New York Giants ‘shocked’ NFL by passing on QB in 2024 NFL Draft

Are you still trying to process why the New York Giants ignored the quarterback position in the 2024 NFL Draft? Apparently, NFL talent evaluators are, as well.

Here is a note from a recent story by Jason LaCanfora of The Washington Post:

Every evaluator I spoke with was shocked the New York Giants sat out this draft’s quarterback derby. “They must really love their roster, but I don’t,” the GM said. “I don’t think they can win with that group and Daniel Jones.” The general belief is it was [Drake] Maye or nothing for the Giants at the most critical position, and after the Patriots stayed at No. 3 and took Maye, the Giants wound up with wide receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6.

LaCanfora said NFL evaluators expect the Giants to be in the quarterback market in the 2025 NFL Draft. That, of course, is not a shock.

BBV’s Chris Pflum took an early look at the 2025 quarterback class. Here is some of what NFL evaluators think.

Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

Via The Athletic:

“He’s an NFL guy,” said one former Pac-12 head coach who faced Colorado in 2023. “Is he the first pick of the draft? I don’t know, but I think he’s a real dude. I think he throws it well. He’s accurate. I think he’s a first-round draft pick. I think Deion’s going to try to win Shedeur the Heisman. I think they’ll be good. They have good wideouts. Their O-line will be better. I think they’ll be way better and they’ll have a good year.”

“I was more impressed with Shedeur than I thought I was gonna be,” said another former Pac-12 head coach. “But I didn’t think he was as good as some of the other (Pac-12) quarterbacks we saw, like (Michael) Penix and Caleb (Williams) and (Bo) Nix. But I will say, it was hard to tell with how much pressure he was under. He got pummeled. That was as hard as it gets, but if they can keep him upright, he can make plays and extend plays. I do think it’ll be a better evaluation this year of what he can really do.”

Via LaCanfora:

The same general managers and evaluators who told me months ago that the 2024 class would feature six first-round quarterbacks were in agreement that Sanders would have stood up comparatively well against Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye et al., and those evaluators are projecting Sanders will go much higher next year than mock drafts are predicting.

“He was [the top QB] for me if he came out this year,” said a longtime NFL evaluator whose scouting reports about the 2024 class proved salient. (He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the proprietary nature of scouting observations.) “You have to manage him a little differently, and Deion is going to be heavily involved … so you have to be prepared to deal with that bulls—. But I love watching that kid play. He’s a born winner.”

One NFL general manager, whose team could be in the quarterback draft market in 2025, said: “Absolutely, he was a first-round pick. Absolutely. There would have been seven [taken in the first round]. We obviously didn’t do as much work on him as the other quarterbacks once he announced he wasn’t coming out, but he would have been in the top three [quarterbacks] for us this year, I think, had he gone through the entire process. He probably would have been up there with Williams and Daniels.”

One agent who was involved in recruiting many members of the 2024 quarterback class and is preparing for the same in 2025 said: “He would have been under serious consideration with Washington [at the second pick] if he doesn’t stay in school. I honestly believe that, based on some of what I picked up through this process. This kid can really play. He’s got good accuracy. He can let it rip. He’s not a sprinter, but he’s more than athletic enough. He’s got some charisma to him. He has strong leadership traits. He’s more than tough enough.

“Now, his father is a total loose cannon, and this kid goes against Bill Parcells’s doctrine about the celebrity quarterback. … But that’s becoming more and more antiquated anyway, isn’t it?”

Justyce Gordon of the NFL Draft Scout newsletter:

As a passer, I believe Shedeur is a bit underrated, mainly because he played behind arguably the worst offensive line last year and wasn’t able to show all of his abilities consistently. In the pocket, Sanders shows the poise to feel pressure well with a good internal clock and is also underrated as an anticipatory thrower as he shows good timing when his receivers get open. As a decision-maker, Sander doesn’t get enough credit. He excels at avoiding bad throws and protecting the ball with smart decisions. When you watch him play, he takes his time, and if the throwing lane is not there, he will move on to the next progression or extend with his legs.

Shedeur is the best athlete of the three, in my opinion; he is a smooth athlete and nimble in space; when he extends play, he can be a legitimate threat to pick up chunk yards if you forget about him. When he extends or steps up into the pocket, Shedeur demonstrates nice footwork to reset and deliver when he finds an open man; and throws a tight/accurate ball as a result. Sander’s touch and overall placement on throws downfield is another strength of his. Whether back shoulder or leading his man, he’s able to place the ball well.

Carson Beck, Georgia

“I think he’ll be the No. 1 overall pick,” said one veteran SEC defensive coordinator. “A few things really stood out to me after playing him. He runs better than you think because he doesn’t do it often and he has such a quick release. He gets rid of it fast as s—. And he’s really intelligent. He’s one of the few quarterbacks who doesn’t look to the sidelines all the time. We were showing 0 (blitz) and he got them into a little quick screen. He’s really impressive.”

Gordon:

In my opinion, Beck is the best of the three quarterbacks going into next season. From a measurable standpoint, he possesses the ideal size, standing 6-4, 215. Pre- and post-snap, he displays an exceptional ability to process vs. Man and Zone coverage, throws with great anticipation, and is extremely accurate to all levels; he also shows a nice touch to take something off and drop it into tight windows.

Beck also possesses a plus arm to make all the throws and thread the needle in tight windows when necessary. Beck won’t shred a defense with his legs in space but he has very good pocket presence to feel pressure in the pocket, he is a good enough athlete to evade initial pressure and extend the play and can sneak for a first down and pick up yards in space when there is an opening. When extending plays and working outside the pocket, Beck is very smart, too; he does a good job keeping his head to find receivers working back to him; he is very accurate with placement. Although he shows the ability to make deep throws, there is some inconsistency with placement in tight windows. That’s an area of his I would like to see improvement on in 2024.

Quinn Ewers, Texas

Via The Athletic:

“I’m not that high on him,” said a DB coach who played Texas last year. “Overhyped. He has a good arm, and he did have a lot of talent around him, but you just see a bunch of stuff where you wonder what he’s doing out there.”

“I think he’s just still trying to figure things out,” said a veteran Big 12 assistant. “Sark (Steve Sarkisian) does such a good job of setting things up for him, and so you’ll see times where he’ll rip it, but then there are other times, he just seems to be a little timid.”

“I’m very curious to watch him this year,” said a Big 12 defensive assistant. “The last two years he had superstars around him. There’s some ‘Oh My God!’ throws on film that he made against Alabama, but he was just so inconsistent. I think he’s about average athletically.”

Gordon:

Ewers is comfortable and confident in the pocket as a passer, displays controlled footwork on release and stepping up in the pocket, along with noticeable poise to make good decisions and find check downs when everything is covered. Ewers is efficient placement on short/intermediate throws. His placement can be off at times with late anticipation, but overall, he shows consistency at those levels. Touch is overall solid for him, more so on deep vertical concepts when he can drop the ball in nicely. He also shows good placement underneath as well.

Much like Beck, Ewers is not special athletically, but he can extend well and steal yards if given space. In the pocket, he has very good poise to feel pressure and either step up or extend play with his legs and pick up yards with his legs. He is not much of a threat to hurt you downfield outside the pocket but is good at keeping his head up and finding an open man underneath.