The Giants’ hopes of trading up to draft a quarterback vanished about four hours before first-round picks were to be made.
Just before making one final call to Patriots executive Elliott Wolf to see if the Giants could move from the sixth pick to the third, general manager Joe Sean told co-owner John Mara he had no intention of emptying the coffers to find a replacement for Daniel Jones, as shown Tuesday on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
“Our departure scenario is, if it’s a big trade like Ricky Williams, we’ll take Daniel,” Sean said, referencing the infamous 1999 New Orleans-Washington trade.
Sure enough, “hyperbole” Wolf floated a scenario that included the Giants’ first-, second- and third-round picks in 2024 and their first- and second-round picks in 2025.
It was too expensive for the Giants, but they ended up drafting coveted receiver Malik Neighbors.
“I’m nervous about giving up so much for a quarterback,” Mara admitted. “If this deal gets done, I’ll have palpitations. But I have to stick to my guns, and that means if you guys have confidence in the quarterback, we’re going to go for it.”
Thus ends the baseless conspiracy theory that Mara blocked the draft of a quarterback to protect his $160 million investment in Jones.
Head coach Brian Daboll and assistant director of player personnel Dennis Hickey informed Sean that they intended to trade up to acquire Jayden Daniels.
Assistant head coach Mike Kafka echoed the sentiment about trading up for Drake Maye, who was yelling at the top of his lungs during a coaching meeting during a visit to East Rutherford.
The Patriots went on to draft Maye with the No. 3 pick.
Daboll asked Daniels, who ultimately was selected No. 2 by Washington, if he wanted to be the Giants’ quarterback because “it’s about wanting to do it.”
“It’ll feel good,” Daniels said.
“My gut feeling is we’re kind of a kite at the mercy of the wind right now with the uncertainty of the quarterback situation,” Sean said early in the process. “We’ve got to secure a quarterback, so that’s the hardest part for me right now.”
What’s interesting, however, is that Sean’s pre-draft discussion with Jones about potentially drafting someone to replace him was not aired, with Sean instead summarizing the conversation to senior personnel consultant Chris Mara (John’s brother).
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Daniel,” Sean told Chris Mara, “you’ve missed 17 games since 2021 for one reason or another, including a neck injury and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.”
“I said, ‘I’m not recruiting you. We still believe in you, but I have to do what’s best for the organization and go through the process. I haven’t given up on you. … But I don’t want you to be surprised when you walk into the cafeteria and see Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy.’
The real signal came from Wolf asking for multiple 2025 draft picks in the trade.
At that point, Sean looked at receivers Neighbors, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze and made contingency plans to trade up to No. 4 or 5 or down to No. 7 or 9.
Receivers coach Mike Groh met with all three receivers at once during a facility visit to review their plays and ended the meeting by telling John Mara that Neighbors was his preference over Harrison, the consensus top prospect.
“If we have Marvin or Malik, we’re still at No. 6,” Sean told John Mara, co-owner Steve Tisch and Daboll an hour before the draft began. “Turn your card in and you’ll have the No. 1 receiver.”
If Nabors, Harrison, quarterback Caleb Williams, Daniels and Maye occupy the top five picks, Sean said he would make a trade with the Bears, swap picks to move down to No. 9, add third- and fourth-round picks and give up a fifth-round pick.
The GM was confident he would end up using Odunze or tight end Brock Bowers in that situation.
The video suggests that McCarthy and left tackle Joe Alt were never seriously considered, with Sean telling director of player personnel Tim McDonnell, “Really? [the Chargers] “Play No. 5 tackle,” McDonnell urged Sean, then called Titans general manager Lan Carson about swapping No. 6 and No. 7 if Neighbors and Harrison were unavailable.
But as The Post previously reported, discussions leading up to draft day presented a strong case for Alto to be drafted.
His presence would have softened the blow of the disappointment caused by right tackle Evan Neal, who was placed on the physically unable to play list at the start of training camp on Tuesday.
