According to FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, multiple NFL sources familiar with the Giants’ thinking say North Carolina QB Drake Maye is the prospect most likely to entice the Giants into making a major trade up in the draft.
One league source told Vacchiano if the Commanders don’t select Maye at No. 2 overall, the Giants would try to coax the Patriots into trading down with them from No. 3 to No. 6.
Vacchiano adds it’s not clear if the Giants would be willing to be this aggressive for another prospect like LSU’s Jayden Daniels or Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. A team source also told Vacchiano the Giants haven’t finalized their draft board yet.
He also points out multiple sources expected the Commanders to select Maye with the No. 2 pick despite buzz connecting them to Daniels and even McCarthy.
“I think we’re at the point where people are just overanalyzing and forgetting all the reasons why Maye is one of the two best quarterbacks in this draft,” one NFL personnel executive told Vacchiano. “He’s a big kid [6-foot-4, 223] with a big arm who can run. Sure, he can be inconsistent and he made some throws in college that he shouldn’t have tried. But so did Josh Allen, and look how that worked out.”
Even if Maye is available with the third pick, Vacchiano says he’s found few people who think the Patriots would consider trading down and passing on a quarterback themselves.
And even if they did, the price would be high. A report from Patriots insider Tom Curran says the asking price would be more than three first-round picks. That might be different for the Giants given it’s just a three-pick drop but it’s still likely to be exorbitant.
New York has done extensive work on this quarterback class, with official 30 visits, private workouts and more with most of the top prospects.
The team still has veteran QB Daniel Jones under contract and has said he will start Week 1 if his rehab from a torn ACL continues to go well. Long-term, Jones’ status is in doubt, however.
The Giants are picking ahead of all but five teams this year. Still, that might not be high enough to land a quarterback of the future.
Maye, 21, is one of the best overall prospects in the 2024 draft class. He earned first-team All-ACC honors last season and was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2022.
Some evaluators believe he’s the best quarterback in this class, despite the group including USC’s Caleb Williams.
During his three-year college career at UNC, Maye appeared in 30 games and completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 8,018 yards, 63 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,209 yards and 16 touchdowns.
We’ll have more on the Giants and their plans with the No. 6 pick as the news is available.
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