Giants Meet With A.J. Brown
- The Redskins plan to host Duke quarterback Daniel Jones for a pre-draft visit next week, according to JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington. Once viewed as more of a Day 2 selection, Jones could be pushed into Round 1, and the division-rival Giants are reportedly interested in taking Jones with the 17th overall pick. A three-year starter, Jones completed 60.5% of his passes for 2,674 yards, 22 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 2018. Washington acquired Case Keenum earlier this year and still has Alex Smith on the books, but is in need of a long-term signal-caller given Smith’s health question marks.
- Ole Miss wide receiver A.J. Brown met with the Giants today and will visit the Redskins on Thursday, tweets Rapoport. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah pegs Brown as a fringe first-rounder, ranking him 36th on his most recent list of 2019’s top-50 prospects. Brown, who stands 6’1″, 225 pounds, managed at least 75 catches and 1,250 yards in each of the past two seasons. NFL clubs are reportedly pleased with Brown’s versatility, and many teams believe he can play both outside and in the slot, per James Palmer of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Giants Host Clemson DL Dexter Lawrence
The Giants are said to be eyeing pass rushers with their No. 6 overall pick, and while Clemson defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence does not fit the bill per se, he would be a strong addition to the club’s front seven. Per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, the Giants hosted Lawrence on a pre-draft visit today (Twitter link).
Lawrence is a first-round talent, and given the mass exodus of defensive playmakers that Big Blue has witnessed over the last several seasons, it would not be particularly surprising to see the club double dip on defense in the first round of the 2019 draft. In addition to the No. 6 pick, the Giants also hold the No. 17 selection, and Lawrence may still be on the board when they are on the clock with the latter choice.
Lawrence finished his collegiate career with 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss, and while he may not be a sack machine at the next level, he does offer the ability to apply at least some interior pressure.
As Garafolo notes, Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher was in attendance at Lawrence’s pro day.
Giants To Host S Taylor Rapp
- Rapp will be receiving a nice tour of the country this month, with a three-time zone trip on the horizon. The Lions, Rams, Giants and Panthers also booked pre-draft summits with the Washington safety, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com notes. A three-year Huskies contributor, Rapp intercepted seven passes and made at least 50 tackles in each of his college campaigns. Pauline expects Rapp to be a second-round pick.
Giants Rumors: Haskins, Draft, Manning
More steam is building for the Giants bypassing a quarterback at No. 6 overall to take a pass rusher. They have been rumored to be interested in this draft’s bevy of front-seven talents while simultaneously being less than enthralled by this crop of passers. One Giants source informed Ralph Vacchiano of SNY the team will have a tough time passing on a defender at 6.
“There are a ton of great defensive players in this draft,” the source told Vacchiano. “As much as we need a young quarterback, I honestly don’t know how we can pass on one of the pass rushers at 6.”
This follows a Vacchiano report that indicates the Giants are “strongly” leaning in the direction of drafting a pass rusher at No. 6. The Giants’ visit list, so far, includes Nick Bosa and Josh Allen. Both players may be gone by the time New York’s first draft window opens, with Quinnen Williams possibly set to be a top-five selection as well. However, players like Montez Sweat, Ed Oliver and Rashan Gary may well still be on the board at that point. The Giants have gutted their pass rush in consecutive offseasons, trading Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon. They finished with 30 sacks in 2018 — the second-lowest total in the league. New York added Markus Golden in free agency but still needs help on the edge.
Here is the latest on the Giants, shifting to the other side of this debate:
- Despite this buzz surrounding Big Blue and pass rushers, the Giants still have a glaring long-term need at quarterback. And this is peak smokescreen time. As the Giants continue to research Dwayne Haskins, they remain pleased with the results, per Vacchiano. Should the Cardinals be running a historic Kyler Murray smokescreen operation and the Heisman Trophy winner drops to the Giants, Vacchiano adds they would still take Haskins over the 5-foot-10 passer. The Ohio State breakout star is the likely choice, if, in fact, the Giants go quarterback at 6. Haskins is set to visit the Giants.
- The Giants also sound interested in filling their post-Manning quarterback need via trade for Josh Rosen, if he becomes available. They have discussed this internally and are expected to be a suitor, and many around the league believe New York’s No. 37 overall pick would be enough to get this done. The Giants do not have their own third-round pick, which would have been near the top of the round, but do hold a No. 95 choice as a result of the Odell Beckham Jr. trade. That by itself might not be sufficient for the Cardinals’ 2018 first-round QB.
- The Eli Manning-in-2020 rumors may be quite legitimate. Giants brass do not believe the 38-year-old quarterback has declined to the degree most of the NFL media does, Vacchiano notes. The hope remains the Giants will have Manning’s heir apparent lined up this year, and Daniel Jones has now surged into the conversation, but Vacchiano adds the Giants “will not hesitate” to extend Manning into 2020 if not. They would like him to mentor his successor, whether said passer arrives this year or next.
- Dave Gettleman is taking plenty of heat for his offseason decisions, most notably the ones that sent away Beckham and Landon Collins. But Giants ownership is fully on board with the second-year GM’s plan, Vacchiano writes, adding that ownership likes that Gettleman has attempted to create a better culture in the locker room.
- Pass rushers and quarterbacks aside, the Giants are on linebacker Devin White’s visit list.
Nick Bosa To Visit 4 Teams
Nick Bosa is not expected to have to wait long to hear his name called during the first round of the upcoming draft, in the event the Cardinals indeed pass on him. Teams with a combination of a high pick and an edge-rushing need are going to bring in the Ohio State standout.
The Cardinals and Giants will bring in Bosa this week, Albert Breer of SI.com reports, adding that Bay Area trips — to meet with both the 49ers and Raiders — are on tap next week.
Bosa has already had dinner with both Cardinals and 49ers representatives, but official visits to the teams holding the top picks in this draft are on tap. Nearly all mock drafts have Bosa going to one of these two NFC West franchises, most now sending him to San Francisco given the Kyler Murray-Cardinals noise.
The Giants are not believed to be interested in packaging their two first-round picks to move up. The team operating this way would almost certainly prevent landing Bosa. The Raiders hold three first-round picks, but with teams ahead of them linked to Bosa, moving up might be difficult. Oakland finishing last season with just 13 sacks — the lowest team total since the 2008 Chiefs — may further drive the franchise toward addressing this need early in Round 1, however.
Nick Bosa did not boast Joey Bosa–caliber stats while with the Buckeyes, registering 17.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss in his three-season run in Columbus. But he has been universally regarded as a top-tier prospect, as his brother was three years ago.
LB Devin White To Visit Giants
One of the top defenders available in a defense-heavy prospect pool, Devin White has begun to set up pre-draft visits. The Giants, Bengals and Buccaneers will host the LSU-developed linebacker, Amie Just of NOLA.com notes. All three teams pick in the top 11, and White has been often mocked to be off the board in between the Bucs’ No. 5 pick and the Bengals’ No. 11 choice. Although the Giants could use a young inside linebacker alongside Alec Ogletree, they have been linked to pass rushers at No. 6 — if they don’t, in fact, select their next quarterback then. The Bengals have a need on their defensive second level, which now lacks Vontaze Burfict. Tampa Bay lost Kwon Alexander but still has Lavonte David. Kendell Beckwith, White’s college teammate, missed all of last season.
Giants Interested In Duke QB Daniel Jones With No. 17 Pick?
Most of the speculation concerning the Giants’ quarterback of the future this offseason has centered around Ohio State signal-caller Dwayne Haskins and current Cardinals QB Josh Rosen. However, Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com says that there is an increasing amount of buzz that the team will use its No. 17 overall pick on Duke quarterback Daniel Jones.
New York, of course, is now armed with two picks in the first round, No. 6 and No. 17, and GM Dave Gettleman has indicated that the successor to Eli Manning will need to be a first-round choice. But Giants brass is reportedly not enamored with Haskins, and it is not yet clear whether Arizona will make Rosen available. The Giants could obviously choose to not select a quarterback at all in the first round and put off acquiring Manning’s replacement for another year, but after Gettleman eschewed taking one of the top signal-callers in last year’s QB-rich draft, that could create a lot of unease in the Big Apple.
Dunleavy goes on to explore Jones’ potential upside, and his sources say that Jones is more fundamentally sound than he is flashy, which seems to suggest that while he may have a high floor, his ceiling may also be relatively low. The mental aspect of his game is pro-ready, but his ability to move around in the pocket and make throws beyond the intermediate range is in question. He also does not have much of a track record against top-level defenses.
He does, though, have a relationship with the Manning brothers, and he played under former Peyton Manning mentor David Cutcliffe with the Blue Devils. He threw for a career-high 22 touchdown passes in 2018, and he threw for between 2,650 and 2,850 yards in each of his three seasons as Duke’s starter. He was the Blue Devils’ first-stringer throughout his career.
Poll: Should Giants Trade For Josh Rosen?
NFL teams in need of a long-term answer at quarterback appear to have an interesting opportunity this offseason. One of 2018’s top quarterback prospects may well be available at a discount rate — both financially and in terms of draft capital — less than a year after being selected.
Nothing has cooled on the Cardinals-Kyler Murray front, leaving Josh Rosen as one of the more intriguing potential trade chips in memory. Kliff Kingsbury in February said Rosen would be the starting quarterback on his first Cardinals team, and while he has not officially changed his stance on this, the odds entering April of Rosen having a second opportunity with the Cards look longer than the likelihood of the UCLA product being traded.
The Giants loom as a possible landing spot. If/when Rosen becomes available, one of the teams that passed on him last year will be interested. Big Blue did not have a consensus on the top quarterback in last year’s draft, but with Eli Manning having recently turned 38 and Dave Gettleman having chosen Saquon Barkley over Sam Darnold 11 months ago, the prospect of a first-round quarterback talent being available at a lower rate has to be somewhat enticing — especially for a Giants team that has numerous needs on defense.
Gettleman traded both Jason Pierre-Paul, Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison and Eli Apple in the past year and opted against placing the Giants’ franchise tag on Landon Collins. The team has a few surefire starters — Alec Ogletree, Jabrill Peppers, Janoris Jenkins, Dalvin Tomlinson, B.J. Hill — but is lacking talent elsewhere on its first unit. Both of the Giants’ first-round picks could go toward rebuilding their defense. They are not looking to package their Nos. 6 and 17 picks to move up, either.
None of this year’s group of passing prospects has wowed the Giants, who have been up and down on Dwayne Haskins. If Big Blue is dead-set on the Ohio State-honed quarterback, this is a fairly big secret. Gettleman, however, said his Manning successor will need to be a first-round pick. None of this year’s quarterbacks would outrank Rosen as prospects, in the eyes of multiple high-profile evaluators, either. Prior to selecting Barkley, though, the Giants may not have had Rosen as one of the top-three quarterbacks on their board last year.
The Cardinals took Rosen at No. 10 overall, giving up merely third- and fifth-round draft picks to move up five spots last year. The results were not pretty.
Rosen completed 55 percent of his passes, averaged 5.8 yards per attempt and threw 11 touchdown passes compared to 14 interceptions. He finished with a league-worst 26.1 Total QBR. Football Outsiders assessed the 6-foot-4 passer as last year’s worst full-time quarterback, with Rosen’s DVOA and DYAR figures well behind the pack. Arizona, though, employed two offensive coordinators last year and experienced rampant trouble on its offensive line, creating a shaky setup for a rookie quarterback.
It will almost certainly not cost a team a first-round pick to land Rosen this year. A second, or possibly a third, figures to be enough to pry the 2018 prospect away. The Giants hold the No. 37 overall pick but do not have another selection until No. 132; Big Blue’s third-rounder went toward 2018 supplemental draft cornerback Sam Beal. This would complicate a Giants trade for Rosen, with other teams seemingly likely to pursue the low-cost passer as well. With the Cardinals having paid his signing bonus, a team acquiring Rosen would have him for less than $7MM through the 2021 season. That is obviously great value, if a team believes the 22-year-old is a worthwhile starter.
So should the Giants be the team that pulls the trigger for Rosen, or should they focus on one of this year’s rookie QBs? After his rough debut season, do you view him as a legitimate option to be a long-term starter? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Should the Giants trade for Josh Rosen?
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Yes 75% (1,822)
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No 25% (592)
Total votes: 2,414
Giants Notes: Foles, Manning, Draft
For a minute there, the Eagles considered tagging quarterback Nick Foles. This week, owner Jeff Lurie confirmed what had been widely rumored – the tag was considered only to stop Foles from potentially leaving for the rival Giants or Redskins (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com). However, when it became apparent to the Redskins that Foles would be leaving the conference altogether by signing with the Jaguars, the Eagles opted against the move.
- As the Giants evaluate their future at the quarterback position, they have not ruled out the possibility that Eli Manning could be their QB in 2020, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY hears. If the Giants do not draft a QB at No. 6 or No. 17 overall or trade for Cardinals QB Josh Rosen, this could be the most likely outcome. From there, the Giants would kick the can down the road into 2020, when they would (finally) select Manning’s heir.
- The Redskins will move former Giants first-round pick Ereck Flowers from tackle to guard, as John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. They don’t expect there to be much of a learning curve, however. “With his strength and his size and his ability to move I think it will be a natural easy fit,” head coach Jay Gruden said. “[When] we drafted Brandon I remember they came out in the same class and rated right next to each other. Ereck was more a tackle and Brandon projected more of a guard. Both are athletic big and can move. It will be an easy transition.”
Giants To Explore Josh Rosen Trade
The Giants have internally considered a trade for Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. However, those conversations have been extremely preliminary, as the Giants are still unsure about Rosen’s availability. 
Rumors of the Cardinals targeting quarterback Kyler Murray have swirled over the last couple of months and nothing is certain on that front with less than one month to go before they take the podium. Recently, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury did his best to quiet talk of the Cards drafting the former Oklahoma quarterback and moving on from Rosen, the UCLA product who was selected with the No. 10 overall pick last year.
“People have said a lot of things that are misconceptions, if you will,” Kingsbury said of the Rosen speculation. “Josh is a tremendous player, I’ve always thought, watching him at UCLA. He played his best football in a spread system, some similarities to what we do. He’s a tremendous thinker, very cerebral, can throw it with anybody.”
The Giants, meanwhile, are armed with the No. 6 and No. 17 overall picks in this year’s draft, but they’re not 100% sold on any of this year’s top QBs. Rosen could be had for a lot less than a first-round pick, and he has some fans in the building.