Giants linked with polarizing QB prospect as fallback option

It seems the New York Giants are among the teams that could consider making Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. a first-round pick during the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night. 

Dan Graziano of ESPN revealed that he's been told "the Giants like Penix and might even be willing to take him as high as" the draft's sixth overall choice. 

The Giants and Minnesota Vikings reportedly had been "the most active" teams as it pertains to possibly landing the No. 3 selection from the New England Patriots. As of Wednesday morning, though, the Patriots appeared prepared to spend that asset on North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. 

LSU's Jayden Daniels is expected to go to the Washington Commanders via the draft's second pick. 

Interestingly, the latest whispers indicate that the Giants would stay at No. 6 and let the Vikings go up to either the fourth or fifth pick so that Minnesota could draft Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Erich Richter of the New York Post noted that multiple insiders no longer view the Giants as a "McCarthy team," and Graziano said that "the Giants' guy is Maye" and not McCarthy.

Penix's draft stock has been a mystery throughout the spring largely because he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament twice and suffered injuries to both shoulders as a college signal-caller. Some think Penix could be a top-10 pick, but multiple CBS Sports personalities predicted that the Washington product will fall out of the first round. 

It's worth noting that MetLife Stadium, home of the Giants and New York Jets, is linked with concerning knee injuries just about every NFL season regardless of the system installed at that venue. Meanwhile, previous stories indicated that the Giants could move on from 2023 Week 1 starter Daniel Jones as soon as next offseason because he dealt with two neck injuries and a torn ACL. 

Logic suggests Giants general manager Joe Schoen wouldn't love replacing one quarterback who has a lengthy injury history with another. If Schoen misses out on Maye and isn't a huge McCarthy fan, the Giants could select their best player available at pick No. 6 and then hope to take a flier on Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix later in the draft.