Offensive-heavy class could set record

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – In 2009, quarterback Matthew Stafford was the top selection in the NFL Draft, by the Detroit Lions. Stafford was the first of a record 19 offensive players chosen in the first round.

The 2024 draft begins Thursday, and it is replete at two glamour positions, quarterback and wide receiver, as well as offensive tackle, plus a premier tight end. It’s possible the top 10 players chosen will all be on offense. And that record of 19 offensive players in round one?

“That could be put to the test this year,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said.

The Giants own the sixth selection in the first round. Whether they stay, trade up or move back, they are expected to stay within the strength of the draft and go offense with their first pick.

Potential candidates include wide receivers Marvin Harrison, Jr. of Ohio State, Malik Nabers of LSU and Rome Odunze of Washington and perhaps quarterbacks Drake Maye of North Carolina or Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. The top tackles are Notre Dane’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu. Georgia’s Brock Bowers is the only tight end expected to be a first rounder.

“I do think it’s an offensive-heavy draft, specifically at the top,” Schoen said. “I think in the top 10, it’s going to be offensive heavy.”

The Giants currently have no seventh-round selection after trading it to Arizona last year for linebacker Isaiah Simmons. That may not be a bad thing because the back of the draft might yield less talent than usual.

Because of NIL rules and longer eligibility due to COVID, fewer underclassmen are entering the draft. Only 54 did so this year, the lowest number in a steady decline since 106 underclassmen were eligible for the 2018 draft. Schoen called the number “really low.”

“A lot of players (stay in school) for various reasons, NIL being a big one,” he said. “I think it’s the last class for the COVID next year, so you’re going to get out of that cycle where the guys get the six years or whatever it may be. When a lot of these kids go back that would be fifth-to-seventh-round picks, and they’re getting more money from the NIL than they would in the draft, you understand why they do it. But we deal with what we’re given in terms of the players that are in this draft. Our scouting department does a good job, all those players go back, and we’re dealt the players that are in the fifth-through-seventh, and we’ll try to find a good player there.”

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