ORLANDO — Giants co-owner John Mara is on board with drafting a first-round quarterback in April if Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll covet a top QB. “If they fall in love with a quarterback and believe that it’s worth pick No. 6 or moving up, I certainly would support that,” Mara said Monday at the NFL Owners Meeting. Mara said his GM and head coach are “looking at the quarterbacks” at the top of this NFL Draft and that they hold this particular QB class in high regard. “They tell me it’s the most talented group to come out in years,” he said. He said he still has confidence in Daniel Jones , but he would welcome competition from a rookie. “Why not let them both compete? Let them both compete and let the better man win,” Mara said. “We do have confidence in Daniel. But if you have a chance to bring in another quarterback and your head coach and the general manager have a conviction about him, you go ahead and do it.” Schoen said any potential trade activity at the top of the draft probably won’t happen until April when college pro days wind down and teams start rounding out their evaluations. But it has never felt more likely that the Giants will draft a QB this April, or at least go big-game hunting in pursuit of their guy. Mara even made a good joke when asked if he had spent any time yet with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy , who recently took a Top 30 visit to the Giants’ facility. “I have not spent any time with him, no,” Mara said. Then he smirked and added: “Not yet.” Mara still defended Jones as a player and said the Giants need to “put a better team around him.” “I think the real Daniel Jones is the one that played in 2022, particularly down the stretch there and in the playoffs,” he said. Schoen also set the record straight that Drew Lock is Jones’ “backup” when Jones gets healthy. Still, the hunt for Jones’ successor or replacement is on. LSU’s Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s
Drake Maye and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. have pro days this week to showcase their skills and personalities once more. And with the NFL Draft now only a month away, it’s never been clearer that the Giants could be close to drafting what they hope will be their next franchise QB.