thelesterlee
I try to avoid doing things I know I am not good at. Perhaps I’m terrified of being embarrassed but as I get older, I know what I’m good at and I certainly know what I suck at and I have no time to be sucking at things.
The New York Giants LOVE drafting in the Top 10 despite having no idea how to do it correctly. This year, the Giants once again find themselves with the no. 6 pick following another disappointing season and they have massive decisions to make.
But before we talk about what the Giants should do in the 2024 NFL Draft, we must first look back at the previous draft mistakes that got us to this point.
The Saquon Barkley draft
You can take this all the way back to the Dave Gettleman era. Gettleman was an arrogant, low-IQ, self-absorbed, tiny-dicked buffoon with no understanding of team building or draft value—who selected Saquon Barkley with the no. 2 pick in the 2018 draft.
The same draft where Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were all selected in the first round. And sure, Sam Darnold sucks but the Giants won 3 games in 2017 and their 36-year-old quarterback, Eli Manning, had the arm strength of a newborn baby.
So it made more sense to at least get a QB in the building with the No. 2 pick to learn under Eli for a year before the baton is passed.
BUT, since the Giants still believed in Eli for some reason, they should’ve traded down to get more assets later and drafted to solidify the most important group on the field, the line of scrimmage.
Drafting a running back with the No. 2 pick is organizational malpractice. People should’ve been fired that Friday night. Arrests should’ve been made. The FBI should’ve raided the Giants offices.
PFF ranked the New York Giants offensive line as the 26th in the NFL. Ereck Flowers was easily the worst left tackle in the sport. Using the second pick in a draft to select a running back who would be surrounded by defenders as soon as the ball gets snapped is odd.
You’d also have to factor in the rookie contract scale and realize that by drafting Saquon No. 2 overall, he’d instantly walk into the NFL as one of the Top 5 highest paid at his position without ever playing a single NFL snap.
The entire league is saying hey, it’s not a good idea to pay running backs unless YOU KNOW they are Alvin Kamara/Adrian Peterson level difference makers—which is increasingly rare in the modern NFL, and the Giants made Barkley the top 5 highest paid before he even debuted.
Plus, running backs are injury-prone players who lack longevity.
Saquon lost the 2020 season with an ACL tear. You cannot spend the SECOND PICK IN THE DRAFT for a win-now type player when you just won 3 games and your QB collapses whenever a pass rusher is within arm’s length. You should never be selecting a player that high who you don’t see being in your building for at least a decade.
Or maybe I’m wrong. I mean, the Giants went from 3 wins to 5 with Saquon. Nice.
Which leads to the next big mistake..
The Daniel Jones draft
In 2018, Odell Beckham Jr was the best quarterback on the roster. The team needed a quarterback and instead of selecting one in the year prior with the no. 2 pick and a far superior group of QBs, Dave Gettleman decided to use the no. 6 pick on Daniel Jones—a guy who no one had going in the first round and would absolutely be available in the second round but the Giants picked Jones because he was reminded them of Eli Manning. Always a great idea to draft a player no. 6 overall because he reminds of you a guy who was never better than like, the 9th best QB in the league. Genius level shit from Dave Gettleman.
Again, the Giants didn’t understand pick value.
Reaching for guys earlier than you need to is how you build a terrible team. The Giants won 2 Super Bowls off the backs of their incredible pass rush with Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Mathias Kiwanuka.
The 2018 Giants finished 31st in sacks. And the best player available at no. 6 was edge rusher, Josh Allen. Allen has made 2 All-Star teams as the anchor of the Jacksonville Jaguars defense.
Daniel Jones has made 0 All-Star teams and has more turnovers than passing touchdowns.
But there’s good news. Dave Gettleman is dead, or at least, he’s dead to me.
Joe Scheon is in charge now and he’s already proven he’s better at it than Gettleman. Brian Daboll looks like the correct coach here, although he did get into a turf war with the defensive coaches.
So far his first-round selections have been Kayvon Thibodeaux, Evan Neal and Deonte Banks who are all talented, high-character guys.
I trust Schoen actually knows what he’s doing and won’t waste the no 6. So let’s get into the 2024 NFL Draft.
What do the New York Giants need?
Before we get into specific players, we have to talk about what this team actually needs.
For the last three seasons, Daniel Jones has been throwing to guys who I would barely describe as ‘wide receivers’. 2 of Jones’s top 5 targets from last season won’t be on the team next season. Saquon is gone and Darren Waller is flirting with retirement.
Wan’dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt are good young receivers but they clearly have their limitations. The Giants need a true No. 1 receiver. It doesn’t matter who’s behind center. If their best option is Darius Slayton, moving the ball downfield will be impossible.
But maybe the receivers don’t have time to get open because the offensive line was so trash. The Giants quarterbacks were the most sacked last season. 20 more times than the second worst team. 20 MORE TIMES.
And speaking of sacks, the 2023 Giants defense ranked 29th in sacks. They could not prevent sacks nor record them themselves. Kayvon Thibodeaux had 11.5 sacks. Dope. But he desperately needs a running mate on the other side.
Oh, and there’s the whole quarterback thing…
Is Daniel Jones good?
Daniel Jones is going into his 6th NFL season. Think about that. 6 years into his career and we’re still asking this question about a guy drafted in the first round. And sure, injuries have removed a lot of potential Daniel Jones game tape for us to comb through but he’s played enough.
Some guys simply don’t have the reaction time to handle the speed of the NFL.
Jones has terrible timing. He sucks, ya know.
He never knows when pass rushers are nearby leading to disgusting fumbles and getting sacked into oblivion all game long. Plus, he doesn’t trust his arm enough so he needs wide receivers to be 1000% open with no defenders around or else he won’t let it fly making the offensive line have to work longer which leads to more mistakes upfront. And when he does decide to take risks and let it fly, it’s almost always hitting a cornerback in the forearms.
He outruns linebackers to the first down marker like labrador retrievers can zero in and focus on the ball you threw across the room. That is a very cool skill that a fanbase will love one day when he comes in as a backup and wins them a game they for sure thought they would lose.
But as far as being a weekly starter that defenses intentionally gameplan against, no. At least not in New York. He had his chance. He won one playoff game in 5 years against the Minnesota Vikings and then looked like he was being asked to throw a medicine ball the following week against the Eagles.
It’s time for the Giants to stop punishing themselves for their old mistakes and wash themselves of their sins. Dave Gettleman is a war criminal.
So should the Giants draft a quarterback?
With the No. 6 pick in the draft and 3 of the 5 teams ahead of them also needing QBs, the Giants would be getting AT BEST, the 4th best quarterback in the draft. And that’s not including teams like the Raiders or Broncos—who could trade with the Cardinals or Chargers to leapfrog the Giants and take the 4th best QB on the board.
I am, however, all in on Michael Penix.
Michael Penix, if you can hear us.. please save us. Save us Michael Penix pic.twitter.com/CqkDMAZ2bh
— Ashton Anthony (@ashtongriffith_) March 6, 2024
Michael Penix may not have the ceiling or athleticism of Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye. Still, he is a ready-made product capable of competing in the NFL immediately, if given the correct situation.
A situation that understands his limitations and highlights what he does best. Like Tua Tagovailoa in Miami. We all know Tua struggles throwing far or, ya know, outside, but if you craft an offense that highlights his skills, you can be a playoff team and in this weak-ass NFC, you can sneak into the Super Bowl without even having to beat a great team.
Michael Penix Jr is better than Daniel Jones is right now. And you can wait for the second round to select him without reaching for a quarterback with the no. 6 pick which is the thing that happened with Jones in 2019 and put this organization in hell for a half-decade.
This season, Penix Jr freestyle rapped on the sidelines to his teammates about coming back against Oregon and then they came back against Oregon in a huge 36-33 win.
bro literally was freestyling about us making the comeback..9 is insane yall https://t.co/CPvtmpVOJN
— J MAC (@jalenmcmillan20) October 17, 2023
This Giants franchise has never had this level of swagger or confidence. My man is wearing a durag and freestyling about the game-winning touchdown he’s about to throw. When have you ever seen Daniel Jones on the sidelines inspiring the team, in rap or any other verbal format?
Go get MPJ in the second round.
But we still have the no. 6 pick…
Who should the Giants draft?
Joe Alt cutup pic.twitter.com/OYKGHPzvGM
— Theo Ash (@TheoAshNFL) March 5, 2024
Meet Joe Alt, the 6-foot-9, 231-pound offensive tackle out of Notre Dame. The man ran a 5.0 40-yard dash which is INSANE for a guy his size. Alt moves like King Kong chasing a dinosaur across Skull Island.
Imagine putting Joe Alt on the same line as All-Pro Andrew Thomas.
This is how you build a team. From the studs up. Protect your fucking quarterback. For the last 9-10 years, I’ve watched the Giants struggle to put together 5 humans capable of stopping defensive linemen from piledriving their quarterbacks. God, I would love nothing more than to witness a functional offensive line again.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Daniel Jones or Caleb Williams or Patrick Mahomes—nothing matters until the Giants figure out how to pass protect.
Get Joe Alt onto the New York Giants immmeeeeeziately.
Who do you think the Giants should draft with the no. 6 pick? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee. Let me know if you think the Giants should draft Drake Maye so I can bark at you.
