Signing a top quarterback is critical for New York, which has a star rookie wide receiver in Malik Nabers.
As the New York Giants close in on a high draft pick, star rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers has been a cause for hype around whom the team could draft at quarterback.
The sixth pick in the 2024 draft, Nabers passed 1,000 yards on Sunday in a
45–33 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The victory ended a 10-game skid but actually hurt the Giants’ chances of a No. 1 pick.
Nabers still faced questions over whom the Giants will take at quarterback.
“I don’t got nothing to say about that,” he
told reporters. “The draft will be the draft.”
The New England Patriots (3–13)
moved into the top spot because the Giants (3–13), have a tougher schedule. New York slipped to the No. 4 spot.
Part of the Giants falling to 3–13 stems from quarterback play—whether Daniel Jones not panning out or a backup not sparking momentum. The Giants released Jones last month, which makes a quarterback an urgent priority in the draft—especially with a young talent in Nabers.
The former LSU star has
104 catches for 1,140 yards and six touchdowns on a team with a cumulative passer rating of 77.6. That’s with a revolving door of Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito, and Tim Boyle this season.
Sitting at No. 4 will make it hard for the Giants to nab one of the top two quarterback prospects: Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward. Both the Tennessee Titans (3–13) and Cleveland Browns (3–13) sitting at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively have serious quarterback needs too.
Before the weekend, the Giants held the top spot in the draft amid the three-month free-fall. Nabers stoked the quarterback draft speculation along the way when he played catch
with Sanders in the New York City streets before the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Dec. 14.
Missing on Ward or Sanders wouldn’t be the end of the world for the Giants. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe is also widely considered a first-round pick but arguably not a top-five prospect.
With a projected
$57.23 million in salary cap space, New York could also try a free agent at quarterback. The Minnesota Vikings’ Sam Darnold looks like the top free agent at the moment, and he could command
$35.4 million annually. After Darnold, there isn’t a free agent who had a
successful full season of starts under center.
Whether in the draft or free agency, the Giants need a strong starting quarterback amid at least a three-year window to maximize Nabers’ production on his rookie contract. Nabers has a four-year,
$29.2 million deal with the Giants, which could end in 2028 without an extension.
