The fine print in the Caleb Williams Sweepstakes should mention that the runner-up could walk away with much more than a typical consolation prize.
As a hopeless Giants’ season continues to spiral, many fans already have shifted attention to the 2024 draft and the possibility of drafting either Williams (USC) or Drake Maye (North Carolina) to become the new franchise quarterback.
The Giants (2-8) would pick second if the season ended today, but having the first pick feels more within reach than another victory.
So, what type of prospects are the consensus top two quarterbacks expected to enter the draft?
The Post asked a handful of NFL sources, all of whom expect quarterback to be under consideration for the Giants.
“Caleb has a chance to be one of the higher-rated quarterbacks I’ve had when we are all the way finished with the process — in that No. 5-10 group,” said ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who has evaluated the last 45 draft classes. “Drake will be just slightly below, if you go by today. There’s not a huge gap there.”
One scout with a history of accurate quarterback assessments anticipates that he ultimately will grade Maye higher than eight of the nine first-round quarterbacks drafted over the last three years, including the top-two 2023 picks (Panthers’ Bryce Young and Texans’ C.J. Stroud).
Maye’s most common comparison in scouting circles is the Chargers’ Justin Herbert because of stature, pocket mobility and demeanor.
“The Giants will love Drake Maye because there are similarities between him, Daniel Jones and Eli Manning with personality — he’s a relaxed kid,” one NFL offensive coach said. “He’s kind of raw in the fundamentals because he’s had a lot of coordinators, but there’s a lot to work with. He throws a nice ball, but there’s not a lot of sudden movement in his game, so it’s interesting to see if there’s a little more quick twitch you can get out of him that Herbert has.”
ESPN analyst Matt Miller said 15 of 16 scouting sources recently told him Williams is the best prospect since Andrew Luck (2011).
Comparisons already link Williams and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes.
“People throw around the term ‘generational,’ but Caleb is special,” Miller said. “USC is not good offensively, so he plays a lot of hero ball. The key is how to keep a version of that but limit it.
“Scouts compare him to Mahomes because of the crazy arm talent, the ability to extend the play, and then to have the field vision to make something crazy happen. He just frustrates you sometimes because he holds the ball too long in the pocket, but there’s a guy like that every couple years.”
Williams’ 32 fumbles in 36 career games is a concern that should resonate with the Giants. Jones fumbled 29 times in his first 27 NFL games before mostly correcting the issue.
The knock on Maye is too many missed open throws, though a deeper dive suggests that issue might be explained by injuries and the NCAA ineligibility of his expected receiving corps.
The combination of Jones’ fully guaranteed $35 million salary and recently torn ACL makes it a near-certainty that he returns to the Giants in 2024. Whether he can recover from a yet-to-be-had surgery in time to play Week 1 is unknown.
“There are not many quarterbacks you can plug into that Giants offense and say, ‘Go do your job and be elite,’” Kiper said. “If you draft Caleb or Drake, you have the type of quarterback in Jones that you can have him redshirt for a year in an Alex Smith-Patrick Mahomes situation.”
Scouting quarterbacks always is about more than meets the eye.
Williams already is under scrutiny for the mundane (painting his toenails), the mature (crying in his parents’ arms after a loss) and the much-speculated (that he might force an Eli Manning-like trade to a preferred franchise or ask for a percentage of team ownership).
“Caleb Williams-Drake Maye is going to be like [others] where you have to weigh the person and the talent,” one scout said. “One evaluation is clear-cut cleaner.”
The difference between Williams and similarly regarded can’t-miss prospects Peyton Manning, Luck and Trevor Lawrence could be the Maye factor. Ryan Leaf, Robert Griffin III and Zach Wilson are cautionary tales for taking a quarterback No. 2 in those three cases.
That history doesn’t mean No. 2 is a permanent trap that Giants head coach Brian Daboll must lose games to avoid.
“Maye fits what Daboll wants to do: He can throw every throw in your playbook and he has the ability to pull it down, move around outside the pocket as a Run-Pass-Option guy and threaten you a little bit that way,” Miller said.
“But players like Drake Maye come around. Players like Caleb Williams don’t come around very often.”
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