There are three big surprises about the Giants’ 2024 NFL Draft class. General manager Joe Schoen did not use any of his six picks on a quarterback, he did not address the offensive or defensive lines, and he did not trade up or down at any point during the seven rounds. The last two points are big departures from Schoen’s strategy during his first two drafts in charge.
There are three big surprises about the Giants’ 2024 NFL Draft class.
General manager Joe Schoen did not use any of his six picks on a quarterback, he did not address the offensive or defensive lines, and he did not trade up or down at any point during the seven rounds. The last two points are big departures from Schoen’s strategy during his first two drafts in charge.
The Giants got faster and more athletic on both sides of the ball, with an even split of three offensive and three defensive picks.
Here are The Post’s pick-by-pick grades for the Giants’ draft class:Round 1, No. 6 overall: Malik Nabers (WR, LSU) ( A-)
The Giants would have preferred quarterback Drake Maye, but their trade packages to get up to No. 3 were rejected by the Patriots.
Not a bad pivot when some teams reportedly had Nabers graded as the No. 1 receiver and No. 2 overall player. The Giants ranked receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. ahead of Nabers, but Harrison went No. 4.
Nabers, who is the all-time leading receiver at a program that produced Odell Beckham Jr., Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, should be the high-volume No. 1 target that the Giants have been looking for since trading Beckham. in 2019. He should be the featured playmaker in the first year post-Saquon Barkley.
Nabers also checks two boxes that head coach Brian Daboll looks for in receivers: He gains easy separation and he is inside/outside versatile.
For Schoen, it sounded like Nabers’ reputation for not missing practices or games even when injured was big, especially with the Giants having the most injured players miss games over the last 10 years, per various analytics sites.
