The New York Giants passed on every top quarterback prospect in the 2018 NFL Draft with the sole exception of Baker Mayfield, who went to the Cleveland Browns at No. 1 overall, but they may get one last opportunity to rethink that decision.
It was reported on Wednesday that the Oakland A’s believe Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who was previously believed to be heading to Major League Baseball, will declare for the 2019 NFL Draft.
That’s significant because Kliff Kingsbury, who was hired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals earlier this week, said if provided the opportunity, he would take Murray at No. 1 overall in the draft.
“Kyler is a freak,” Kingsbury said in October via Yahoo! Sports. “I’d take him with the first pick in the draft if I could. I know he’s signed up to play baseball, but he is a dominant football player, and I would take him with the first pick.”
Kingsbury, ironically, now has that opportunity. The one problem is that the Cardinals, who were coached by Steve Wilks last season, selected quarterback Josh Rosen in Round 1 of the 2018 NFL Draft.
That, of course, mucks things up for Kingsbury unless, of course, they can find a way to trade Rosen and his rookie contract.
Enter general manager Dave Gettleman and the New York Giants.
Over the past week, we here at Giants Wire have examined the thin markets at the quarterback position, ranging from free agency to the trade market to the draft. And while there are a small handful of solid options, perhaps none would be better than Rosen, who now has a full year of NFL experience.
Gettleman has not been afraid to pull the trigger on trades if he feels they benefit the Giants, and they do have an overstock of picks in the upcoming draft – 11 to be exact.
But will the Cardinals actually be opening to trading for Rosen one year removed from handing their future over to him? That’s the million dollar question.
There were several bodies within the Giants organization who wanted to draft Rosen last year, but the shot-callers couldn’t come to an agreement on any one quarterback. They did, however, collectively believe running back Saquon Barkley was a sure thing.
“Us taking Saquon was not a referendum on the quarterbacks,” Gettleman said last week. “It was a referendum on Saquon – on the player he is, and on the person he is. If I was in that situation 100 times, I’d draft him 100 times.”
A trade of Rosen to the Giants is improbable, but not impossible. The Cardinals clearly have the potential motivation and the Giants have the means. It’ll be interesting to see if and how this situation unfolds.
