New York Giants draft A-B-Cs: The draft, by the alphabet

This is better than a 31-song double-album, right?

The 2024 NFL Draft is finally here. In a few hours we will know if the New York Giants are trading up for a quarterback, down for a quarterback or something else, staying put, drafting a wide receiver, or doing something none of us anticipate.

Let’s go through the A-B-Cs of the draft from a Giants’ perspective. Shoot, if Taylor Swift can write 31 songs for a double album I can handle coming up with something for 26 little old letters of the alphabet.

So, here goes.

A is for … Abstinence: Can the Giants abstain from drafting a quarterback? Probably not.

B is for … Bo: Oregon quarterback Bo Nix is the apple of Chris Pflum’s eye. Love ya, Chris, but he’s not the apple of mine. I would hate seeing the Giants use a first-round pick on Nix. Do the Giants love Bo? Only they know.

C is for … Cornerback: The Giants almost certainly have to draft one. Could that be Max Melton of Rutgers on Day 2?

D is for … Drake: There is mounting speculation that the quarterback the Giants LOVE is Drake Maye of North Carolina. Can they go get him at No. 3? Will he somehow fall all the way to them at No. 6? Is the speculation on target? Is Maye as the heir charged with fixing Daniel Jones’ broken throne a good idea? We will find out what happens in a few hours.

E is for … Experts: Are there really any? Joe Schoen and the Giants have done a masterful job hiding their true intentions. There are still conflicting stories from well-connected insiders regarding what the Giants will do Thursday night. The surprises could start as early as pick No. 2. By Pick No. 6? Mel Kiper’s head might explode.

F is for … Four: What will the Arizona Cardinals do with the No. 4 overall pick? Use it on Marvin Harrison Jr.? Trade it to the Giants, Minnesota Vikings or some other quarterback-hungry suitor? How the first round shakes out has a lot to do with whatever decision GM Monti Ossenfort and the Cardinals make.

G is for … Goodell: Are you all going to be remotely booing the commissioner while sitting in front of your TV sets?

H is for Harrison: Could wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., widely considered the best non-quarterback in this draft class, actually be available to the Giants at No. 6? If four quarterbacks and Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt are selected in the first five picks, which is a reasonably realistic scenario, then yes.

I is for … Indignation: There will be plenty of it in the fan base no matter what the Giants do. There always is.

J is for … J.J.: The J.J. McCarthy to the Giants chatter has died down some recently, but McCarthy as the successor to Daniel Jones remains a possibility. Drafting McCarthy, especially moving up for him, would cause a lot of that indignation we just talked about.

K is for … Kraft: Will New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft insist pretend GM Eliot Wolf selects a quarterback at No. 3 Thursday night? Will he let Wolf play ball with the Giants — or someone else — and trade that pick for a big haul of draft assets to kick start their rebuild?

L is for … Lawrence: Can the Giants get some help on the defensive line for Dexter Lawrence? Please?

M is for … Mara: After saying that Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll had the green light to go and draft a quarterback if that is what they wanted to do, would Mara and Steve Tisch stand in the way of a trade up because of the price already paid for Daniel Jones? Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that as a possibility.

N is for … Nabers: If the Giants don’t get a quarterback, LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers is the consensus choice for the Giants at No. 6. Does he want to catch passes from Daniel Jones, though?

O is for Offensive Line: Have the Giants, who say they are committed to giving Evan Neal one more chance at right tackle, done enough in free agency that the offensive line is not a primary need, at least not early in the draft? Considering how poor that group was last year it is amazing that Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt is rarely mentioned as a possibility for the Giants at No. 6. For what it’s worth, I am firmly in the quarterback or wide receiver camp at No. 6.

P is for … Penix: ESPN’s Dan Graziano tossed out a haymaker this week, saying that Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. could be a real consideration for the Giants at No. 6. That would be a draft day stunner. Pineapples for everyone if it happens!

Q is for … Quarterback: The Giants have got to come out of this draft with one. Don’t they?

R is for … Rome: Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Schoen is entering a critical third draft as GM in trying to rebuild the Giants. Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze sure would help.

S is for … Spencer: If the Giants don’t get a quarterback on Day 1, could Spencer Rattler of South Carolina be a nice Day 2 consolation prize? The guess here is that if the Giants don’t get their guy in Round 1, Rattler might not get past pick No. 47, where the Giants sit in Round 2.

T is for … Trades: The Giants enter the draft with six selections. In his first two drafts, GM Joe Schoen has shown a willingness to move both up and down. I would expect him to play the board this time, as well.

U is for … Unbelievable: What is the one thing the Giants could do in the draft that you would consider unbelievable? For me, it would be selecting Penix at No. 6.

V is for … Victories: Will whichever players the Giants draft lead to more of them?

W is for … Washington: The common belief is that the Commanders will take Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick. The entire draft probably gets turned upside down if they do something like select Maye or McCarthy.

X is for … Xavier: If they don’t get a wide receiver on Day 1, could the Giants select Xavier Legette of South Carolina on Day 2. Or Xavier Worthy of Texas? And, will they draft a safety to help replace Xavier McKinney, who signed with the Green Bay Packers in free agency?

Y is for … Yates: No offense to ESPN draft analyst Field Yates, but I miss Todd McShay.

Z is for … Zinter: One of the more interesting players in the draft is Michigan guard Zak Zinter. An excellent player who suffered a broken leg during the 2023 season, how far will he fall in the draft? Could the Giants be the team that selects him?