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Sam Darnold will most likely be one of the top prospects selected in the 2018 NFL Draft if he declares and his former teammate at USC believes he would also be an excellent pick for the New York Giants.

Darnold is one of the top quarterback prospects in the coming draft class and the Giants currently own the No. 2 overall pick if the season were to end today. Chad Wheeler, the Giants' right tackle and former blindside protector of Darnold at USC, is a big believer in what the young prospect has to offer.

“I can’t foresee the future, but if he’s blessed enough to get picked by the New York Giants, I’ll be like ecstatic,’’ Wheeler said, via The Post. “It would be awesome. He has great mentors here, great coaches. It’s great to get as many Trojans as possible.’’

The majority of talent evaluators believe Darnold has the most upside of any quarterback in his class. Those same evaluators also believe that he would stand to benefit from learning more and the Giants can offer him that. As Wheeler points out, Darnold would inherit future Hall of Fame quarterback Eli Manning as his mentor. The Giants have already stated that they expect and want Manning to return in 2018 and this would give Darnold the opportunity to work behind and learn from him.

Another factor in the success rate of quarterbacks for the Giants and Jets in the New York market comes down to how well they can handle the media. Wheeler believes that Darnold is well-equipped to deal with the constant and intensive cycle.

“This is another level, but SC is a pretty big media, you’re in the spotlight there as well, so I think the transition for him would be pretty easy,’’ Wheeler said. “He’ll have to adjust to it, especially what he does outside, everyone’s safe here, but like off the facility grounds, that’s where players get in trouble. I believe he could handle that great. He’s a good dude.’

“He’s a quiet guy, humble,’’ Wheeler said. “He’ll get you right, but he’s just ready to get the job done. Nothing shocks him, it looks like he’s seen everything. That’s always good when a quarterback has poise like that. It’s like we give him strength, he gives us strength so we feed off each other’s game.’’

Wheeler says he first knew Darnold would be special when he saw him scrambling around in practice and making insane plays while on the run.

“Doing the same exact throws, scrambling like that, we knew he was gonna be a baller,’’ Wheeler said.

The Giants offensive tackle also talked about the impressive run Darnold led USC on during his freshman season that included a nine-game winning streak to end the season and a 52-49 thrilling Rose Bowl victory that will always be remembered.

“We just went on a run,’’ Wheeler said. “It was like part of his character, perseverance and just his dedication really elevated our offensive game.’

“I remember the last drive of the Rose Bowl, he had this throw to Deontay Burnett after we drove it down like 40, 50 yards, we were on like the 20, 25 or so, the ball was right where it needed to be for Deontay to make the catch and for the defender to not get in the way or make a pick,’’ Wheeler said. “It was a great throw. Touchdown.’’

Wheeler didn't hesitate to deliver a thorough scouting report on Darnold.

“He’s a physical quarterback specimen,’’ Wheeler said. “He played linebacker in high school. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, especially in the run game, you always see him diving forward, getting that extra yard, not sliding as much, but they’re gonna tell him to slide more, obviously. I think he makes tackles if he throws picks. He’s a football player.’’

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According to Wheeler, Darnold is nowhere close to the quarterback he will eventually become.

“This man’s ceiling is through the roof,’’ Wheeler said. “Where he is now, you can’t tell where he’s gonna be in two, three years.’’

Wheeler protected Darnold's blindside as a Senior when Sam was just a freshman and now there's an outside chance that he will eventually be protecting him again.