It’s no coincidence that college quarterback phenoms Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen declared for the NFL Draft on the same day New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning turned 37.
The Giants have the No. 2 pick in April’s draft. The last time they held a top-five pick (2004), they drafted Philip Rivers and traded him to the then-San Diego Chargers for Manning. Of course, it is way too early to speculate on what the Giants will do with the pick. At the same time, the No. 2 pick got a lot more valuable once Darnold and Rosen decided to end their college eligibility.
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Giants general manager Dave Gettleman now has an incredible amount of leverage and options at his disposal.
Darnold and Rosen are near-universally regarded as the top two quarterback prospects in the draft. Darnold, who spent two seasons at USC, is an athletic quarterback with the size and arm strength necessary to succeed at the NFL level. He also has the perfect demeanor for an NFL quarterback.
Rosen is a more cerebral signal caller out of UCLA. He also has the prototypical size and arm strength and a beautiful throwing motion. There’s no throw that Rosen can’t make but he does come with a little more baggage than Darnold. Rosen also reportedly wants to play in New York and has to desire to suit up for the Cleveland Browns, owner of the first overall pick.
Gettleman has already gone on the record about the possibility of selecting a quarterback, regardless of if he still has Manning and Davis Webb on the roster.
“I’ll address that right now,” Gettleman said. “Let me tell you something: I don’t care what position it is; you can never have too many great players at one position.”
If the Giants think they’ve found their franchise quarterback for the next ten to fifteen years, they have to get the deal done. If not, they have the option of dealing the pick to a team who is enamored with one of these players and will offer a king’s ransom for the chance to draft him.
The Giants are in a pretty good position right now. It doesn’t matter which path Gettleman will take because either option can only benefit the team. The only thing Gettleman can’t do is screw this up.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
