New York Giants Open To Drafting Eli Manning’s Successor
Could the New York Giants find Eli Manning’s successor in the 2017 NFL Draft?
The New York Giants are not looking forward to it, but they know it is coming; they will eventually be playing without Eli Manning at quarterback. At 36-years old, Manning is undoubtedly nearing the end of his playing career.
Finding a franchise quarterback is not easy. That is a luxury the Giants have had with Manning; he plays every week (knock on wood). But, they will have to start putting together contingency plans when Manning does decide to hang up his cleats and retire.
The Giants traded up to select Ryan Nassib in the 2013 NFL Draft as a developmental player. That did not pan out, as Nassib hit free agency this year and the Giants did not retain him. Instead, they overhauled the quarterback depth chart.
Behind Manning, the Giants will have Josh Johnson and Geno Smith this year. Johnson was with the team last year, while Smith was with the New York Jets and tore his ACL. They will battle it out for the backup spot during the offseason.
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There has been talk that Smith could be the successor for Manning down the road. At only 26-years old, Smith has plenty of room still to grow. He is excited for the opportunity to learn from Manning and has talent. He was selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Jets but couldn’t put everything together.
Smith got the short end of the stick at times with the Jets and being selected by an offensively inept head coach such as Rex Ryan didn’t help. Could the Giants get more out of Smith that the Jets were unable? We will have to wait and see.
If not Smith, the Giants will probably find Manning’s successor in the draft. Could that draft be this season?
"“I think we have to start thinking about it,” co-owner John Mara said. “I think you always have to look at drafting a quarterback where you can. Our philosophy going into the draft — at least mine — is just take the best player. It doesn’t matter what position he is. I think if there’s a chance to take a quarterback — it doesn’t have to be this year — then you should take him.”"
The Giants cannot ignore the quarterback position. If a player highly rated on their board falls to them, they will seriously consider taking that player. But, the Giants are in a peculiar position.
They are definitely in win-now mode. They know their time with Manning is winding down and want to make the most of it. They re-loaded their defense last season and have added players to help this season offensively. The Giants are most definitely gunning for a third Super Bowl title with Manning at the helm.
That will make it difficult to select a quarterback this year. They are already set at quarterback with Manning, Johnson, and Smith; a rookie selected in the mid or late rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft are unlikely to unseat either player behind Manning.
With a Super Bowl run in mind, can the Giants afford to select a quarterback early on? Say Deshaun Watson or Mitchell Trubisky fall to No.23; do the Giants pull the trigger on one of them if they like them enough? It is a conundrum the Giants will have to figure out in the coming weeks.
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Selecting a quarterback this season seems unlikely as the Giants don’t normally carry more than two quarterbacks, let alone four. But, things could change prior to the NFL Draft and a player the Giants love could fall into their laps, forcing their hand.