Todd McShay has delivered his first Mock Draft (1.0) in preparation for the 2019 NFL Draft and the ESPN expert has the New York Giants finding their quarterback of the future with their first-round draft pick.
McShay used ESPN’s Football Power Index to project where the Giants will be selecting in the draft in order to make his mock draft prediction. In the McShay Mock 1.0, the Giants select Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
“The more I watch this kid, the more I think he’s a legitimate first-round talent,” McShay wrote. “The Eli Manning era is nearing an end in New York, and Haskins addresses Big Blue’s most glaring need. You’d have to feel pretty good about an offense featuring Haskins, Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley. Now the Giants just need him to declare for the draft.”
Haskins is a New Jersey native, and if the accomplished Ohio State quarterback does decide to declare for the 2019 NFL Draft, he may end up being the first player at his position to come off the board.
Haskins is rising up early draft boards and catching a lot of buzz in scouting circles, according to legendary talent evaluator Gil Brandt, as a potential Top-10 pick after finishing the 2018 season at Ohio State on a tear. If Haskins does end up declaring for the draft, he would love nothing more than to come back home to New Jersey and play quarterback for the New York Giants.
“It would be pretty nice,” Haskins told the New York Post. “I played ‘Madden’ a lot, and [Tiki Barber] was really good running the football. The whole offense was nice. Plaxico [Burress], Jeremy Shockey, Eli [Manning], Ahmad Bradshaw. I was basically the stats guy from my family. I would know everybody’s height and weight, what college they went to.
“I’ve been a Giants fan for a long time.”
Haskins has already started following and interacting with current Giants players like Saquon Barkley on social media.
Dwayne Haskins praising Saquon Barkley on Instagram following his game against the Redskins. Odell Beckham. B.J. Hill as well. (H/T @carlymersky) #GiantsPride #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/S4OBycM9NF
— WBG84 (@WBG84) December 11, 2018
He was also recently followed by wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on his Instagram account.
Haskins finished his 2018 season with the Buckeyes on fire. He led Ohio State to a victory in the Big Ten Championship game by completing 34-of-41 pass attempts for 499 yards passing, five passing touchdowns, and one interception. Haskins made several NFL-caliber throws during the performance that really caught the attention of scouts as evidenced by the buzz it created on social media. Here’s another look at Haskins’ performance vs. Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship.
Haskins also delivered a big-time performance against the top-5 ranked Michigan Wolverines the week before the Big Ten Championship when he threw for 396 yards passing with six passing touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The 2018 season was Haskins’ first season as the full-time starter for Ohio State after only attempting 57 passes during the 2017 season. In his first full season at Ohio State, he completed 70.2 percent of his pass attempts for 4,580 passing yards, 47 passing touchdowns, and only eight interceptions. Haskins also added four rushing touchdowns to bring his 2018 touchdown total to 51.
The Giants have remained mum on their future plans at the quarterback position heading into the 2019 offseason. Recently, head coach Pat Shurmur was asked about whether or not current starting quarterback Eli Manning would return in 2019 for the final year of his contract. Shurmur refused to commit to Manning at this time. Manning is due a $23.3 million salary cap hit in 2019 and the Giants would save $17 million by releasing him.
If the Giants decide to stick with Manning that won’t preclude them from drafting Haskins. Some believe an ideal scenario for the Ohio State prospect would be to sit and learn behind a veteran in his first season similar to what the Kansas City Chiefs did with 2017 first-round draft pick Patrick Mahomes during the 2017 season.
