The New York Giants spent the sixth overall pick in last year’s draft on Daniel Jones, and general manager Dave Gettleman clearly believes the former Duke star can become a franchise quarterback. However, that hasn’t stopped the team from gathering extensive information on one of the top players at the position heading into this year’s draft.
The Giants have dedicated a significant amount of time to researching former Oregon star quarterback Justin Herbert, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Media report. The gathering of intel has included new head coach Joe Judge having FaceTime conversations with Herbert.
A draft tidbit to file away for Thursday: The #Giants have spent a lot of time researching #Oregon QB Justin Herbert, a process that’s included FaceTime conversations with coach Joe Judge, per me and @MikeGarafolo. NYG has been exhaustive in its draft prep at No. 4.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2020
It seems extremely unlikely that the Giants would use another top pick on a quarterback, especially after Jones showed some promising flashes last season. New York has the No. 4 overall pick, and you have to wonder if they leaked that information in an attempt to make QB-needy teams think they may have to trade up if they want to assure themselves an opportunity to draft Herbert or Tua Tagovailoa.
Gettleman is not big on draft day trades, but Peter King of NBC Sports reported on Monday that teams picking in the top 10 believe the GM is open to trading back this year. If you combine that report with what Rapoport and Garafolo said, it’s not hard to imagine the Giants are trying to increase the value of the No. 4 pick.
There has been a wide range of opinions regarding where Herbert will be drafted, but it would be a surprise if he slips past the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 6. Most teams view him as either the second- or third-best quarterback in the draft behind Joe Burrow.
