The New York Giants have had a very active offseason to this point, with general manager Joe Schoen completing a trade for Brian Burns with the Carolina Panthers and letting veterans like Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney leave in free agency, but arguably the biggest part of the offseason for the team looms with the 2024 NFL Draft that is set to take place towards the end of April.
It will be interesting to see who the Giants end up with in the draft, and the general consensus is that the team will come away with either a quarterback or a wide receiver. However, it is impossible to predict where the team will go depending on how the board falls.
The Giants hold the No. 6 pick in the NFL Draft, and with many quarterback-needy teams ahead of them, as well as the possibility of a trade up, it is impossible to tell who will be available for Schoen to select in that spot. There could be other teams, like the Minnesota Vikings, who trade up ahead of the Giants to select a quarterback, and the Giants could trade up themselves.
The possibility of the Giants trading back from the No. 6 spot remains in play as well. So that brings other prospects in play as well.
That being said, there are two players specifically that Schoen and the Giants should avoid selecting in this 2024 NFL Draft, because they are not fits for the direction the franchise is heading into.
Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
Joe Alt might end up being one of the best players in this year’s draft, and he is a very athletic prospect with a lot of upside. However, he does not fit what this Giants team needs.
First of all, Joe Alt is predominantly a left tackle, and does not have much experience on the right side, which is where he would play. There is no way Andrew Thomas would be moved from left tackle. The difficulty of switching from left tackle to right is often understated.
The Giants also still have Evan Neal, and signed Jermaine Eluemunor in free agency. Those are two options at right tackle. Also, assuming the Giants are staying at the No. 6 pick, it is almost a certainty that one of the top three wide receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze will be there, if a quarterback Schoen likes is not available.
Joe Alt, while a great prospect, does not make sense for the Giants.
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
In all likelihood, Brian Thomas Jr. would be in play for the Giants if they trade back a few spots. It would be a shock if they take Thomas over someone like Harrison, Nabers or Odunze at No. 6. However, a move back in the first round seems in play.
Thomas is known as someone who burns teams deep. A receiver who is reliant on that, with the amount of two-high systems in the league, might have some trouble in the NFL. The Giants also have plenty of speed in the wide receiver room with Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt.
The role that the Giants need to fill at wide receiver is finding that true wide receiver one on the outside. Someone like Harrison or Odunze fits that mold. Nabers is not necessarily on the outside all of the time, but his explosivity gives him wide receiver one upside.
There are other receiving options who make more sense for the Giants in this draft, even past the top three of Harrison, Nabers and Odunze.
