Peter Schrager has released his first mock for the 2024 NFL Draft, and the headliner is him projecting the New York Giants to trade up to the No. 4 pick with the Arizona Cardinals to draft JJ McCarthy. Many believe that the Minnesota Vikings are the most likely team to draft JJ McCarthy by trading up to the No. 4 or No. 5 spot, but Schrager has the Giants making the move up two spots to get their Daniel Jones successor.
“New York moves up two spots — tossing Arizona this year's third-round pick (No. 70 overall) and next year's second-rounder — to land McCarthy. This is merely a mock draft, but I could see this deal coming to fruition. Joe Schoen didn't draft Daniel Jones, JJ checks a lot of boxes, and Big Blue can get out of Jones' contract after this upcoming season. I assume that this projection could make headlines in New York. That's fine. I know the Giants have been going through all of the quarterback prospects diligently, as they should be.”
In Schrager's mock, he has Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye going in the top three picks in that order to the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots. That leaves McCarthy as the best quarterback remaining, according to the general consensus.
The Giants move up by giving up a couple of day two picks, while keeping the No. 47 pick for this year's draft, which is important for their build. The Cardinals trade back to No. 6 and still can land a N0. 1 receiver, whether that is Marvin Harrison Jr. dropping to them or someone like Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze. In this mock, Schrager has Harrison going to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5, and the Cardinals selecting Rome Odunze at No. 6.
The Giants and Cardinals make a lot of sense as trade partners
Much of the discourse surrounding the Cardinals and potentially trading back is related to the Vikings, who have the No. 11 and No. 23 picks in this year's draft. That makes them an obvious team when it comes to trading up, but the Cardinals might not want to drop down that far. That gives the Giants the upper hand in a trade situation over the Vikings, especially if Arizona decides it wants one of those top three receivers.
This wide receiver class is viewed as a deep one, but it is still viewed as a stark drop off after the top three, and the Cardinals desperately need a top wide receiver in their room for Kyler Murray. Arizona could get a bigger haul of picks by trading back with a team further back like the Vikings, but they already accrued significant draft capital with trades they made in the 2023 draft. It could make the most sense to make a bit of a smaller move back with the Giants.
For the Giants, they could be looking for a new quarterback for Brian Daboll to mold from the start as a rookie, which is not what he did with Daniel Jones, despite signing him to a long-term contract. As Schrager mentioned, the Giants can get out of Jones' contract next offseason, so a quarterback like McCarthy could make sense for them in the draft.
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