The New York Giants and Quarterback Purgatory… two terms that Giants fans do not want to become synonymous, but to their dismay, they in fact have ever since the retirement of Eli Manning.
There was a successor planned following Manning, in Daniel Jones. Not only did the organization invest a top 10 pick in Jones, but they also invested in him a second contract worth $160 million just last offseason. Unfortunately for the Giants and their fans, Jones has been above average at best with most of his starts resulting in sub-par quarterback play.
With a potential out in his contract in 2025, Jones will need to bounce back from his ACL tear and put together a commanding 2024 campaign. If not, he could be on his way out of the Big Apple.
There is a narrative going around talking about how the upcoming college quarterback class isn’t great and how needing a quarterback, especially a young and cost-friendly one, is not a need you want to have going into the 2025 NFL Draft.
There is potential for that to happen, but there is also the potential for the 2025 class to be not only a good quarterback class but a great one.
Multiple prospects are on the safer side who can be good right away, but there are also some prospects that are incredibly “tooled” or talented athletes who can play themselves into the first round, and maybe even the top ten.
The one I will be writing about in this breakdown is who I, and many others, consider to be best prospect in this upcoming class. That is Georgia Quarterback Carson Beck.
With Beck, I see someone who had incredible accuracy and poise in the pocket. I also see an incredible ability to layer the football in zone coverage, which he has exemplified multiple times throughout his collegiate career. One of his more viral throws is a perfect example of this, coming from probably the best game in his Georgia career so far, which was at home against Kentucky last season.
#UGA QB Carson Beck vs Kentucky
— Cory P. (@FF_Guitarist) February 18, 2024
Had to highlight this layered beauty in the first clip. Perfect ball-placement to MRJ and hits him in stride. Nifty design on this screen play to Bowers, do we even get a little no-look pass in this second clip? #Devy pic.twitter.com/FPwDhbu9J5
His ability to place the ball with such accuracy and precision gives him a higher floor as a prospect and is similar to what we saw in what made Jared Goff such a likable prospect out of Cal. I also think Beck has a good ability to get the ball out quickly and on time to his receivers, which would pair well with Giants first-round draftee Malik Nabers.
Beck has a higher athletic ceiling than most realize. Coming in at 6’4 220 lbs, Beck is a bigger, more prototypical NFL quarterback. He does not run like Daniel Jones, but probably moves better than most give him credit for. Beck can use his poise and accuracy paired with his athleticism to create his fantastic play, illustrated here in some of these plays:
Film Review Friday: Carson Beck has been improving every week this season for @GeorgiaFootball! His arm strength and accuracy are NFL caliber with excellent timing between him and his receivers. Beck can throw open covered targets and makes good descions with the ball @ShrineBowl… pic.twitter.com/7jUJhd1vJU
— David Wells (@DavidWellsEWSB) October 13, 2023
Beck is also a player who plays with high intelligence and football IQ. In the fourth quarter of the 2024 G-Day Spring Game, with his team down seven, he casually looks off the single high safety and hits RaRa Thomas in stride for a big play. This got his side inside the red zone with less than forty seconds to play.
He also did so with said single high safety being Dan Jackson, who is a senior at Georgia and has plenty of starts under his belt. Beck begins the snap by looking off Jackson to the right side of the field, then hits the top of his drop and gets the ball out by firing a rope to RaRa for the big play.
Beck not only showcased his IQ but also his arm strength on this play. He doesn’t have the biggest arm in the world, but certainly strong enough to play at the NFL level.
If you’re wondering who QB1 for the 2025 NFL Draft is…
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) April 15, 2024
Familiarize yourself with Carson Beck ? pic.twitter.com/5eKm79cSwj
When I look at Beck, I see shades of Matt Ryan, which should get Giants fans really excited. Ryan, listed at 6-foot-4, 217 pounds, played in a similar way to Beck. Not superb athletes or massively strong arms down the field, but guys who could maneuver the pocket and have deadly accuracy and poise while doing so.
With the Giants’ roster looking at a potential rebuild after getting out of the Jones contract next offseason, Beck could be a candidate to get selected with their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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