Big Blue View mailbag: The J.J. McCarthy edition

Phillip Grubler asks: If the Giants aren’t totally sold on either of the QBs in this year’s class, at least not enough to expend draft capital to move up, can you envision a trade with Minnesota for McCarthy? I imagine the Vikings would like to resign Darnold and keep building around him after the year they’ve had. McCarthy’s value isn’t going to rise if he’s on the bench and teams are losing years of contractual control. Could J.J. be the answer and how does he compare to Ward/Sanders? Does he fit Daboll’s system? Would you trade for an unproven QB coming off a serious injury? What would the Giants need to offer to get this done (3rd and 7th this year & a 2026 4th)?

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Derick Gross asks: One of your colleagues mentioned the idea that the Vikings might be willing to trade JJ McCarthy if they think Sam Darnold is the answer at QB. Are you buying the idea that the next Giants QB might be on a rookie contract on someone else’s roster? Pick swap with the Vikings, or get a deal done with the Lions for Hendon Hooker? We could (and probably should) still draft someone in April, but give Daboll two swings at working some magic.

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William Calamas asks: I have a trade proposal as the draft stands today. Trade the 4th overall pick in 2025 to the Vikings for JJ McCarthy the 10th pick in 2024. To even out the draft chart values the Giants would get the Vikings 2025 first rounder, which will be at the bottom of the first round. Yes the Giants passed on McCarthy last year however this trade would depend on how the general manager rated McCarthy versus Sanders and Ward. This proposal would save the Giants from giving up extra picks such as a 2026 first rounder to move up in the 2025 draft. From the Vikings standpoint they would sign Darnold to a three year deal and pick up a high first rounder. The first rounder received from the Vikings is tradable for extra picks.

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Doug Heron asks: If the Giants do not love, or are not in position to draft, one of this year’s top two QBs, would it be completely out of the question for the Giants to approach the Vikings about JJ McCarthy? If so, what do you think the Giants would have to offer to get it done? I don’t recall anything comparable happening recently i.e., a rookie QB sitting out the year due to injury and being traded before playing a down for the team that drafted him. But I just read the Vikings intend to bring back Sam Darnold, so perhaps they will prefer to have Daniel Jones as their backup and accumulate draft capital by trading J.J rather than trying to develop a young QB on a team that is built to win now. I realize the benefits of having a QB like JJ on a rookie deal for the Vikings and having him learn from Darnold, but they could always look to the next draft class for their future QB given their current options for next season. Appreciate your thoughts.

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Ed says: So, I guess there is just a little bit of interest in the fan base in talking about the possibility of trading for J.J. McCarthy. Let’s talk about it.

I certainly understand the interest. One of the reasons for considering McCarthy last year when he as considered QB4 in the class, is that many analysts figured he might be QB1 in 2025. That has played out pretty much, as draft analysts seem to have Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders graded similarly to where they had McCarthy a year ago.

I was a guy who thought the Giants, with Daniel Jones in place to at least start the season, thought the Giants would be a good situation for McCarthy. He is still only 21 years old, and we know his passing volume at Michigan wasn’t equal to the other top prospects. The Giants, obviously, thought otherwise. They thought drafting Malik Nabers and finding their quarterback later was the better play.

The Giants spent an incredible amount of time with McCarthy. So much time, in fact, that McCarthy himself said before the draft he had spent more time with the Giants than any other team and thought he was headed to New York.

In all of that work, the Giants found something they did not like about McCarthy. Some reason they did not think he was the right quarterback for them. I don’t know what that was, and I’m not going to speculate. The question I have to ask is, if the Giants wouldn’t take McCarthy when all they had to do was use a first-round draft pick, why would they give up a first-round draft pick and other assets to trade for him? That is the price Adam Schefter believes the Minnesota Vikings would ask for, and get, if they decided to trade McCarthy and roll with Sam Darnold.

Now, all of that changes if Brian Daboll is not the head coach or if Joe Schoen is not the GM. There is no way to know how a new head coach, or an entire new regime, would feel about any of the quarterbacks who might be available to them.

The other thing to consider is McCarthy’s knee. He has had two surgeries on it this season and Schefter mentioned the ACL as having been involved. Maybe he misspoke because that is the first we have heard ACL in reference to McCarthy’s injury, but the health of McCarthy’s knee also has to be part of the equation.

Stephan Morris asks: Given that this is a weak QB class and that the Giants are more than just a QB away, could the drop out of the top spot be a blessing in disguise? Why not trade down a bit, add some capital for next year and plug a couple other holes?

Ed says: Stephan, let’s just wait until Sunday night and see where the Giants end up in the draft order. If they can’t get a quarterback they love, trading down is always an option if they have an offer they like.

Steven Schlein asks: After watching Denver and Atlanta in prime time, I’m having some regrets that we didn’t take Bo Nix or Michael Penix, Jr. Nix looks like Brett Favre (a gunslinger) and Penix looks like Michael Vick (unflappable, athletic, playmaker.) Do you share these regrets?

Ed says: Steven, I do not.

Bo Nix is having an excellent rookie year. Remember, though, that we always say situation matters for young quarterbacks. Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos were the only team that really seemed excited about Nix before the draft. Denver was the perfect landing spot and Payton the perfect coach for Nix. Could he have done with the Giants what he is doing in Denver? No idea.

As for Penix, the kid has played two games. Let’s not get crazy. I like his talent. Remember, though, Penix entered the draft with a longer injury history than Daniel Jones. I think Joe Schoen would have gotten destroyed in the court of public opinion if he drafted a replacement for an injury-prone quarterback with a guy who has an even worse injury history.

The Giants ended up with Malik Nabers. They will end up looking really good if they Nabers AND find the right quarterback.

Tom Wolfe asks: Part of the Giants failures are attributed to injuries, a long-running story. I’ve been on the MetLife field – it is rock-hard concrete topped by artificial turf no thicker than a Welcome mat. When the leadership team evaluates “what went wrong in 2024,” will they openly and honestly address the field, and potentially accelerate plans to return to natural turf or update the artificial turf considerably? There has to be a better way to manage the two-team requirements than to swap out cheap turf each week.

Ed says: Tom, the MetLife Stadium turf was upgraded to a FieldTurf Core system that uses the latest in synthetic turf technology before the 2023 season. Players tested and approved this surface before it was installed and there have been no issues with it in the two years the Giants and Jets have played on it. The MetLife turf is not the problem. It is a surface widely used by both NFL and college teams.

I understand that players would prefer grass, and I don’t blame them. The Giants would like to give it to them. They just don’t believe the technology exists yet to make year-round grass feasible — and safe.

Here is what Mara said in March:

“I want to get to the point where the experts can tell us that late in the season we can have a safe, playable grass field, and when we get to that point, then maybe we’ll make the switch,” Mara said at the NFL Annual Meeting on Monday afternoon.

“We’re not there yet …

“With the amount of events in our building, particularly during the football season, having two teams there, and how many times last year we had back-to-back games where it rained during the first game, I can’t imagine what a grass field would’ve looked like on a second day,”

Bob Donnelly asks: The Giants may find themselves in a very tough position to fill the 2025 QB room. Jones is gone, and Lock is a free agent. DeVito is an ERFA so should remain.

A win on Sunday could see their draft position drop to eighth, making it very costly, if not impossible, to get one of the top QB prospects.

It’s entirely possible that the Vikings tag and retain Darnold while also holding onto McCarthy. There are about 30 available FA QBs available, but the quality is questionable.

How do you see the Giants filling their QB room for 2025, and at what cost?

Ed says: Bob, that is a question without an answer right now. They obviously have to do something, probably a couple of things. There are, though, too many variables right now to answer with any real certainty.

Where will they be drafting? Will they be at No. 4 or higher? Will they be down at No. 8? Will Joe Schoen be the GM? I think so, but I don’t know for sure. Will Brian Daboll be the head coach? I think that remains less certain.

I don’t mean to be vague, but there is so much uncertainty it’s hard to predict how it will turn out.

Adam Jacobs asks: I have a question about the perception of the team. Am I wrong in thinking the worst thing that has happened during the Schoen/Daboll regime is making, and winning, a playoff game in 2022? I ask because even after they won the game, Schoen reminded people that while the team had a great year, there was still a major tear down of the roster ahead of them. It feels like the fans have forgotten that. In your opinion, is the team ahead of schedule, on schedule, or behind schedule on the roster overhaul? I think they are on schedule, with one or two draft classes and maybe a good free agency signing period to go before things consistently look good on the field.

Ed says: Adam, I think it’s clear that going from nine wins to six to three (entering Week 18) is not what a well-executed rebuild should look like. I do think that making the playoffs in 2022 changed a lot of things and, as it has worked out, not for the better.

I know the Giants would have moved on from Daniel Jones after 2022 had they been a 4-13 or 6-11 team. I have talked to Joe Schoen about this, and while he has not said that directly, he admitted surprise when he signed Jones to that four-year, $160 million contract that it worked out that way. I know he expected to be finding a new quarterback for 2023.

In retrospect, the Darren Waller trade should probably not have happened. There were probably some other moves Schoen made that offseason that would not have happened had the Giants not made the playoffs. I am pretty sure they expected to be drafting in the top 10, not having to trade up to get to No. 24 for Deonte Banks.

There is no way to know for sure, but maybe the Giants would be a playoff team today if they hadn’t been a playoff team in 2022.

Todd Kuehn asks: I know most fans were disappointed about losing the first overall pick in the draft. I found myself being disappointed as the Giants kept scoring but when the game was over I was extremely happy that they finally won. I will even be rooting for them to win against our biggest nemesis the Eagles. If they do that we will drop even farther down in the draft order. Seeing there are only two QB’s worth drafting in the first round according to draft “analysts”, the Giants would have to give up a lot of draft picks they will need to plug the many holes they have on both sides of the ball. If Daboll and Schoen return, how do you feel about the Giants doing something like the Steelers did. Sign Justin Fields and maybe Drew Lock and maybe take a flyer on one of the day two QB’s or even wait until next year.

Ed says: Sure, Todd, Fields is possible. So are Marcus Mariota, Jimmy Garappolo, Carson Wentz, Jameis Winston and some other guys. Whether it is Schoen or a different GM making the decision, I think the Giants must at least select a quarterback in the middle of the draft. Maybe that quarterback won’t be the long-term answer, but at least it gives them someone to look at.

Douglas Furth asks: Upon reflection, do you think your Things I Think piece about the Giants win over the Colts showed a degree of callousness towards the feelings of fans who are sick and tired of watching (and for some of us paying money to watch) this team go round and round at the bottom without finding a road out of QB hell.

Ed says: No, Douglas, I don’t. No player ever has to apologize for doing his job and playing as hard and as well as he can. No team ever should apologize for winning a game, which is the objective of taking the field.

I get it. Fans want better. I want to have a better team to write about. How does anybody know the Giants could get out of QB hell even if they have the No. 1 pick? We don’t have any idea if Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders will be good players. My piece reflected what I believe, and I will stand on it.

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