EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants declined an invite to the quarterback party at the top of the 2024 NFL draft when they passed on Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, among others, before selecting LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick.
Quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr., McCarthy and Bo Nix were available when the Giants were on the clock Thursday night in the first round of the draft. They were all eventually taken within the first 12 picks -- Penix at No. 8 to the Atlanta Falcons, McCarthy at No. 10 to the Minnesota Vikings and Nix at No. 12 to the Denver Broncos.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye were selected Nos. 1-3 to the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots, respectively, tying a record for the most first-round quarterbacks since the legendary 1983 draft.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen confirmed that there were conversations with teams in front of them after spending a lot of time with the draft's top quarterbacks. But once Maye was the third quarterback off the board, New York turned its attention elsewhere.
New York looks set to move forward with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito in the quarterback room.
"I'm comfortable where we are," Schoen said. "I'm ecstatic about [drafting] Malik."
Nabers, the all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards at LSU, was a unanimous first-team All-American this past season. He led FBS with 120.7 receiving yards per game.
There really wasn't much of a decision once the pick got to the Giants. Schoen talked about having six players they would be happy to land at pick No. 6. That made Nabers an easy choice over McCarthy.
"Malik was our guy. He's a guy we targeted," Schoen said. "Again, we took him. You know the players that were on the board when we took him. It was Malik Nabers."
The Giants had talks about moving up in the first round Thursday. The focus appeared to be on pick No. 3 with the Patriots, though it does not appear the two sides got close.
Schoen declined to get into the details of those negotiations.
"Again, we had a lot of conversations with a lot of teams," he said. "I'm not going to get into specifics."
The Giants had a need at wide receiver. Specifically, they needed a No. 1 receiver, something they had been missing since trading Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns in 2019. They signed Golden Tate in 2019 and Kenny Golladay in 2021 as free agents. Both failed miserably to fill the role in New York.
Now, the hope is that the "electric" Nabers is the answer. He could be the most talented receiver Jones has ever had at his disposal.
Schoen texted Jones that Nabers would be the pick before it was even announced on TV.
"He's fired up," Schoen said. "I texted him Malik's number. That was one of the first things I did. He's fired up about it. He knew before anyone else on ESPN and NFL Network knew."
It's hardly the only reason that Jones could have enjoyed the night after the Giants declined to draft his likely successor. Jones, who signed a lucrative contract extension just 13 months ago, is coming off a disappointing season. He struggled in addition to missing three games because of a neck injury and later tearing the ACL in his right knee.
New York has been adamant that Jones, who signed a four-year, $160 million deal last year, will be the starter once he's healthy. The first round of Thursday's draft only solidified his standing with the team, for at least one more season.