The 2023 NFL draft is still roughly two months away but that hasn’t stopped experts and analysts from pumping out mocks at a rapid pace.
Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports threw his hat into the ring this week with a new mock of his own. And in it, the New York Giants do something they’ve not done in any other mainstream mock draft to date — they trade up and take a quarterback.
Trapasso has the Giants trading all the way up from No. 26 to No. 8, costing them a massive haul of draft stock, in order to select Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Giants see Stroud slipping and pounce. He has All-Pro upside as a passer. They trade away pick No. 26 overall, their second-round pick (No. 58 overall), and 2024 first-round and fourth-round picks.
With an abundance of personnel deficiencies, it’s hard to envision general manager Joe Schoen giving up so many picks for a quarterback. That’s especially true when you consider that the Giants are doing all they can to re-sign Daniel Jones long-term.
With all that having been said, if they’re unable to get a deal done with Jones and forego placing the franchise tag on him, it is possible they target a quarterback in the draft. And one they’ve met extensively with is Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker.
Because he’s coming off an injury, Hooker is likely to slide into the Giants’ range. That means they could land a quarterback without having to part with all those extra picks.