2024 NFL Draft: Five biggest takeaways from Giants’, Jets’ first-round decisions

The draft is the NFL's fountain of hope -- some of it, it turns out in hindsight, a bit false. Just two years ago, the New York Giants and New York Jets each had two picks in the top 10, fueling excitement that both teams were poised for rapid rises. The Jets' Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson and the Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal are all starters. But on Thursday, both teams picked in the top 10 again, coming off seasons that were so disappointing one quarterback (Zach Wilson) has already been traded out of town and the other (Daniel Jones) just spent the entire draft buildup watching his team study potential replacements.

Still, there isn't a team in the NFL that wouldn't say on Thursday night it was thrilled with its first round pick. The Giants and Jets were no different.

Here are our takeaways from the first round.

1) Five years after trading Odell Beckham Jr., the New York Giants finally replace his big-play ability with LSU's Malik Nabers. Nabers is an explosive play waiting to happen, something the somnolent Giants offense, which ranked 30th in scoring last season, desperately needs. The Giants have not had even an 800-yard receiver since Beckham was traded in the 2019 offseason. The Giants particularly love Nabers' toughness -- he simply doesn't miss games or practices -- and his competitiveness. In the ultimate compliment, Brian Daboll called him "a dog on the field." Nabers said that in his pre-draft meeting with Daboll, he came to like the head coach's personality after Daboll told Nabers he could guard him.

Uh, probably not. Nabers can create separation, play multiple positions and give the quarterback an easy window to throw the ball to. Jones' health and durability is the wild card, but the Giants