NFL Draft 2013: New York Giants Trade Up to Select Ryan Nassib

There are shocking trades and then there is the move the New York Giants made on Saturday to acquire the selection and opportunity to draft Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib. While it’s no secret that Nassib would be one of the first names off the board on the draft’s third day, the shock came in the form of who ended up taking him: the New York Giants.

Eli Manning isn’t in any way pressured by this move, but it’s still an interesting one to have been made. Manning has solidified his status as an elite quarterback in the NFL and the Giants are not looking to push him out. But rather than approach Nassib like he’s a first-round talent that slipped into the fourth round, approach him like a fourth-round talent that people inflated to a first-round pick.

Nassib isn’t ready to be an NFL quarterback yet, but he does have the potential to be a decent backup quarterback and one day a solid starter. But there’s work to be done before that happens and a backup role behind Eli Manning is the ideal spot for Nassib. He’s a local kid from Syracuse, is going to learn the ropes from a Manning brother — the one with two  Super Bowls– and he’s going to learn how Manning won those Super Bowls in the very system he made his own name.

Manning is no stranger to be ing a scrutinized guy, in fact Nassib’s selection will draw unwarranted scrutiny onto Manning as it will be translated and misinterpreted as a pressure situation. Manning isn’t being pushed out, rather he’s maturing. The Giants are so sure and believe so much in Manning’s maturation into an elite NFL quarterback, that they’re giving him a new role: mentor.

In all honesty, this pick speaks higher on Manning than people will initially say, as he’s now officially gone from the young quarterback no one thought would live up to Peyton’s legend, to the master a young padawan learner is coming to to learn the ways of the NFL force.