Replacing a Legend: The New York Giants future at Quarterback

Eli Manning is entering his 16th season as the New York Football Giants quarterback.  The two time Super Bowl MVP has declined over the last few years. In 2017, the Giants finished with a dismal 3 win season.  While this past season, they concluded with a modest 5 wins. Big Blue’s lack of success can’t be blamed solely on Manning, but his downturn has been obvious.  The Giants’ field general is 38 years of age and in the final year of his contract. The team will need a replacement following this upcoming season.

In the 2019 NFL Draft, the G-Men own the 6th overall pick and also the 17th selection (from Cleveland), courtesy of the Odell Beckham Jr. trade.  The team reportedly has interest in Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and Ohio State’s standout, Dwayne Haskins. Murray is expected to be off the board by the Giants pick with the recently reported interest by the new Arizona Cardinals head coach, Kliff Kingsbury. Arizona owns the top pick of this year’s draft. With Murray potentially off the board by the time the Giants pick, there are other teams likely to have interest in Haskins.  Not only the teams who are currently ahead of the Giants in the draft, like the Oakland Raiders (4th pick) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5th pick) could select Haskins, but other teams like the Miami Dolphins (13th pick) and the Washington Redskins (15th pick) could trade up ahead of New York to select Haskins.

I think that the Giants should use the 17th overall pick and package that with their 5th round pick (142nd overall) to trade for Arizona’s Josh Rosen.  Rosen was the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Like earlier stated, there is reported interest between the Cardinals and Murray. Last season, Rosen had a 55.2% completion rating with 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions which accumulates to a 66.7 passer rating (NFL.com).  The rookie showed signs of being a successful NFL quarterback while not having the greatest “surrounding cast”. With this trade, Big Blue could find another asset to fill a hole at a position that is needed. The Giants have multiple needs in the offensive line and their d-line. Josh Allen (Kentucky), Rashan Gary (Michigan), and Clelin Ferrell (Clemson) are just a few edge rushers the Giants could select at the sixth pick that would bolster that position.  This would be the most ideal situation for New York while they are adding a lot of young talent at multiple positions, especially quarterback.