Giants' 2024 Re-draft Has Them Righting a Wrong

The Giants take their franchise quarterback in NFL.com's 2024 re-draft.

Jan 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) throws a pass against the Carolina Panthers in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

If New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen could have a do-over of last year's draft, would he make a different first-round selection and take a quarterback?

He was asked that question last year, and predictably, he expressed no regrets about not selecting a quarterback from last year’s historically deep class.

“I wouldn't change what we did. When I reflect on how that went down with Daniel (Jones), again, it's the information you have. We had just won ten games. You won a road playoff game,” Schoen said in his postseason press conference.

Schoen might not change anything from last year's draft, but NFL.com thinks he should have.

In a 2024 re-draft exercise by analysts Ai Bhanpuri and Rom Blair, they have the Giants trading with the Los Angeles Chargers to move up one spot to select Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in what would have been a move to secure Big Blue's quarterback of the future.

The terms of the trade weren’t part of the analysis.

The Atlanta Falcons originally drafted Penix with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He showed flashes in three starts, one of which was a 34-7 victory over the Giants in Week 16, and two relief appearances in his rookie season. Penix threw for 775 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions while completing 58.1% of his throws.

Jan 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) is introduced before a game against the Carolina Panthers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In this scenario, the Giants would forgo drafting their original selection, receiver Malik Nabers. The sixth overall pick finished his rookie season with 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns on 108 catches, the most receptions in a single season in Giants franchise history. 

He was also one of six finalists for the 2024 Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year award, was up for consideration for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and was named to the Pro Bowl after initially being voted as a first alternate. 

"Giving up Malik Nabers is certainly not ideal, and we did consider a scenario where New York kept the elite WR and then targeted its new franchise passer with the third overall pick in the 2025 draft,” the analysis read. “But, ultimately, we thought the opportunity for this QB-starved team to land a talented known quantity instead of rolling the dice again at the position was simply too good to pass up."

Entering last season, the Giants seemed confident in its quarterback unit even as incumbent Daniel Jones continued to rehab from a torn ACL. Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll insisted that Jones would be the starter once healthy, and Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito would be the backups.

However, in the lead-up to the 2024 draft, Hard Knocks camera crews captured Schoen trying to engineer a trade with the New England Patriots, who had the third overall pick in the draft, presumably because the Giants had an eye on Drake Maye. 

Those same cameras captured Daboll’s admission that he would trade up to get Daniels, who went to the Commanders at No. 2 overall if he was given a choice.

The flirtation with adding another quarterback rightfully didn’t sit well with Jones, who was irked over what had transpired despite trying to keep his composure and pass it off as a business decision.

Jones met his goal of being ready for the start of training camp. Still, he struggled to regain his 2022 form, showing far more inconsistency in his decision-making and inability to carry the team across the finish line. 

Jones, who had a $23 million injury guarantee in his contract that would have kicked in had he suffered an injury that would have kept him from passing a physical this year, was benched after the team returned from its bye and released five days later after being prohibited by the team from even doing as much as lifting weights. 

Lock, DeVito, and Tim Boyle all took turns finishing the rest of the season. The Giants, finishing 3-14 on the season, would win just one more game, a convincing 45-33 Week 17 triumph over the Indianapolis Colts, in a game that Lock quarterbacked. 

Going into the 2025 offseason, the quarterback position is a huge need. Lock and Boyle are free agents this offseason, and neither is likely to be back. DeVito is expected back since he’s an exclusive rights-free agent.

However, DeVito, who was initially named the starter after Jones was benched but then missed a game due to a forearm injury, never managed to regain the starting job, which went to Lock. 

Dec 22, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) passes under pressure from New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Penix selection makes sense in this alternate universe, given that Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels were all off the board by the time the Giants were on the clock at six. 

In this alternate draft scenario, Daniels, Williams, Maye, and Bo Nix were all off the board, leaving J.J. McCarthy and Penix available. But, in real-time, the Giants didn’t have as high of a grade on Penix as the two NFL.com analysts did.

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