Giants' Rooting Guide for 2024 NFL Draft Implications of Week 17

The New York Giants haven't had a lot to get excited about in 2023, but the idea of getting a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft isn't so bad.

The Giants have suffered through a disappointing campaign that has them at 5-10 through 16 weeks of the season. It's a lot of losing for a franchise that was hoping to build on a playoff berth last season, but quarterback Daniel Jones has been out since Week 9 and he's dealt with injuries all season.

The team is going to have a tough decision to make come draft time. If they have an early enough pick they could be looking at the possibility of drafting a replacement for Jones or a supporting piece who could help him have success.

Either way, the earlier the Giants pick in April, the more options they are going to have.

That means they need to continue to lose over the final two weeks of the season and have a few more games go their way.

Here are three contests the Giants should have a rooting interest for this weekend.

Patriots over Bills

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Mack Wilson Sr.

The Giants can close the gap between them an the 4-11 Commanders and Patriots to force a tiebreaker. Right now, their strength of schedule would put them ahead of both Washington and New England, per Tankathon.

The Commanders play the 49ers which is unfortunate news for the Giants. The 49ers might have lost to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football, but they will be massive underdogs against a team that is still one of the best in the league.

The Patriots have a much more winnable matchup with the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills are still capable of being one of the best teams in the league any given week but consistency has not been their calling card. Their loss earlier in the season to the Patriots was a perfect example.

New England forced two turnovers and the defense allowed Mac Jones to lead a game-winning drive with under two minutes left to play, capped by a Mike Gesicki touchdown with 12 seconds left.

The Bills have been bad at putting teams away this year. Just last week they needed a last-minute field goal to escape with a win over the Chargers.

The Patriots are coming off a win over the Denver Broncos so it isn't like they've thrown in the towel. Another win and the Giants could be looking at a top-four pick.

Chargers over Broncos

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Easton Stick

The same Broncos that lost to the New England Patriots could help out the Giants again this week. They will play host to the Los Angeles Chargers, who are tied with New York by record at 5-10.

Right now, the Giants are ahead of both the Chargers and the Titans by strength of schedule, which will change as the final two weeks play out.

New York's pick would be a lot safer if they actually just had a worse record than both the Titans and Chargers.

The Chargers have already confirmed that big changes are coming in 2024. They fired head coach Brandon Staley and are now led by interim coach Giff Smith. Their first effort under the interim coach was a near victory. The Bills had to kick a field goal with 22 seconds left just to win 24-22.

That kind of effort is an encouraging sign that they could pull off the upset against a Broncos team coming off a tough loss against the Patriots. The Broncos needed to beat New England to remain in contention, but Bailey Zappe threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions on the way to a 26-23 upset loss for Denver.

Justin Herbert is out for the season but Easton Stick has now had three games to settle in. He could author another upset Broncos loss and help the Giants get some separation.

Titans over Texans

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Derrick Henry

The Titans aren't very good this season, but you can't say they are tanking. The last five weeks have proven that to be true.

Their last five games have all been determined by one score, including overtime losses to the Texans and Colts. Both opponents are still in the playoff race. The Titans were good enough to play them close, but not quite good enough to actually beat them.

They'll get a second crack at the Texans in Week 17. Just a few weeks after losing 19-16 at home, they'll travel to Houston with a shot at redemption. The Texans enter the week as the first team out of the playoffs in the AFC so ruining their season could be added motivation for the Titans.

The opportunity to get some momentum behind Will Levis—who the team is hopeful will play—could also be a motivating factor.

Whoever will be playing quarterback for the Giants next season will not be on the active roster this week. They don't have the same motivational factors as the Titans so there's at least some reason to believe Tennessee can help out Big Blue while ruining a division rival's season.