New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has taken a lot of heat for selecting former Duke quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in the NFL Draft, as many believe he could have taken a different player there and still gotten Jones at No. 17 when the Giants picked again. Had the second pick been higher than 17, Gettleman may have gone with that approach.
Gettleman told reporters over the weekend that he “agonized” over whether to take Jones at No. 6 or star pass-rusher Josh Allen. He then said he “knows for a fact” that there were two teams picking before 17 that would have taken Jones. Peter King of NBC Sports says he could not identify those teams, but he was told by Broncos president of football operations John Elway that Gettleman called Denver about possibly moving up to No. 10.
Many have speculated that the Broncos are one of the two teams Gettleman was referring to when he said Jones would have been gone by the 17th pick, but Mike Klis of 9News reports that Drew Lock was always the No. 1 quarterback on their draft board. They were able to get the former Missouri star in the second round.
It was NOT the Broncos. They were not taking any QB at 10. And Drew Lock was their No 1 QB on board, not Jones. There was some talk of trading back into late first round for Lock. But no QB at 10. Sorry Mr. Gettleman, Broncos can’t bail ya out on this one. #9sports https://t.co/DB4wGg0kq2
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) April 28, 2019
Personally, we like Jones as an NFL prospect and think the Giants made a good pick. The New York media clearly feels they reached by drafting him so early in the first round, but you can’t put a price on a player you believe can become a franchise quarterback. People said the same when the Cleveland Browns drafted Baker Mayfield first overall last year, and that already looks like it is going to pay off. Gettleman shouldn’t feel the need to justify his decision.
