive class.
North Carolina’s Drake Maye profiles as a Giant prototype, for example, with size and an arm and a pre-existing relationship with Eli Manning. If Maye slipped to No. 6, it wouldn’t be difficult to see him in Giant blue.
“Eli, big fan,” Maye said Friday. “I think Eli would probably say he’s probably seen me too much. I’ve been following him around. It was always on Zooms. I think the biggest thing is being a sponge, soaking it all in.”
“I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t know it all just being up there with Eli,” Maye added. “David Morris, I’ve trained with him down there in Alabama; he was his backup at Ole Miss. So just kind of the small world of connections and I’m just trying to soak it all up.”
LSU Heisman winner Jayden Daniels probably would be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft if not for USC’s Caleb Williams. And the Giants are doing their homework there, too.
“It was fun. Going there and being able to talk football,” Daniels said of his Giants meeting. “They handed me the clicker and we were just talkin’ ball. It’s always fun. I love football. I’m very passionate about it. So whenever I get to talk ball, I love it. [I loved] just how energetic the coaching staff was. And getting to know me as a person: they were very excited about that.”
Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. also is a player to watch closely in the same range as McCarthy most likely, near the back half of the first round.
Despite an extensive injury history, some scouts have a ton of respect for what Penix could do in the right NFL system, early on, given his accuracy and production.
Of course, if Schoen falls in love with just one of the top QBs in this class, he would undoubtedly at least try to move up to get him.
He was there when the Buffalo Bills traded up for Josh Allen in 2018. GM Brandon Beane, who made that move, explained on Tuesday why it was worth the risk to him then.
“We got criticized a little bit for how much we gave up for Josh,” Beane recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Well, if he doesn’t work out, I’m not going to be here anyway. And if he does work out, nobody’s gonna give a s–t.’”
But the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots all feel like slam dunks to take quarterbacks with the top three selections, although it’s still early, which would box a team like the Giants out.
Given the Giants’ current needs, the setup of the draft and their aspirations to develop someone behind Jones for the future, though, using a late first-round pick or early-second on a quarterback would make sense.
And maybe that’s why they’re trying on the offense for size with McCarthy. Maybe the Wolverine would be a fit.
