Before the Giants watched Dwayne Haskins on the field at his Pro Day at Ohio State on Wednesday, they evaluated something that may be even more important to them when it comes to picking a quarterback in the NFL draft.
Several high-ranking members of the Giants' management team had dinner with Haskins in Ohio on Tuesday night. Among them were head coach Pat Shurmur, offensive coordinator Mike Shula and director of college scouting Chris Pettit. It was a chance for the Giants to spend some casual time with Haskins and try to get a sense of what he is like not as a quarterback, but as a person.
Haskins seemed to recognize that aspect of the process.
"I think the biggest thing when you're drafting a quarterback is you want the guy to be there 10, 12, 15 years, that's the guy you want to lead your franchise," Haskins told NFL Network on Wednesday. "So every meeting that I go to, I want to show them how charismatic I am, how smart I am and to be able to relate to everyone in the room. Being able to sit down with (the Giants) last night was awesome, had a great time. Had some good talks, we had some good food, and it was a great experience."
The Giants stressed how important that off-the-field aspect is to them at the Combine when Shurmur and general manager Dave Gettleman met with the media.
"Once you've seen that they're a really good player, you've got to determine whether they're a very good decision-maker," Shurmur said about quarterbacks at the Combine. "That crosses over into all areas of their life because we all know what we're looking for from the face of our franchise. When the game is over, they ask a lot of people what happened. But every week, they ask the head coach and the quarterback what they think. That player is thrust into a position of leadership and being the face of the franchise. So decision-making is important. I think we're looking for all that."
Gettleman added: "I mean this is the face of your franchise. He's got to do all the right stuff for all the right reasons. You can't go to bed at night worrying if he's gonna come in on time. You can't do that, no matter how talented they are."
Just because the Giants met and dined with Haskins doesn't mean they'll draft him. Last year they followed a similar process with several of the top quarterbacks in the draft including Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Sam Darnold. They wound up selecting running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick.
Haskins looked good in his Pro Day drills, as most quarterbacks do. But the Giants already knew about his on-field talents (that arm!) and drawbacks (that lack of speed!). They saw him work at the Combine and have watched all of his film from college. There wasn't much Haskins did on Wednesday that will change any team's evaluation of those elements.
Tuesday night, though, was his chance to shine for the Giants. If he did, he may be having more meals with them after the draft next month.
