Manning to Mahomes? Maybe.
Ben McAdoo normally does not hit college campuses to check out NFL Draft prospects. He leaves that assignment to Giants general manager Jerry Reese or Marc Ross, the vice president of player evaluation, or team scouts.
But McAdoo was in Lubbock, Texas, on Friday to check out quarterback Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech. It is believed to be the first Pro Day McAdoo has attended as the Giants’ head coach.
The Giants are accumulating as much information as possible as they continue to consider what life will be like after Eli Manning, who is 36 years old and entering his 14th NFL season. Though it does not necessarily mean the Giants are hot after Mahomes or they are intent on taking a quarterback early in this year’s draft, they could select a quarterback in the first few rounds, if things fall a certain way.
“You look at it every year. It doesn’t matter if you have a franchise quarterback and he’s in his third year,’’ McAdoo said last week at the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix. “You’re always looking to get better and if the right guy falls to you, if one falls to you, you have to think about taking him.’’
McAdoo also said “I don’t see why not’’ when asked if newly acquired Jets castoff Geno Smith could be the heir apparent to Manning, and proceeded to laud Smith’s physical skill set. First, Smith has to make the roster. He signed a one-year contract that carries no financial risk for the Giants, and he is coming off knee surgery to repair a torn ACL.
In addition to watching Mahomes throw, it is believed McAdoo had a private meeting beforehand with the intriguing quarterback, the son of former Major League Baseball pitcher Pat Mahomes — who went 8-0 for the Mets in 1999 — and the godson of former big league pitcher LaTroy Hawkins.
McAdoo checked out Mahomes in early March at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and the Giants had a private meeting with him there.
Given the volatile nature of this year’s crop of quarterbacks, it is difficult to assess where any of them will go. Mahomes is ranked in most circles behind the top three of Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson and DeShone Kizer, all probable first-round picks. There was a time when Mahomes was projected to be no higher than a second-round pick, but could hear his name called toward the latter part of the first round.
The Giants have the No. 23 overall pick on April 27. The next day, the Giants have the 55th overall pick, in the second round, most likely too late to get Mahomes.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Mahomes is in some ways a polarizing prospect. He put up huge numbers in Kliff Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense at Texas Tech, perhaps the most quarterback-friendly system in college football. As a junior this past season, Mahomes threw for 5,052 yards along with 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and ran for 12 touchdowns. He put up an NCAA-record 819 yards of total offense against Oklahoma. The spread system he ran in college often does not translate to the NFL, and Mahomes figures to need plenty of time to acclimate to the next level.
That would work well as a time frame for the Giants, who are in no hurry to show Manning the door, but realize he will not be around forever.
Mahomes is different from the rest of the top prospects in what is not considered an especially strong year for quarterbacks. Mike Mayock of NFL Network said Mahomes has “big arm” and “runs around like he thinks he’s Johnny Manziel.’’
This was not a dig at Mahomes.
“He’s different,’’ Mayock said. “He’s a gunslinger. He’s got an innate feel for the game.’’