Giants’ Brian Daboll excited for Pro Days: ‘I love evaluating quarterbacks’
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Brian Daboll is currently on the road for the NFL’s annual league meeting and he will stay on the road this week.
“We’ll be at some Pro Days here shortly,’’ he said Tuesday.
Well, it does not take a high-tech navigation system to figure out likely destinations for Daboll and the Giants’ top talent evaluators.
The Pro Day at LSU is Wednesday in Baton Rouge and North Carolina holds its Pro Day Thursday in Chapel Hill.
The LSU workout will feature Jayden Daniels and North Carolina will showcase Drake Maye.
Thursday is also the day for Washington and Michael Penix. Jr. in Seattle.
The quarterback study continues for the Giants.
Coincidentally, so will the wide receiver study at two of those same Pro Days — LSU features Daniels’ target Malik Nabers, while Washington features Penix’s target Rome Odunze.
Both are among the top wide receiver prospects in the draft and could be options for the Giants at No 6.
“There’s no exact science of it,’’ Daboll said. “It’s obvious that there isn’t. You do the best job you can. I love doing it. I love evaluating quarterbacks. I love meeting with the quarterbacks. It’s an awesome position to work with and it’s a really fun position to evaluate.’’
This has been Daboll’s assignment for several years, for several different teams in his role as quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator.
As a head coach, his scope is broadened this time of year.
His specialty is quarterbacks, though, and in this cycle the Giants are in the market.
They own the No. 6 pick in next month’s NFL draft.
The last time they picked at six, in 2019, they took Daniel Jones. They could be selecting his successor this time around.
Grading the quarterbacks is an annual requirement, regardless of whether the team has a bona fide starter at that position or not.
Meeting and getting a feel for these players is essential, as these players might shake free in a few years and the more you know about them, the better.
“You never know when they’re going to be available,’’ Daboll said. “It’s such a premium position, right?’’
Right.
Daboll, as is his wont, did not allow the name of one draft-eligible player to slip through his lips.
When asked about meeting with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy at the Giants’ facility, Daboll said “with anybody specific relative to the draft right now, I’m not going to get into specifics with them.’’
He would not even bite on revealing if his outlook on Jones has changed after last season’s poor performance and Jones’ multiple injuries, again not mentioning his starting quarterback by name.
“None of us did well enough last year, and that starts with me,’’ Daboll said.
As for this year’s crop of quarterbacks in the draft, Daboll said, “Still doing quite a bit of work on them, as with all of the positions I’m doing. There are some good ones. In a lot of different places.’’
Daboll spent plenty of time with the Patriots and owns five Super Bowl rings, helped mightily by the presence of Tom Brady in New England.
And, of course, Brady was a sixth-round draft pick. History tells us that of the top quarterbacks in this class, more than half of them could be busts.
Or will be busts.
Despite all the meeting and analyzing and film study and scouting, identifying the next great quarterback remains an often fruitless NFL odyssey.
“It takes a long time to evaluate,’’ Daboll said. “You have to put a lot of work into it. You just don’t watch a cut-up of — it’s an all-encompassing process. I’ve done that every year I’ve coached quarterbacks, been a coordinator, been a head coach. This will be no different, but it is time-consuming. I love doing it because, again, two years from now or three years from now, whenever it may be, who knows if those quarterbacks are going to be out there.’’
Daboll added to his staff James Ferentz to serve as assistant offensive line coach, replacing Chris Smith (who left to become the offensive line coach at James Madison).
Ferentz, 34, played for the Broncos, spent the past seven years with the Patriots and recently announced his retirement.
He is the son of longtime Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said there is a chance his team will come to New Jersey this summer for a joint practice at the Giants’ facility.
Last year, the Giants spent two days in Allen Park, Mich. working with the Lions.
The NFL is investigating whether the Eagles tampered before signing Saquon Barkley but commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday did not have an update.
“I’m sure they are making progress,’’ he said. “They were hard at work at it immediately.’’
The league is also looking into whether the Falcons tampered before signing Kirk Cousins.
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