The 2018 NFL Draft changed the landscape of NFL quarterbacks and the 2020 Draft could do the same.

In between, in a 2019 draft class with fewer highly graded quarterbacks than either of those other two, the Giants identified and secured Daniel Jones as Eli Manning’s heir.

It could put the Giants in an awkward position of mixed power and regret one year from now: The same situation the Cardinals just stunningly mishandled, but with the added bonus of more trade suitors and leverage.

The Giants plan to start Manning and keep Jones on the bench for as long as it makes sense. Basically, as long as they are in playoff contention, whether it’s half of the 2019 season, all of 2019 or into 2020.

“I told Eli when we visited," coach Pat Shurmur said, “It’s your job to win games and keep this guy off the field."

But what if the Giants are one of the worst teams in NFL again? They are tied for the most losses combined (24) over the last two seasons, and it is difficult to see the on-paper roster as a marked improvement.

Losing stars Odell Beckham, Olivier Vernon and Landon Collins, as well as solid veteran contributors like Kerry Wynn, Jamon Brown and B.W. Webb, is a lot to replace. The Giants got younger with 10 draft picks, but general manager Dave Gettleman reminded “Rome wasn’t built in a day" as he stressed patience.

In the wildly inexact science of 2020 mock drafts, they are projected to pick as high as No. 2.

William Hill SportsBook and FanDuel have five teams with worse Super Bowl odds than the Giants, and DraftKings has nine. The common over/under Giants win total is 5.5. The Westgate Casino in Las Vegas set the Giants’ post-draft over/under win total at six.

In the case the Giants hold one of the top picks, they could be faced with the same question the Cardinals faced with the No. 1 pick in 2019: Keep our young quarterback or trade him after only one year to pick the next sensation?

The Cardinals ultimately traded John Rosen for pennies on the dollar to get quarterback Kyler Murray for first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury.

Looking ahead, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa might be the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck in 2011.

If he did not return to school, Oregon’s Justin Herbert probably would’ve been a top-15 pick in 2019, possibly to the Giants at No. 6 as they were invested in his scouting. Georgia’s Jake Fromm is maybe a notch behind the top two.

“Sure, we look at that class a little bit,” Shurmur said in March, “but we don’t let it drive our decision-making at this point.”

The Giants went with Jones at No. 6, after passing on Sam Darnold (Jets), Josh Allen (Bills) and Rosen twice — first, when he was drafted by the Cardinals and then when he was available for trade and wound up with the Dolphins. They also passed on Dwayne Haskins.

Rosen is the first quarterback since 1970 AFL-NFL merger to be drafted in the first round and change teams after only one season.

It is nearly unfathomable to think the patient Giants would give up on Jones after one season — especially when his playing time will be limited behind Manning — even if in the position to draft Tagovailoa or Herbert.

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More likely, they would be able to demand a king’s ransom on a trade offer for the high draft pick.

But will they regret falling in “full-bloom love” with Jones when they see what’s coming next?

“You can’t say to yourself ‘I’m gonna get him next year,'” Gettleman said in February. “You evaluate the Qs, and you take the guy when the time is — when you believe he’s the guy and it’s at the right spot.

"You can’t worry about the future, because you know now someone else is going say, ‘Well now in two years there are a couple college quarterbacks coming out that are really amazing.’”

See: Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence.

Of course, the easiest solution to this hypothetical dilemma is to win games, draft in the lower half of the first round and not have to make such a decision.

“If we are winning games,” Shurmur said, “we are not disrupting anything.”

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.