Rutgers Football Has Promising Draft Prospects

There's a promising future for Rutgers football. After a 31-24 victory over the University of Miami in the backyard Pinstripe Bowl, the team heads into the offseason on a positive note. For two Rutgers NFL draft prospects, this will be an entirely different offseason.

Last week, the Scarlet Knights' offensive lineman Ireland Brown declared he is entering the 2024 NFL draft. "The countless hours of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, have brought me to the decision to declare," Brown said in a posted statement. The local star, who is from Jamaica, New York, is an offensive lineman who stands at 6-foot-3, and is 300 pounds.

Brown joins a select group of Rutgers players who also plan on taking their talents to the professional level. Starting with one of the biggest stars in cornerback Max Melton. Bleacher Report recently described Melton's skills by saying he "Displays great anticipation of routes and quickly reacts to threats." Melton is also a local player who grew up in Hamilton Township. He played high school ball at Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor city. Furthermore, he is the highest-rated draft prospect coming out of Rutgers this year by NFL Draft Buzz.

Well over a year ago, the biggest name in NFL draft analyst history, Mel Kiper Jr., had high praise for Melton. In fact, this was back in late 2022. Kiper Jr. rated Melton as the eighth-best cornerback in college football. Melton sure would look great in Giants blue.

Quietly, Rutgers alumni made some noise in the NFL this season. Most notably, Kansas City Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco led the defending Super Bowl champions in a thrilling playoff victory over the Miami Dolphins. The Vineland, New Jersey native (and four-year Scarlet Knights player) had 9 touchdowns and over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving this season.

Another team in the playoffs has a Rutgers player rushing the football for them. The Baltimore Ravens 2023 leading rusher, Gus Edwards, played in New Brunswick for his last season of college football before heading south to Baltimore. If both the Ravens and Chiefs win this coming weekend, they will face each other in the AFC championship.

There must be something about running backs coming out of Rutgers. The Ravens shined a light on another notable alumni this season when they honored Ray Rice in late December.

With three months until the NFL draft, (and no New York team in the playoffs), we at least have Rutgers stars in the playoffs still to cheer for.

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.