Eli Manning Is Working With Top NFL Draft Prospect

The incredible rap that Eli Manning dished out at the Pro Bowl may have overshadowed another piece of interesting news from the Giants legend. With the Super Bowl behind us, all focus will begin to shift to the upcoming NFL draft in April. Apparently, Eli Manning has been working with Drake Maye, one of the top quarterback draft prospects in this year's class.

The University of North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, has taken to the tutelage of Manning. In fact, Maye explained to Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post he has been quite submersed in Manning's camp. He has been linking with Manning through Zoom calls, and personal dialog, “I’m working out in Mobile, Alabama, and his backup quarterback in college was Dave Morris, and he’s training me for the draft," Maye said.

In addition, Maye spent time at the Manning Passing Academy camp this summer. There, he spent time with both Eli and Peyton Manning. You really can't do better than that in terms of people being in your corner coming as a prospect looking to enter the league.

Believe it or not, this happened before to some degree. Current Giants QB Daniel Jones was a top college player coming out of Duke University prior to being selected by the Giants 6th overall in 2019. David Cutcliffe was Jones' coach at Duke. Cutcliffe also coached both Eli and Peyton when they were in college, at Ole Miss and Tennessee, respectively.

Now with Eli retired from playing, but in the quarterback development space, it would be no surprise if he had the ear of the Giants front office. His influence within the Giants remains solid.

As for Jones, he is recovering from a torn ACL injury. There is currently no timetable for his return. Jones is a phenomenal, dual-threat athlete but has often been injured. This leaves the Giants in a tough spot, with one of the more important decisions looming. Ironically, the GMen have the 6th pick in this 2024 NFL draft as well. You can't help but wonder, given Eli Manning has been involved, might they draft Drake Maye?

Well, this has certainly been a nightmare season for the New York Giants so far. The harsh reality is that Daniel Jones is out for a full year with a very unfortunate knee injury. Now, we are left with pondering what the possible quarterback scenarios for the Giants could be in 2024.

2023 was expected to be a year of growth, with a playoff push seeming like a very reasonable goal. We had a revigorated Saquon Barkley, the reigning coach of the year Brian Daboll, and a now $40-million-a-year franchise guy in Daniel Jones.

To put the first half of this season in perspective, after nine games so far, the stars of the team Barkley and Jones, only played two games together. The team has been crushed with injuries. This includes the best offensive lineman on Big Blue, Andrew Thomas. Big number 78 has barely played.

It's unbelievable the difference ten weeks makes. In late August, there were NFL analysts who suggested the GMEN could challenge the Philadelphia Eagles for the top spot in the NFC East. Now, we are wondering who the quarterback will be moving forward.

Right now, we are dealing with an open wound. We are a few emotional days removed from the news that Daniel Jones tore his ACL in Las Vegas vs. the Raiders. Furthermore, the poor guy was just returning from a neck injury. However, there are serious questions as to whether or not Jones will ever wear #8 for the Giants again.

This upcoming NFL draft features one of the best quarterback classes of the past ten years. In addition, these players each have unique skill sets that differentiate themselves from their competitors. The NFL is a QB-driven league. In fact, without a solid, healthy quarterback on your roster, your chances are limited.

The only week on the upcoming schedule that looks favorable is the bye week. Two games still remain vs. the NFC champion Eagles as do road games vs. the Cowboys, the Commanders, and the Saints.

Still, there are three general scenarios the Giants could be faced with at quarterback for 2024. One of them includes Jones, one of them does not, and the third is somewhere in between. So, in no particular order, here are the three possibilities.

The front office has believed in Jones since they drafted him sixth overall in the 2019 draft. Just eight months ago, the Giants rewarded Jones with a four-year $160 million contract. That means three years are remaining. Yes, that is a big commitment to still have on your hands, but the the fact is, that is more of a short-term running back contract as opposed to a franchise quarterback. However, has Jones really had a fair chance yet? It's a question worth considering, given that Jones has yet to play with an offensive line where he doesn't have to run for his life. The Giants can very well want to give Jones another shot (with solid weapons around him). Jones will be 27-years-old in May.

On ESPN's Get Up this week, many NFL analysts suggested this could be the last season Justin Fields is the quarterback of the Chicago Bears. Fields is still on his rookie contract. Can the Giants afford both Jones and Fields? No, probably not long-term. For one year, they might be able to get creative, however. Fields could challenge Jones (once he returns) to see who is really the guy under center for Big Blue. Where this really gets interesting is that the Bears and Giants may own three of the top five picks of the 2024 NFL draft. The Bears own the Carolina Panthers' pick from the 2023 draft trade. The Bears are 3-7 and the Panthers are 1-8. The Giants also have an additional second-round pick as a result of the recent Leonard Williams trade. So, there are pieces to play with here.

Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (UNC), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan). That's the cream of the crop of a 2024 class that is deep and full of exceptional talent. Those four QBs may very-well be four of the first five picks in the next draft. Only the Panthers don't need one, having just taken Bryce Young first. What's even more intriguing here, is this upcoming draft class also includes guys like Bo Nix (Oregon) and Jordan Travis (Florida State) who can be available later in round one or on day two. At least one of these major talents will be there on the draft board when the Giants are on the clock come April. It will be hard to pass on any of them.