Could the Giants draft number one overall?
The New York Giants lost to the Atlanta Falcons 34-7 in Week 16. Later in the day, the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 19-14. Those two results have major implications for April's NFL Draft. The Giants are now alone with a 2-13 record and hold the first overall pick in the draft while the Raiders are among five teams with three wins.
“The Raiders win over the Jaguars could have dramatic repercussions: The Giants now control their own destiny for the No. 1 overall pick. Las Vegas has 3 [wins], NYG has 2. Giants lose out and they get the top pick,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport posted on social media.
Giants fans were thrilled by the Raiders' win on Sunday. With a decade of mediocrity behind them, they have a chance to take a franchise quarterback with the top pick. Big Blue fans took to social media to react to the Raiders win, many noting that Las Vegas head coach Antonio Pierce was a Super Bowl Champion with the Giants.
@MONTECRI5TO went all-caps thanking the former linebacker. “RAIDERS!! AP GIVING THR GIANTS SOME HELP!!”
@nickfalato poked fun at his favorite team while celebrating. “The #Giants all but locking up that number one pick with this Raiders win. Unless of course the Giants wi…never mind.”
The top draft pick is the reward for a miserable Giants season
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The New York Yankees and Mets have won games more recently than the Giants. With ten straight losses, jobs are in jeopardy and eyes are on the draft. Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen may not keep their jobs despite the reports from earlier in the year that they would. If they do, they would have the opportunity to draft their first quarterback in New York.
Daboll led the Giants to the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record in his first year with the team. Schoen decided to re-sign Daniel Jones to a monster contract after they beat the Vikings in the playoffs. The former sixth-overall pick never lived up to that deal. With the Jones experiment ending earlier this year, they need a quarterback.
The Giants could draft Shedeur Sanders, the quarterback from Colorado and the son of Deion Sanders. After a 9-3 regular season with the Buffaloes, many see Sanders as the best quarterback prospect. Daboll and Schoen got these jobs because they scouted and developed Josh Allen in Buffalo. Given the opportunity to pick a quarterback, maybe they can turn the Giants into the Bills.
