Is Dave Gettleman’s stance on Eli Manning what’s wrong with Giants?

New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman defended his stance on QB Eli Manning as the team’s starter, but is it time for him to finally commit to a young gun in the 2019 NFL Draft?

New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman came out swinging in his first media appearance since trading Odell Beckham, Jr. to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 17 pick overall and safety Jabrill Peppers. And he targeted critics of Eli Manning.

“This narrative that Eli’s overpaid and can’t play is a crock,” said Gettleman, via the New York Daily News. “With the way we ended the season and what he’s making, there really wasn’t a decision to make.”

The decision Gettleman is talking about is the $5 million roster bonus for Manning that became guaranteed on Sunday.

“It’s not my responsibility to tell you guys what I’m doing, just like it’s not my job to respond to every rumor that comes down the pike,” Gettleman said.

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And herein lies the problem in New York. Does Gettleman actually have a plan? And if he does, why is he so defensive of it?

The Giants made the controversial decision in the 2018 NFL draft to select RB Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick instead of a quarterback — Sam Darnold was still on the board — to sit behind Manning for a season or two. It was a move that was questioned by almost every draft analyst at the time because of the positional value; it’s much easier to find feature running backs than franchise quarterbacks.

But Gettleman stuck to his plan, and New York was downright brutal in 2018. And they weren’t brutal because of Barkley. He was a stud, and no one doubted whether he would be. But their passing game — led by Manning — was one of the hardest to watch in the sport. It was non-existent at times. And, sure, some of the blame belongs to an offensive line that resembled a New York subway turnstile, but Manning clearly lost a few RPMs off his throws, too.

Manning’s stats tell something of a different story, however, and maybe that’s what Gettleman’s hanging his hat on. He completed a career-high 66 percent of his passes and threw for 4,299 yards, the most he’s totaled since 2015. He tossed 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, the second-lowest INT total of his fringe-Hall-of-Fame career.

Forget the numbers, though. New York needs a transition plan, and it needs to be in place now.

The Giants own two first-round picks this year and there’s a very good chance Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins will be on the board when they select at No. 6 overall. But is he the guy? Is he the quarterback Gettleman believes will thrive behind an offensive line that still needs work and with a receiving corps that will feature a 31-year-old Golden Tate?

Yikes.

Gettleman is an old-school evaluator who trusts his gut. There’s no doubt about that. He’s proven it with just about every move he’s made since taking over as general manager in New York. But sometimes, trusting your gut can devolve into a stubborn refusal to adapt or change a longstanding methodology. We saw it last April when he passed on a potential franchise quarterback, and it reared its head again with the Beckham trade.

It’s unlikely — highly unlikely — Gettleman’s job is in danger. And maybe it shouldn’t be, to be fair. He’s been given authority to rebuild the roster, and he’s actually doing that; he’s obviously in the tear-down phase of the process. But whether he can be trusted to make the right decisions on draft day should be a big concern for Giants fans, and if he gets it wrong at No. 6 and No. 17 this year, New York is headed for very, very dark times.