Eli is not overpaid and incapable of competing, just like our ‘fearless leader’ Dave Gettleman said this past week during his much anticipated conference call. They always say to start with a joke…
Although both Eli and Gettleman have had critics aplenty over the past few weeks, the former has led the New York Football Giants to two Super Bowls, and when he retires (which will be sooner rather than later), will rightly take his place in the Big Blue Hall of Fame. Gettleman meanwhile, has everything to prove, and after trading away a generational talent like Odell Beckham Jr is public enemy number one to many fans on social media.
The grand master plan of Dave’s may take a while to culminate, but one thing is surely for certain, this must be Eli Manning’s last dance. A new beginning will dawn in New Jersey as Manning passes the torch to the new quarterback of the Giants, and to me, that man is Josh Rosen, but it comes with an asterisk.
There are an increasingly worrying number of gaps in the Giants starting line-up, none more so than in the defense. If you asked me what I would do with the number 6 pick back in December, without even pausing for breath I would have screamed just two words. Dwayne, Haskins. I watched Haskins in the Rose Bowl against Washington, and I have to say that he was everything he was billed up to be, a strong pocket passer who showed great calmness with the ball in his hands. Nothing seemed to worry him, there was no fear in his eyes compared to some young quarterbacks I’ve watched both around the NCAA and NFL.
Haskins is still a guy I like very much, and I’d even go as far as saying that he’d still be my first choice if Landon Collins, Olivier Vernon and Beckham Jr were still among our ranks. Those two players moving on has created a cataclysmic shift in the identity of the Giants, with the 2019 season already likely to be a ‘suck it and see’ type of year (forgive me if that term is not used in the U.S., you can Google it). If there is ever a year to make mistakes, it’s this year, and that is why I think the decision to make a move for Josh Rosen is one of the most necessary decisions to make on draft night. If Kyler Murray is first off the board, as many expect he will be, Rosen is officially on the market.
As for the sixth pick, from originally wanting Haskins at all costs, I’ve switched sides to ‘Team Pass Rush’. Well, essentially, I want the Giants front office to draft the best football player possible with the pick, whichever position that is, which is likely on defense. As for the 17th pick, my statements are echoed. Another defensive addition would be great, but if there’s a highly rated offensive lineman sitting there who can play right tackle, then even better. I digress from my original headline though.
After those two picks, the Giants have #37 (2nd round) and #95 (3rd round) on the board. This is where I hope the G-men can test the Cardinals resolve with an offer. As I mentioned in my title, Josh Rosen should be the Giants next QB. He fits the mold in terms of a trait the Giants put a lot of onus on when it comes to their quarterbacks, and that is height, with Rosen measuring in at around the 6ft 4in mark. A more tried and tested passer than Haskins, Rosen played three seasons as starter at UCLA (unfortunately missing half a season due to injury), and already has 13 professional games under his belt behind one of, if not the worst offensive lines in the NFL last season.
Rosen proved he could play, and in one of the most hostile environments in football, Lambeau Field, on a cold, snowy day (an alien terrain for LA native Rosen), he bested Aaron Rodgers and guided the Cardinals to a gusty win on the road. Let’s remind ourselves that he was the #10 overall pick in the 2018 draft, and Arizona moving on from him is certainly not the mark of a bust, more so that the new head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, has the chance to put a Heisman winning runner at the helm of his team, thus giving him the chance to reap the rewards from being the man who drafted Kyler Murray to Phoenix, Arizona.
Coming full circle to my point, the Giants need to get on the phone to GM Steve Keim and broker a deal that will see Josh Rosen come to New York for the 2019 season. Rosen will have three years on a rookie deal. Rosen will also have a season of experience to his name, alongside teaming up with three former team-mates in Antoine Bethea, Olsen Pierre and Markus Golden in the locker room. However, the biggest matter of fact is this; if Josh Rosen is available, and the Giants don’t need to trade away a first round pick to get him, it’s a no-brainer.
My sincere hope is that it works out for Josh in NYC. I really do. But if things go horribly wrong this year for Rosen in New York, and the Giants find themselves in a position where they have gone perhaps 4-12, or worse somehow and end up with a top 5 pick in 2020, will they really lose that much if they were to draft a Justin Herbert or Tua Tagovailoa, and move Rosen on again? There, I said it. Yes, it may come close to breaking the poor kid, but I’m talking about a New York Giant standpoint here. If Rosen is there, dangling on a hook for a second round pick, you take that gamble. The Giants have already gambled their future letting a three time Pro Bowler in Collins walk, and moving on from the face of the franchise OBJ, why not take a punt on Rosen?
For me, there is so little to lose. Obviously the Giants would never outwardly say that Rosen is almost on trial in the Big Apple, but on the inside, the major risks to the move. He has a poor 2020, the Giants flop and have Justin Herbert there on a silver platter, and they take him while moving Rosen on for a third round pick, per se. It’s an option, one that is surely of interest. However, that isn’t the case and Rosen works out, but only time will tell.
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