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Apr 26, 2024; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers speaks to the media at Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, NV. Candice Ward-Imagn Images

This Player Picked for New York Giants in Draft Do-Over

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Gene Clemons | Last updated Apr 18, 2025 12:00 PM ET

As New York Giants fans look towards the 2025 NFL Draft, it is always fun to look back at the previous year’s draft to see how that class fared in their first season. That's where we realize that some players probably should have gone higher or lower in the draft.

Nobody is complaining about the Giants’ selection of Malik Nabers with the sixth pick, whom even those who wanted a quarterback can admit has a chance to come away with the best overall talent.

But again, it’s always fun to look back and wonder if things might have been different in retrospect.,

In Nick Baumgardner’s latest piece [subscription] for The Athletic, he examines how the 2024 draft would have unfolded if the players had been redrafted using the knowledge we have now.

While this is not an exact science because all circumstances are different, it is interesting to see how the perception of these players has changed in only one year, even when it is acknowledged that one season is too soon to judge a prospect.

At the start of Bamgardner’s draft redo, the Bears and Commanders swap quarterbacks. Jayden Daniels gets drafted first, and Williams settles into his new role with Washington.

The Patriots still take Drake Maye at three as the top three spots remain occupied by quarterbacks, but things change for New York at pick four because Arizona grabs Nabers instead of Marvin Harrison Jr.

That is not so surprising, as many evaluators originally thought that Nabers was a better prospect, but Harrison had the hype.

With pick five, offensive lineman Joe Alt went to the Chargers, just as how it unfolded last year. So that brought the re-do to the Giants at pick 6.

Armed with the knowledge of hindsight, they had at their disposal two quarterbacks who played and impressed in year one; one quarterback who was injured but many believe is going to be a stud; another LSU receiver who exploded on the scene and showed WR1 ability; an edge and a defensive back with elite potential; and multiple offensive linemen.

However, the Giants selected Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers with the sixth pick.

Nobody will argue Bowers's talent, and he lived up to it in his first season in the NFL, posting more receptions than Nabers and almost as many receiving yards.

It’s not that taking Bowers at six does not make sense based on that alone. Instead, the concern is what was left on the board.

In 2024, there may have been questions about how good quarterbacks Bo Nix and Michael Penix, Jr. would be in the league, but both answered those questions with their play on the field.

The Giants, meanwhile, not only passed up a chance to draft their next franchise quarterback but also a quarterback who proved he could be good at this level.

It does not matter how good Brock Bowers is individually–he will never be able to elevate a team like a serviceable quarterback will.

There is evidence that both of those quarterbacks and even J.J. McCarthy (who essentially had a medical redshirt) can be among the top half of the NFL's talents.

If I’m running a redraft for the Giants, there's no way I'll leave the 2024 draft without a quarterback after seeing how they performed on the field in the NFL.

It was a misstep by Baumgardner not to consider how valuable the position is, especially when you already know they can be exceptional.

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