Now, this is something a little different

Mel Kiper is out with his latest mock draft, a two-rounder. What did he do for the New York Giants? Well, he gave them LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6 after the Minnesota Vikings jumped to No. 5 in a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers. Ho-hum. Standard stuff.

It’s Kiper’s second round that got my attention — and will likely get yours.

Kiper has the Giants trading up 14 spots to No. 33, the first pick of Round 2, for a quarterback. His choice?

Bo Nix of Oregon.

Kiper gave the Giants Nix with the seemingly more often discussed Michael Penix Jr. of Washington still on the board. He wrote:

Surprised? Maybe we shouldn’t be. Daniel Jones is locked in as the Giants’ starter in 2024, but the team could part ways with him next offseason, when his guaranteed money drops. And if general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll are down on Jones after a tough 2023 that ended with a torn ACL in November, now is the time to start thinking ahead at the position.

Nix started a whopping 61 college games in stints at Auburn and Oregon, throwing for 15,352 total yards. He leveled up in 2023, with 45 touchdown passes and three picks while completing 77.4% of his throws. The question for NFL teams: Do you trust he has enough arm strength to succeed? He was asked to get the ball out quickly and around the line of scrimmage for the Ducks, putting his receivers in a position to make plays after the catch. That’s why I have a Round 2 grade on him. There likely will be a team that falls in love with Nix in this range; why can’t it be the Giants?

In his just released draft guide, Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Nix ranked as QB5, one spot ahead of Penix, with a Round 2-3 grade. Brugler says:

With his quick, strong release, Nix incorporates different arm angles to quickly get the ball to his weapons. He is outstanding finding and attacking the voids in zone coverage and is at his best throwing on the move or when creating second-chance plays. However, the Ducks’ offense was designed to get the ball out of his hands quickly (he averaged 2.44 seconds per dropback in 2023, fourth fastest in the FBS), and his average depth of target was only 6.8 yards in 2023 (third lowest in FBS), leading to questions about him reading out a defense from a constrained pocket in the NFL. Overall, Nix gets in trouble when he plays loose with his technique and his eyes speed up on him, but he understands where to go with the football, and his scrambling can give defenses fits. Though it feels unlikely that he will ever rank among the 15 best quarterbacks in the NFL, he has the tools to become a middle-of-the-road starter.

Valentine’s View

Nix is the quarterback in the top six the Giants have appeared to pay the least attention to. Does that mean they wouldn’t draft him, and wouldn’t make a big move up the board in Round 2 like Kiper did to make that happen?

Absolutely not.

All of these pre-draft visits and workouts can have different meanings. The Giants have seemingly paid little to no attention to Nix since during the past few months. That could mean they have no interest. That could also mean that in watching his tape and meeting with him at the Senior Bowl and/or NFL Scouting Combine (probably both) the Giants learned what they needed to know and are keeping their interest under wraps.

To me, Nix is the quarterback in the top six of this class with the lowest ceiling. But, what do I know? What, really, does anyone know with certainty before these players are even in the league?

Matt Waldman of ‘The Rookie Scouting Portfolio’ has Nix as QB3, behind Caleb Williams and Penix. Waldman wrote:

If Nix had a better arm, he might be the clear-cut No.2 quarterback on the board. That’s the margin between him and Micheal Penix, Jr. Nix has enough arm to start in many NFL systems, but it’s more in the realm of Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Matt Ryan— good enough, but not going to power through iffy or late decisions. Even if it improves, expect only a moderate difference that won’t elevate his arm talent to the elite tier.

That shouldn’t deter the right team from considering him as a future starter.

Let’s talk about Malik Nabers

Marvin Harrison Jr. went No. 4 to the Arizona Cardinals in Kiper’s mock draft. If the Giants were going to go wide receiver at No. 6, which is the obvious choice in this situation, that meant choosing between Nabers and my personal favorite, Rome Odunze of Washington.

Kiper chose Nabers, with Odunze going No. 9 to the Chicago Bears. He wrote:

The Giants’ pass offense fell apart last season as they finished 30th in the league in yards per dropback (4.9). Sure, most of that was without quarterback Daniel Jones, but he struggled in his six games before his ACL injury too, throwing three times as many interceptions (six) as touchdown passes. New York also ranked 30th in yards after the catch (1,601), which showed its need for outside playmakers.

Nabers could solve that problem, as he’s ferocious after the catch. He can run any route, creating separation on even the best cornerbacks. This is how the Giants could instantly turn around their offense.

Valentine’s View

I have zero problem with the choice of Nabers. If the Giants are comfortable with the bigger personality that might turn off some teams, so be it. Joe Schoen and the Giants were comfortable with Kayvon Thibodeaux when others might not have been.

Harrison, Nabers and Odunze are all somewhat different receivers, and all considered players who should be No. 1 receivers the minute they join an NFL team. Getting any of them would massively upgrade the Giants’ offense.