Peter Schrager: NFL Teams Reached Out After J.J. McCarthy, Giants Trade in Mock Draft
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVApril 17, 2024
NFL fans aren't the only ones paying attention to mock drafts. The teams are as well.
NFL Media's Peter Schrager released a mock draft Tuesday that projected the New York Giants to trade up to the No. 4 pick and select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He revealed during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show that teams reached out to him after that prediction:
Dan Patrick Show @dpshow.<a href="https://twitter.com/PSchrags?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PSchrags</a> shares the reaction that he got from multiple teams to having the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Giants?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Giants</a> trade up to 4th overall for JJ McCarthy in his <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFL</a> mock draft <a href="https://t.co/J3YolNY9cI">pic.twitter.com/J3YolNY9cI</a>
"A lot of other teams oddly enough reached out and said, 'Is that from [general manager] Joe Schoen? Is that from [head coach] Brian Daboll? Is that you speculating?' So I think that McCarthy pick and where he ends up is very intriguing to a lot of other coaches," he said.
For what it's worth, Schrager seemed to suggest it was more speculation on his part than anything else in his explanation of the pick.
"This is merely a mock draft, but I could see this deal coming to fruition," he wrote. "Joe Schoen didn't draft Daniel Jones, J.J. checks a lot of boxes, and Big Blue can get out of Jones' contract after this upcoming season."
The Arizona Cardinals currently have the No. 4 selection but have their quarterback in Kyler Murray. That means that pick could be a trade target for the Giants or other teams who are looking for McCarthy as their franchise quarterback of the future.
In Schrager's mock, the Cardinals drop down to No. 6 and select Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze to give Murray another weapon.
As for the Giants, Daniel Jones has been anything but consistent since they selected him with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2019 NFL draft. While he led them to the playoffs in 2022, he was 1-5 as a starter with two touchdown passes to six interceptions last year before suffering a season-ending torn ACL.
Now there is uncertainty about his health, overall performance and ceiling heading into the 2024 campaign, so it wouldn't exactly be surprising if New York looked to make a move for a quarterback in the draft.
Doing so, especially with a trade into the top five, would surely alter the strategy of other teams as well. So it's also not surprising that those teams are interested if Schrager's mock draft is coming from a position of insider information or not.