Posted on April 24, 2019 April 24, 2019 by Tom
The Giants and Looking for the Quarterback Successor in the Draft
The Giants will most likely draft a quarterback sometime during the NFL draft. This considering they have 12 picks and a 38 year old quarterback, the third oldest in the NFL. Head coach Pat Shurmur has said he'd like to find Eli's successor "sooner rather than later" and nd would ideally like that young quarterback to sit behind Manning for a year. GM Dave Gettleman has said his "dream" is to find the Giants their next franchise quarterback. The Giants have a high pick this year and twelve total picks of draft capital. There is no guarantee they will have as good a position for next year's draft. Some feel that a team should pick a quarterback at every other year given the value of the position and difficulty in finding a "franchise" one. Here are some scenarios for a quarterback selection in order of my preference.
1) Round 1 Pick 3: Kyler Murray
The Cardinals do not pick Murray and he lasts to pick 3. The Giants trade their 6th, 37th and 108th pick to the Jets and select Murray at 3. I don't buy the argument that the Giants and Jets would not trade. They are in different conferences. I think the Giants are more likely to trade with the Jets than the 49ers.
Murray is the consensus number one quarterback according to anonymous conversations with officials from over a dozen NFL teams. It was not unanimous but Murray was the clear favorite. His statistics are noticeably ahead of the other prospects. Looking at 26 quarterback prospects Murray's percentage of 3rd down plays that made 1st down (50% – 1st), percentage of red zone plays that made touchdowns (35.4% – 3rd) and percentage of total plays that were big plays (27.9% – 1st) were significantly better than any other of the 26 prospects. As far as being a mobile quarterback, among all quarterback prospects Murray had the fifth highest rushing yards per game (71.5 yards), the highest rushing average (7.15 yards) and was tied for the third most rushing touchdowns (12). In looking at fifteen top quarterbacks for these six stats just mentioned plus six more (completion %, passing yards/game, passing yards/attempt, passing TDs/game, TD/Interception ratio and passer rating) Murray was the only quarterback that was above average in all twelve stats. The next best QB excelled at nine stats.
2) Round 1 Pick 6: Dwayne Haskins
The Giants stay put and select Haskins at pick 6.
Haskins is regarded as possibly the best pure pocket passer in the quarterback class. He has a strong arm. Like Murray he was above average in all stats but the rushing ones. He was the quarterback behind Murray, excelling at nine of the twelve stats. He is not a mobile quarterback and the three rushing stats he was not above average. Haskins had the third best completion percentage (70%) among all quarterback prospects and the most touchdown passes per game (3.57).
3) Round 2 Pick 37: Trade for Josh Rosen
If the Cardinals pick Murray the the Giants trade the 37th pick for Josh Rosen. If needed add in pick 108 (top of the 4th).
Josh Rosen may be available for a trade if the Cardinals pick Kyler Murray. Rosen is regarded as a pure pocket passer coming out of college. Rosen is a smart quarterback, has played in a variety of offensive schemes and has a strong arm. Rosen answered some questions about him in his rookie year showing both a toughness and a good work ethic. He is worth a chance for the price of a high round two or low round one draft pick.
4) Round 1 Pick 29: Will Grier
The Giants trade their 37th and 95th picks to the Seahawks to move up into the first round and select Will Grier at 29. The Patriots have been rumored to have an interest in Grier, thus the trade up.
Among all quarterbacks Grier had the second most passing yards per game (351 yards) and the second most passing touchdowns per game (3.36). He also has a strong arm. Grier was third in the twelve stats with eight stats above average. He fell short in the three rushing stats and in the percentage of big plays. Matt Walkman of The Rookie Scouting Portfolio has Grier as his top quarterback on his big board (the podcast).
5) Round 3 Pick 95: Ryan Finley
Of 26 top quarterback prospects Finley was second in third down conversions (48.6%). Of those 26 quarterbacks Finley was fourth in passing big play percentage (21%) with the seventh most attempts (452). Finley has improved his completion percentage, passing yards and quarterback rating each of the last three seasons. In 2018 he was sixth among draft prospects in completion percentage (67.4%).
6) Round 4 pick 108: Brett Rypien
Of 26 top quarterback prospects Rypien was third in third down conversions (48.4%). Brett Rypien is the 2018 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. Rypien meets all of Bill Parcells' seven rules for drafting a quarterback. He has a 77% win percentage with 48 career starts and is a 4 year starter. Rypien had four games in 2018 in which he had a passer rating of over 200. Against Colorado State he had a completion percentage of 84.6%, passed for 308 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
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