Justin Herbert is squarely on the New York Giants radar and it becomes more obvious when you dig a little deeper.

Giants general manager Dave Gettleman took advantage of the team's Week 10 Monday Night Football game in San Francisco earlier this season by spending his Saturday night in Utah with several Giants scouts. Gettleman and the Giants scouts were in Utah to watch Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert as his Ducks played the Utah Utes.

Looks like Dave Gettleman made it to Salt Lake City along with Kevin Abrams.



Justin Herbert out here as well. Should start getting warm soon. pic.twitter.com/NzG6trt54z — Andrew G. Haubner (@A_G_Haubner) November 10, 2018

It was reported earlier this season that the Giants had sent scouts to a handful of Oregon games, likely to scout Herbert. However, this was the first time Gettleman was present to self-scout the quarterback who the majority of NFL draft analysts currently project to be the first player at his position selected in the 2019 NFL Draft.

What makes this that much more interesting and possibly foreshadowing is a look back at Gettleman's first draft class with the Giants. The Saquon Barkley evaluation was different. Gettleman drafted Barkley in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft based on the game film he evaluated from his Penn State career. Gettleman specifically pointed to the game tape of Barkley when Penn State played Iowa in 2017 before later telling Giants reporters the running back received the first "perfect 9.0 grade" he has given to any prospect since Peyton Manning (with 30-plus years of scouting under his belt).

However, after Barkley, Gettleman self-scouted three of the next four players selected by the Giants in the 2018 draft class. Gettleman was present and heavily involved with the Giants scouting process at the 2018 Senior Bowl. Gettleman headed to the Senior Bowl down in Mobile, Alabama with first-year head coach Pat Shurmur for their first major project together. The Senior Bowl provides all 32 NFL teams with a full week of intense practices and individual drills followed by a full game on Saturday where the best Seniors in all of college football play against each other. Last year's Senior Bowl featured future No. 1 overall draft pick Baker Mayfield and No. 7 overall pick Josh Allen -- both quarterbacks.

Will Hernandez, B.J. Hill, and Kyle Lauletta were all participants during Senior Bowl practice week and in the game. The Giants selected offensive guard Hernandez with their second-round pick, Hill with their third-round pick, and Lauletta with their fourth-round pick.

In a game that featured Mayfield and Allen, Lauletta earned the Senior Bowl MVP award. Lauletta completed 8-of-12 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns for the South in a 45-16 victory over the North in the Reese's Senior Bowl. Most importantly, Giants coaches in attendance were able to see how Lauletta performs at a higher level of competition after playing at a small school like Richmond. The Senior Bowl features the best senior players in the nation from all of the schools (including all of the Power-5 conferences).

Gettleman and Shurmur would later reference Lauletta's performance during the Senior Bowl week and game as a major factor in their evaluation of him as a quarterback prospect. Gettleman and Shurmur would also later point to the practice week performances in individual drills by Hernandez and Hill as critical factors in their evaluation. In summary, Gettleman liked what he saw from these players live and a few months later he used his draft capital on them.

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The Oregon Ducks came up short and lost 32-25 in a close game against Utah, but more importantly, Herbert played exceptionally well. The Oregon coaching staff has been criticized heavily this season for conservative play calling and not allowing Herbert to throw the ball early and often enough. Against Utah, Oregon's coaching staff appeared to finally given in to the cries from the fanbase and they allowed Herbert to open up the game with his arm in the first half.

Herbert finished the game with just 33 passing attempts but he was able to complete 20-of-33 for 288 yards passing (8.7 yards per attempt) and three touchdown passes. Herbert did not throw any interceptions. Herbert also added 24 yards rushing with a long gain of 17.

Herbert shows his mobility on 3rd and 15 and makes a play to pick up the first down. #GoDucks #GiantsPride pic.twitter.com/yP4gNYoGRB — Rich (@RichFiveNine) November 10, 2018

Herbert made an excellent throw on a play-action bootleg pass that we've seen Giants head coach Pat Shurmur use multiple times this season with 37-year-old quarterback Eli Manning.

Go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter on the naked boot pic.twitter.com/BAat7kT0BT — Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) November 11, 2018

Play-action passing and play-action bootleg passing played a key role in Case Keenum's breakout season with Shurmur calling the offensive plays for the Minnesota Vikings offense in 2017. Herbert is more athletic than Keenum who is more athletic than Manning and athleticism plays a key role on the effectiveness of these play calls.

One of the best tools Herbert has in his arsenal is his velocity. Herbert has the ability to make every single throw on the field with precision and the velocity necessary to beat the coverage. Herbert flashes in every game, and from an arm talent standpoint, there are no question marks about his evaluation.

47.2 MPH strike for Justin Herbert. Horizontal margin of error on this pass is less than 2.5 degrees. Small window, nails the throw. #GoDucks #OregonFootballpic.twitter.com/uQ2KW3K7g7 — Logic Sports (@LogicSports3) November 11, 2018

Herbert is an effortless thrower with a compact throwing motion and he has shown an excellent ability to throw with touch in addition to with velocity. This play was a great example of the former:

Herbert with a nice little touch pass, finds a wide open Dillon Mitchell for a long gain. The drive eventually stalled and Oregon settled for a FG. #GoDucks #GiantsPride pic.twitter.com/dIam8PXRRe — Rich (@RichFiveNine) November 11, 2018

Here's another example of Herbert's touch and ball placement on a very difficult throw. You can't put this ball in a better spot and the wide receiver has it easy with this perfect pass.

Justin Herbert uses a 41-degree launch angle to put this ball where only the receiver can grab it. Compared to a lower, 30-degree launch angle, the DB has to reach 51% higher to break up this high-arcing pass. Trajectory matters. #GoDucks #Oregonfootball pic.twitter.com/wKqk34qoLL — Logic Sports (@LogicSports3) November 11, 2018

The most difficult throws in the NFL come in the intermediate range (11 to 19 yards) and Herbert has shown an ability to connect on these pass attempts. We saw more evidence of this against Utah:

Herbert really starting to get in a rhythm, once again connects with Dillon Mitchell and the Ducks are in the redzone. #GoDucks #GiantsPride pic.twitter.com/F473BLZJKT — Rich (@RichFiveNine) November 11, 2018

Herbert still has a lot to learn when it comes to mental processing of defensive coverages (both before and after the snap) and pocket presence while under pressure due to breakdowns from the offensive line. Who is responsible for these issues is harder to gauge considering the key role the offensive line and the coaching (play calling) plays in that evaluation.

The Giants need to turn their attention to 2019 and beyond and it starts at the QB position; it's time to see the rookie Kyle Lauletta in action and the clock is ticking, don't miss any of the updates, take a second to sign up for our FREE Giants newsletter!

According to Luke Mounger of 247Sports, Herbert has been just as dominant as advertised this season.

"Herbert is as good as advertised," Mounger wrote. "He's an incredible athlete, capable of taking the ball himself on designed runs, extending plays in the pocket, or tucking and running when nothing is open downfield. A defense can play phenomenal coverage on third and long but still surrender a first down if they don't account for his legs. Additionally, he has a cannon and isn't afraid to use it. He can rip long balls, but also hammer passes into tight windows, "throwing receivers open." His willingness to let it fly has gotten him into trouble this year, as he's thrown five interceptions in just five games; however, his big-play ability powers Oregon's high flying offense."

Herbert is currently being mocked as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft class and he has recently been mocked to the Giants in the way-too-early mock drafts. As of right now, the Giants own the No. 8 overall pick in the draft heading into Week 17 of the 2018 regular season. Of course, it's important to keep in mind that Herbert is an underclassman and might not declare for the draft.

However, as analysts have noted, it would be unlikely for Herbert to decide to not declare should he remain projected as the No. 1 pick and should he have the opportunity to join a roster with Odell Beckham Jr., Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, and Sterling Shepard.