Mel Kiper mock draft: Abdul Carter and an interesting QB to New York Giants

Giants land Jalen Milroe at No. 34

Mel Kiper of ESPN is out with a two-round mock draft [Insider only], and the results for the New York Giants are — to say the least — interesting.

Kiper has Penn State edge defender Abdul Carter going to the Giants at No. 3. As has become standard, Kiper has Cam Ward going No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans and Travis Hunter No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns.

ESPN’s draft guru has the Giants selecting a quarterback at 34. He gives the Giants Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. Kiper didn’t choose Milroe over Jaxson Dart (No. 26, Los Angeles Rams) or Tyler Shough (No. 33, Browns), but Milroe and the Giants are an interesting match.

Here is what Kiper said about each pick.

Round 1 (No. 3) Abdul-Carter, edge, Penn State

Kiper says:

Even after signing Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, the Giants have been linked to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. I’m not ruling it out. Neither Wilson nor Winston is a long-term answer. However, the additions mean the Giants can at least toy with passing on the quarterbacks in Round 1 in favor of one of the class’s top two prospects. Travis Hunter is off the board, but Carter would take this New York defense to new heights.

In his first season as a full-time edge rusher (after playing primarily off-ball linebacker in past years), Carter had 12 sacks and 23.5 total tackles for loss. I see elite traits on the tape. And considering the Giants have holes all over their roster, they might opt for the best player on the board. They’d have something with Carter, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence II up front.

Valentine’s View: There are some who might argue for defensive tackle Mason Graham or for the best offensive tackle on the board here. I think, though, that if the Giants stick and pick here Carter is the best play. Because he is the best player.

Graham would be a natural, easy fit next to Dexter Lawrence. I believe, though, that Carter’s ceiling is higher than Graham’s. Yes, the Giants have Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns. So what? Figure it out. As for offensive tackle, I would prefer an interior offensive lineman somewhere on Day 2 and a developmental tackle later.

Round 2 (No. 34) — Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama

Kiper says:

After the Giants passed on Shedeur Sanders in Round 1, they could come back to the quarterbacks on Day 2. There is some love for Milroe in NFL circles right now, and he could fit well in New York. He’d have the chance to learn behind Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, developing his pre-snap reads and improving his short-to-intermediate accuracy. Milroe throws a great deep ball and can change a game with his legs. He ran for 20 scores in 2024.

This quarterback class doesn’t have the same talent as the classes in 2024 or even 2023 did, but there are some solid middle-tier options. According to ESPN Research, it would be only the seventh time in the common draft era that five or more passers went in the first 34 picks.

Valentine’s View: BBV draft analyst Chris Pflum has been filling my timeline with calls for the Giants to take a flier on Milroe. His reaction when I told him Kiper had selected Milroe for New York?

“Crap. Kiper agrees with me. Time to re-evaluate my whole life.”

Milroe with the Giants/Daboll is such an interesting pairing. Daboll’s greatest success an an offensive coordinator/quarterback developer came with Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills. There are similarites between Milroe and Allen as outstanding runners, players with big arms and high ceilings, but also quarterbacks with bust potential because of accuracy issues.

Matt Waldman of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio believes Milroe could be the best quarterback in the class. Here is what Waldman, who was a guest on Tuesday’s ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast, wrote in his draft guide about Milroe:

If I were a pivotal decision-maker for an NFL team, Jalen Milroe is the only quarterback I’m considering within the first three rounds of the draft in this class. I’ll take shots on passers available later who have growth potential as journeymen starters or reserves. Maybe one of them surprises us and proves there’s a lot more to his game.

Otherwise, Milroe is it. Period. End of story …

Milroe is a quarterback prospect, and a promising one. If anything, I’ve underestimated his accuracy potential in this evaluation and he was already incredibly close to being the QB1 on the RSP’s board.

Milroe is the best pocket player in this class. He has Lamar Jackson’s quiet feet – the ability to make subtle moves so he can continue manipulating defenders and be in position to throw the ball – in the pocket.

Milroe is also one of the best in this class at manipulating defenders.

It is also interesting that Milroe, who has not been expected to be a first-round pick, recently accepted an invitation to be in the Green Room on night one of the draft.

Waldman’s NFL comp for Milroe is Jalen Hurts, another running quarterback whose ability as a passer was questioned entering the NFL. He is now a Super Bowl champ, and that question has been answered.

Coincidentally, Daboll worked with Hurts at Alabama.

With Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in place to handle 2025, there wouldn’t be pressure on Milroe to play a significant role in 2025. That is development time most believe he needs to become a quality NFL quarterback.

Milroe would also give Daboll an opportunity to show that the work he did with Allen in Buffalo was not a fluke, or a one-off. The question is whether Daboll would get more than a year to work with Milroe and show if that pairing could succeed.