Patriots Trade QB Mac Jones to Jaguars; What This Means for Giants
The Mac Jones era is over in New England as the Patriots are sending their 2021 first-round pick (15th overall) to the Jacksonville Jaguars for what ESPN reports will likely be a sixth-round pick.
The trade of Jones is significant for the New York Giants in that New England, who is slotted to draft third in this year's draft order, needs a quarterback. There has been some early off-season buzz that the Patriots might go the veteran route to pursue Jones's successor, but with their draft position and the quarterback draft class being so deep, it may make more sense for the Patriots to launch new head coach Jerod Mayo's tenure with a rookie quarterback that can become part of the team's core moving forward.
The Patriots had been mentioned as a potential trade partner for the Giants, who are also widely thought to be searching for a new franchise quarterback, given incumbent Daniel Jones's concerning (and growing) injury history.
Unless New England does indeed go the veteran free agency route, it would appear that the Patriots might no longer be a realistic trade partner for the Giants if New York indeed wants to trade up to have a chance at one of the widely regarded top quarterbacks (Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels).
The Washington Commanders, who draft second in the order, have been floated as a potential trade partner for the Giants if they decide to keep Sam Howell as their franchise quarterback. But inter-division trades are rarely made--not unless a team feels it's a player or two away from a potentially deep playoff run (which the Giants, at this point, most definitely are not). It would also cost way more for the Giants to move up to No. 2 than it would to move to No. 3 in the draft order.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen told reporters at the combine that he expected the roster to have a much different look after the bulk of free agency was over and that the moves the team could accomplish in free agency would potentially shape their draft plans.
Given the depth of the quarterbacks and receivers classes in this draft, the most likely scenario is for the Giants to sit tight at No. 6 and take the best available at either position. If that player is a receiver, the Giants could also explore trading back up into the bottom of the first round if they don't think a quarterback will get to them in the second round.
This scenario would give the Giants two first-round draft picks, potentially a receiver and a quarterback. In the case of the quarterback, if the Giants were to get him on a late first-round pick, that would give them an extra year on the rookie deal to where the Giants can afford to let a rookie quarterback sit and develop further before eventually being called upon to take over if incumbent Daniel Jones continues to flop or suffers another injury.
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