The quarterback intrigue at the top of the board continues

NFL insider Adam Schefter told the ‘Trap or Dive’ podcast, which is featured on SB Nation’s Hogs Haven, that the Washington Commanders appear to be set on selecting LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“I think you can go get those Jayden Daniels jerseys,” Schefter said during an appearance on the show.

Schefter said the Commanders will be hosting visits with Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy this week.

“I believe they’re Leaning Jayden Daniels. I believe ultimately, we’ll see how the week goes, they reserve the right to change their mind, we’ve seen teams change their mind, I think they’re leaning Jayden Daniels. I think that’s the plan,” Schefter said. “It’s up to somebody, Jayden included, to change their mind.”

NFL Network draft insider Daniel Jeremiah apparently concurs that Daniels is the favorite to be selected by the Commanders.

“Everything that I’ve heard is that they are sticking and picking,” Jeremiah said. “That pick is not for sale. They have set up this off-season to have… somewhat of a soft landing spot for the quarterback there… To me you gotta have a guy that’s gonna come play then because you’re not gonna wait for him. I don’t think [Marcus] Mariotta’s gonna hold off whoever they pick at number two, do you?

What would that mean for the New York Giants, who have the No. 6 overall pick and have also been circling around the top quarterbacks in the class?

The Giants have often been connected to McCarthy during the draft process. The appeal of Maye, my choice for the Giants in my most recent mock draft, to GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll is obvious.

Maye is the quarterback in this class who most closely parallels Josh Allen in stature, traits and college career. We know how aggressively the Buffalo Bills pursued Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft, trading up to get him. We also know how successful Daboll was with Allen.

It is hard not to think Daboll would look at Maye and think he might be able to do something similar with Allen.

On a recent episode of the ‘Move The Sticks’ podcast, Jeremiah said the New England Patriots, who have the No. 3 overall pick “might not be a Drake Maye team” and “might be open for business” if Maye and McCarthy are their quarterback options.

Jeremiah said the Giants and Vikings are the teams he hears most often as potential teams trying to move to three, four or five. Jeremiah added that the Patriots “might be a J.J. McCarthy team” and might swap spots for a collection of second-round picks.

The Vikings, of course, have picks 11 and 23 in Round 1 as trade-up ammunition. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, though, believes Minnesota “doesn’t want to part with that second first-rounder.”

If that’s the case, that might increase the Giants’ odds of being able to move up the board should they want to.