ORLANDO, Fla. — John Mara remembers the discussion well. It was 2004, and the New York Giants were debating their future at quarterback.
“My father (Wellington Mara) was a huge Kerry Collins fan,” the team co-owner recalled Monday at the NFL owners’ meetings. “We all were at the time, and we were reluctant to pull the trigger on such a big trade for Eli Manning.”
Collins had led the Giants for five seasons, even taking them to the Super Bowl following a 12-4 season in 2000. But a few years later, the franchise had a major decision to make for its future, and eventually chose to release Collins and trade for the No. 1 draft pick, Manning.
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Twenty years later, the Giants are at another quarterback crossroads with Daniel Jones. Drafted in 2019, Jones’ career, apart from a 2022 playoff run, has been dominated by coaching changes, injuries and disappointment. After signing a massive four-year, $160 million deal last offseason, Jones played in just six games last season after dealing with a significant neck injury and suffering a torn ACL.
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Now, the Giants own the No. 6 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and selecting a quarterback isn’t off the table for the franchise.
“Everybody in the building wants Daniel to succeed,” Mara said Monday. “But you can never let that get in the way of making a judgment that if there are people coming out in the draft who have a chance to be … franchise-type players.
“I think that’s always going to be the case if you have a chance to do that, depending on what the price is. I don’t want that to be interpreted as, ‘We don’t have confidence in Daniel.’ We do have confidence in Daniel, but if you have a chance to bring in another quarterback, and the head coach and the general manager have a conviction about him, then you go ahead and do it.”
Mara repeatedly stated his confidence in GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll to build a quality roster. If they think the team needs to draft a quarterback, Mara is OK with that.
“If they fall in love with a quarterback and believe (he’s) worth pick No. 6 or moving up, I certainly would support that,” Mara said.
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That’s the case even with the Giants’ considerable financial investment in Jones last offseason. Mara said he doesn’t think the previous price tag has any effect on the future and that if the conviction is there, he’s “certainly not going to stand in the way of them.”
The Giants owner doesn’t regret the $160 million deal Jones signed and doesn’t believe spending a high draft pick on another quarterback would signal giving up on Jones.
“Let them both compete and let the better man win,” Mara said.
The Giants continue to do their due diligence on the draft’s top quarterbacks. While USC’s Caleb Williams is the anticipated No. 1 pick, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy are all in contention to be the next top quarterbacks taken. There’s even a chance each one of them is gone before the Giants pick at No. 6.
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“They tell me it’s the most talented group to come out in years,” Mara said of the quarterback class. “We’ll see. I’ve seen a number of them play. They’re all impressive.”
Mara said he meets the quarterbacks on team visits but won’t necessarily sit down with them for long periods until it gets to the point where the front office might be zeroing in on a player.
“I think you have to have a certain type of makeup to be a successful quarterback in New York,” Mara said. “Eli obviously had it. I think Daniel has it. I don’t think it’s for everybody.”
Mara cited Jones’ demeanor and mental toughness as admirable qualities that were uncovered during the draft process. Asked if talks with Schoen or Daboll had reached that level yet about a quarterback’s demeanor, Mara said no.
With more pro days still on the docket — including LSU’s (Daniels) and North Carolina’s (Maye) — the Giants are making the most of trying to learn everything they can about potential prospects.
The Giants filled out their QB corps by signing Drew Lock to a one-year contract reportedly worth $5 million guaranteed during free agency. He’ll join Tommy DeVito as the team’s backup options.
Schoen said Jones, still recovering from the torn ACL, is running on land after having progressed from the anti-gravity treadmill. The GM expects Jones to be ready for the start of training camp.
Regardless of what the Giants do in the draft, they still anticipate Jones to be the starter when healthy. But whether Jones is definitively the starter, Mara said he’s deferring to the coach.
“That’s up to Brian Daboll,” Mara said. “Is it my expectation that he would be the starter? Is it my best guess that he’ll be the starter? Yes.”
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(Photo of John Mara and Daniel Jones: Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
