Giants News: Head Coach Pat Shurmur Calls Dwayne Haskins' Pro Day 'Excellent'
March 21, 2019
With 38-year-old signal-caller Eli Manning's contract set to expire after the 2019 season, the New York Giants are in the market for a quarterback.
Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins is a prime candidate, and Big Blue head coach Pat Shurmur came away impressed after the Buckeye's pro day on Wednesday.
"It was excellent," Shurmur told Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. "We obviously have spent a lot of time evaluating him, and this is one piece of it. We got the chance to work with him on the board and take him to dinner, and he certainly is an accomplished and impressive young man.’’
Haskins received much praise for his pro day performance, earning positive remarks from Bucky Brooks of NFL Network and Louis Riddick of ESPN:
Shurmur offered further compliments, calling Haskins "an impressive young man." He also spoke with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, who has relayed "great stuff" about the quarterback.
Per Schwartz, Haskins only missed two of his 50 throws and worked under center, out of the shotgun and outside the pocket. The beat writer also praised his' "fluid" movement and his ability to "get the ball anywhere it needs to go."
The Giants are clearly doing their homework on Haskins. Schwartz noted offensive coordinator Mike Shula, senior vice president of player personnel Chris Mara, assistant general manager Kevin Abrams and director of college scouting Chris Pettit were all in attendance. They also took him to dinner Tuesday night.
Simply put, there's no reason for the Giants to let Haskins slip by if he falls to No. 6. If the smoke is true and Kyler Murray goes No. 1 to the Arizona Cardinals (as numerous NFL general managers told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports), then Haskins is the clear top quarterback left on the board.
The 6'3", 231-pound Buckeye's pinpoint accuracy compared to his peers plays a big part, as Ian Wharton of Bleacher Report pointed out in his personal charts:
In his first year as the OSU starter, Haskins tossed 50 touchdown passes and completed 70 percent of his passes while leading the Buckeyes to a 13-1 record, Big Ten title and Rose Bowl victory. That's not bad for one year's work.
The Giants have the draft capital to grab Haskins, thanks to the Nos. 6 and 17 picks in the first round. It's possible he falls out of the top five, but they can also use the No. 17 selection to move up in the pecking order.
New York general manager Dave Gettleman praised the "Kansas City model" at the NFL Scouting Combine, noting how well the torch was passed between veteran quarterback Alex Smith and future NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. Perhaps that foreshadows a Manning-Haskins pairing next year before the latter takes over for good in 2020.