2022 NFL Draft: For Giants, a quarterback decision is looming ... just probably not right now

The 2022 NFL Draft is a critical one for the New York Giants.

The Giants have needs across the roster on a team that has suffered double-digit losses in five consecutive seasons. They have a rookie GM and head coach in Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, respectively, trying to get their regime off to a good start. They have owners tired of both losing and changing decision-makers. They have a beaten-down fan base expecting the organization to somehow screw it all up, because that is what they have become accustomed to.

Over the next few days, we will go position by position through the roster to assess needs, possibilities and try to predict what the Giants might do — and when they might do it — in the upcoming draft.

We will start where everything starts in the NFL — quarterback.

Giants 2022 draft picks

Round 1 (No. 5)
Round 1 (No. 7)
Round 2 (No. 36)
Round 3 (No. 67)
Round 3 (No. 81)
Round 4 (No. 112)
Round 5 (No. 147)
Round 5 (No. 173)
Round 6 (No. 182)

The current depth chart

Starter — Daniel Jones
Backups — Tyrod Taylor, Davis Webb, Brian Lewerke

Schoen, Daboll and John Mara have said it over and over, and there is zero reason not to believe them — they are committed to giving Jones a full opportunity to show the new regime whether or not he can be the quarterback the new regime hitches its wagon to long-term.

Entering his fourth season, the 2019 sixth overall pick is on his third head coach, his second general manager and his fourth offensive play caller.

“We do feel Daniel can play,” Mara said back in January. ”We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up.”

Is it too late for Jones? Maybe. You could even say probably. Still, considering the NFL’s awful track record in drafting and developing quarterbacks, and the questionable nature of the 2022 quarterback draft class, it is impossible in my view to blame the Giants for making one final try with Jones.

The Giants have been crystal clear that Taylor, the most accomplished backup quarterback the Giants have had since David Carr spent the 2009, 2009 and 2012 seasons caddying for Eli Manning, is in East Rutherford as the backup.

Davis Webb, picked in Round 3 by Jerry Reese back in 2017, is likely the No. 3 quarterback. Lewerke is a camp arm and maybe a practice squad candidate.

The 2022 draft class

Round 1 possibilities

Malik Willis, Liberty
Kenny Pickett, Pitt
Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati

The Giants are unlikely to use one of their two top 10 picks on a quarterback. That would fly in the face of everything they have said thus far, and is a position yours truly absolutely supports. There is no Trevor Lawrence in this draft class. No Joe Burrow. No quarterbacks, truthfully, who would be top 10 picks in most years.

Here is what two GMs told Peter King:

GM4: “[GM] Scott Fitterer is well-respected, and I feel bad for him. I’d hate to need a quarterback this year, with an owner all over you to find one, and have to draft one with this group. No one feels great about any of these guys. [Pitt’s Kenny] Pickett is probably the best one, and he’s a maybe.”

GM5: “There’s not a generational talent in this draft, and there’s certainly not one at quarterback. You get in trouble reaching for a quarterback. Somebody’s gonna reach for one because of need, maybe more than one, and then you put more pressure on the guy you pick because your fans expect a first-round quarterback to play.”

Day 2 (Rounds 2-3) possibilities

Matt Corral, Ole Miss
Sam Howell, North Carolina
Carson Strong, Nevada

I have said in the past that I could see and understand a scenario where the Giants feel strongly enough about a quarterback to take one on Day 2. It isn’t a scenario I prefer. It basically makes Jones a dead man walking as the Giants’ starter, again flying in the face of what the organization has said for the past three months. It would mean no fifth-year option for whoever the drafted quarterback would be. It would also mean passing on a talented player who could likely start immediately, especially at pick No. 36.

The quarterback in this range the Giants have been connected to is Howell. The organization had a heavy presence at Howell’s Pro Day. They have also hosted him for a private visit.

Day 3 (Rounds 4-6) possibilities

Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky
Kaleb Eleby, Western Michigan
Jack Coan, Notre Dame
E.J. Perry, Brown
Cole Kelley, Southeastern Louisiana
Skylar Thompson, Kansas State

When I have done my weekly mock draft, I sometimes consider quarterbacks. QB Country’s David Morris works with Zappe, Eleby and Kelley, and talked about them on the ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast.

Our Mark Schofield and Matt Waldman of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio are both fans of Kansas State’s Thompson, a player who has been largely overlooked.

Final thoughts

In the end, I think the Giants are going to focus on building the roster and will punt the quarterback decision into 2023 when there is said to be a deeper, more exciting class. A Day 2 shot on Howell or a Day 3 flier on a quarterback, however unlikely to pay big-time long-term dividends, is not, though, out of the question.