The Giants had six picks in this NFL Draft, but none of them were quarterbacks.
It wasn’t for lack of trying.
It’s no secret that they tried to trade up from No. 6 overall to No. 3 to get the Patriots’ pick to select Drake Maye.
The Giants made a serious offer, believed to be a second-round pick this year and a first-round pick in 2025, but the Patriots chose not to trade him, making May their own.
Daniel Jones will now be the Giants’ starting pitcher again.
“For me, as I said in January after the season, our expectation was that Daniel was going to be the starter, we put Drew Lock in as his backup and we started Tommy.” [DeVito] On Saturday, when the Giants finally played, general manager Joe Schon said: “That’s where we are and where we are going into the season. Daniel still has three years left on his contract. So the situation today is where we are.”
It was no surprise that the Giants were interested in taking a running back on the third day of the draft. However, it may have been a little surprising that they waited until the fifth round and brought in Tyron Tracy Jr. from Purdue.
A year ago, the Giants drafted a running back in the fifth round, but Eric Gray didn’t do much as a rookie in 2023.
The Giants hope Tracy can be more productive in his first year.
Of course, this cannot be considered a replacement for Saquon Barkley, who was unable to agree to a new contract after six years with the Giants and ended up signing with the rival Eagles.
Tracy transitioned to wide receiver and played that position for four years at the University of Iowa.
He transferred to Purdue and became a running back for his remaining two years in college.
After six years at the school, Tracy, 24, is an older prospect. He turns 25 on November 23rd.
The advantage of this is that there is less wear and tear on his body since he spent so much time as a receiver.
In 2023, Tracy led the Big Ten with 716 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt.
His 23.1 percent explosive batting average is the best in this year’s draft class and ranks in the 97th percentile among all prospects since 2018, according to Pro Football Focus.
He averaged 4.44 yards after contact, which was tops among running backs in the draft.
He also averaged 25.5 yards on 16 kickoff returns.
Considering the NFL rule changes introduced to encourage more returns, special teams could be an avenue for Tracy to see the field.
After Barkley’s departure, the Giants signed veteran Devin Singletary to be their starting pitcher.
The running back roster includes Gray, Gary Brightwell and Ja’Sean Corbin. This is where Tracy joins the mix.
In the sixth round, the Giants acquired linebacker Darius Muasau from UCLA.
He played three years in Hawaii, where his special teams coordinator was Michael Ghobrial, who is in his first year leading the Giants’ special teams.
“He’s my sweetheart,” Muasau said.
Teo Johnson, the Giants’ fourth-round pick from Penn State, said that shortly after he heard his name called, he received a message from Barkley from one former Nittany Lion congratulating another player. Ta.
“If he was still around, it would have been really cool to play with him, but we’ll see what happens in the future,” Johnson said of Barkley, who is now with the Eagles. “I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
