Panthers traded up in draft fearing Giants would take Jonathon Brooks?

The New York Giants entered the 2024 NFL draft looking to fill some obvious holes on their roster: wide receiver, defensive back, and running back were all high on the list.

The Giants filled the first two needs with their first three selections and then took Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the fifth round to augment the running back room.

In the second round, Giants general manager Joe Schoen, at pick No. 47, appeared to have several of his top targets falling to him. Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin and Texas running back Jonathan Brooks were both reported to be high on the Giants’ board.

It’s recently been revealed that the Carolina Panthers felt the Giants were leaning towards Brooks at No. 47, so they traded up with Indianapolis to No. 46 and snatched Brooks away. Schoen then took Nubin at No. 47.

CAR traded up to 46 to draft Jonathan Brooks, leapfrogging the Giants because the Giants had Brooks in for a 30 Visit.#30VisitsMatter https://t.co/ivxr4j7jyu pic.twitter.com/cmO7hfvOE3

— NYGfaninCLT (@clt_ny) June 18, 2024

After the second day of the draft, Schoen was asked if he thought Morgan ‘leapfrogged’ him in fear of losing Brooks to the Giants.

“I’m not sure,” Schoen said. “I’m really tight with Dan. Dan Morgan is one of my best friends in the world. We didn’t talk much about that. They called us, as well, so it was like, hey, would you maybe want to move back?

“I don’t know if he just got antsy. In some of those situations, it’s not always just us. Maybe other teams are trying to trade up with the team from us. So you don’t know, when you find somebody you like and you want to go get them and they are within range, you try to pull the trigger. I’m not sure if he thought we might do that or not.”

Giant fans didn’t seem to mind. They needed a safety after letting Xavier McKinney go in free agency and Nubin could end up being the best safety taken in this draft. The Giants may have benefited from the Panthers moving up.

“He takes the ball away. 13 career interceptions. He’s a ball hawk,” Schoen said of Nubin. “To me, the leadership, the character, the smarts, safety, the ability to communicate out there. To get guys to lined up I think is very important, and this kid is elite at those types of things.”