Giants AGM Brandon Brown Explains Why Team Passed on QB, O-Line in Draft

The annual NFL draft is always filled with surprises that go against what media analysts project for months. And two very big surprises sprung on people by the New York Giants just so happened to cover two position groups that carry the biggest question marks moving forward: quarterback and offensive line.

The Giants were thought to be determined to add another quarterback to their stable amid growing concerns about incumbent Daniel Jones’s injury history, which saw him suffer his second neck injury in three years and a torn ACL last year, and the heavy amount of work they reportedly did on the position before the draft.

The rumors of the Giants’ determination to acquire a quarterback further intensified during the draft when, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, who covers the Patriots, claimed theGiants offered their 2024 and 2025 first-round picks to New England to move up only to be rejected as New England selected former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, the Giants’ reported target.

Instead of trading down in the draft order or going to the next quarterback on their list, the Giants stayed put at No. 6 and pivoted to wide receiver, selecting former LSU standout Malik Nabers.

Meanwhile, six quarterbacks went within the first 12 picks of the first round, leaving the pickings slim.

“ I would say, when it comes to the quarterback, we treat it like no other position where we're going to do our due diligence,” said assistant general manager Brandon Brown when asked if there was disappointment that the team didn’t come out of this draft with a quarterback.

“It's negligent if we don't. We're going to go through the whole--call it kitchen sink approach of-- whether it's private workouts, whether it’s live games, whether it’s talking to coaches, whether it's high school, college, positional, coordinators.

“Whenever there's any type of crossover between our coaches that have worked with some of these other former, call it, quarterbacks coaches in the past, we're going to do it.

“And I think, when you're picking as high as we did, it's really important you don't leave any stone unturned because you never know how the draft takes you, and you never want to get caught flat-footed.”

The Giants will instead roll into the season with Jones, who is on schedule to be ready to start, backup Drew Lock, and one of Tommy DeVito or Nathan Rourke.

“Obviously, we saw Drew versus Seattle. A lot of us have seen Drew going back to his days in Missouri and Denver. He's got some moxie,” Brown said when asked why Lock was so appealing to replace Tyrod Taylor, who signed with the Jets.

“I think just think with him, getting adjusted to our scheme -- obviously, our offense is not simple. So, he's got the whole gambit of knowing what's different from what he's been exposed to.

“It's going to be one of those things--it's going to be a learning process for him. It's not going to be overnight. We're happy to support him in every way we can as we go forward toward training camp.”

The other position where the Giants came up empty is the offensive line. While some might believe this was less of a surprise given the Giants signed five offensive linemen in free agency, it was still thought that they might add a developmental prospect to further solidify the depth.

“We knew there were going to be opportunities in free agency to bolster the O-line,” Brown said when asked about not adding an offensive lineman in the draft.

“You look at adding (Jon) Runyan and (Jermaine) Eluemunor--guys that have been healthy, available.

“Where we were in the draft, the positions we took, we felt great about those guys being contributors for us this year. Knowing we addressed certain things via the draft, the way things lined up just from resource allocation, we're really excited with what we came away with.”

Only time will tell if the Giants errored in their decision to pass on these two positions. Still, for now, at least on paper, the Giants 2024 draft class that includes Nabers, safety Tyler Nubin, cornerback Dru Phillips, tight end Theo Johnson, running back Tyrone Tracy Jr, and linebacker Darrius Muasau seems to be not only a solid group but also one that helped further reinforce several roster holes.