That, of course, has an impact on the New York Giants
The Arizona Cardinals say they are “open for business” with the No. 4 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and that could have major implications for the New York Giants.
Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort made his intentions to shop the No. 4 pick clear on Wednesday.
“There will be a big neon sign that says ‘open’ and I don’t like it blinking, it messes with my eyes, but we’re always going to be listening,” Ossenfort joked Wednesday at a news conference alongside head coach Jonathan Gannon. “I think we’ll always have the conversation, we may not get to a point where a deal makes sense, whether it’s at [No.] 4 or anywhere we’re picking, but we’re always going to have the conversation and if it makes sense, if it’s attractive to building our team, then it’s something that we’ll certainly consider no matter where we’re at in the draft.”
The Giants have the No. 6 overall pick. They face a fascinating — and potentially franchise-altering decision.
They have longed for a play-making No. 1 wide receiver for years, and one or both of Malik Nabers of LSU and Rome Odunze of Washington could be available at No. 6.
They also face a quarterback conundrum with Daniel Jones’ injury history, poor 2023 performance and his contract situation perhaps putting the Giants in a spot to draft his successor.
Quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are expected to go in the first three picks. The raging debate in the NFL Draft universe is over Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, with whom the Giants had dinner last week.
Is he worth the sixth overall pick? If the Giants want him, can they even wait until the sixth pick with a quarterback-hungry team like the Minnesota Vikings lurking as a potential trade-up partner for the Cardinals or Los Angeles Chargers, who have the No. 5 pick? If the Giants want to trade up, do they have the ammunition to outbid the Vikings, who possess picks 11 and 23 in Round 1?
Ossenfort admitted Wednesday that his phone has been ringing.
“I’d say those phone calls are starting to pick up a little bit, I would say they’ll probably continue into next week when we get down to Florida for the owner’s meetings,” said Ossenfort, who orchestrated five draft-related trades last year. “I think most teams are in a similar spot to us, and starting to finalize their boards, and the pro day pieces are kinda the final on-field piece for evaluation purposes. So I would imagine some of those conversations will continue to pick up, but honestly they probably will not get real serious until we get right up until the week of the draft, similar to last year. They have definitely picked up, but I expect that to continue here for the next month.”
The Cardinals at No. 4 are really the pivot point in the draft. McCarthy, who ESPN’s Mel Kiper on Wednesday called “the toughest player really at any position to evaluate” because of the way he was used at Michigan appears to be the pivotal player in this draft.
Who loves McCarthy enough to make a big move for him, or at least to draft him far earlier than anyone thought possible a few months ago? The Cardinals seem determined to find out.