The New York Giants are quickly becoming one of the most unpredictable teams in the NFL ahead of the 2025 draft in Green Bay next Thursday. At the heart of the lingering uncertainty is the omnipresent issue of their quarterback position.
Throughout the offseason, the Giants have tried to move swiftly to address what was a barren room after the horrific 2024 campaign ended without cutting any corners.
At the same time, they have used every second of their time to perform due diligence on the free agent and draft options.
Their initial endeavors landed them with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston as two veteran pieces who could serve as a bridge to an eventual rookie quarterback that is to come.
Yet, adding those two has made the “when” of that prodigy’s arrival seem a little less dire at the team’s No. 3 overall selection in the first round.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen has expressed confidence in the team’s current quarterback makeup with his two free agent additions and has slightly tipped his cap to lean towards the best player available with his first pick.
Even when he addressed the media on Wednesday in the final leadup to the draft, he repeated that line in saying the Giants are in a good position to tackle the third pick in several different ways and that a quarterback would only come there if there was “value at that spot.”
So, why have the Giants suddenly been making headlines for scheduling final private workouts with a few top quarterback prospects, including Colorado product Shedeur Sanders, whom it seemed they were pushing down their big board until at least the late first round?
According to veteran NFL draft analyst Todd McShay, who shed light on the situation during an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast along with Daniel Jeremiah, there might be more to the surface of the workouts than meets the eye.
McShay said that according to his sources, the Giants’ leadership is "fractured" regarding which player they should take at No. 3, with Sanders being a main part of the conversation.
"It's a little bit contentious inside the Giants' draft room," McShay said. There are some people who are pushing hard for Shedeur.
“I had a conversation with a general manager this weekend, and I was like, ‘right, so Abdul Carter at three to the Giants, and then we’ll see how this whole thing plays out,’ and he was like, I’ve talked to some people and it’s split. It’s definitely a little bit contentious”.
The sourcing of McShay’s reporting feels a little odd at first. It seems unlikely that a general manager of an unaffiliated team would have insight into the internal discussions happening in East Rutherford among the Giants brass on a potential pick.
That said, anyone following the Giants all spring long will know that these workouts are nothing indicative of a last-minute change in New York’s thinking about the quarterback position.
Again, it’s simply another display of due diligence by Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll as they work to have all the information available on draft weekend.
It’s unlikely that the regime completely ignores the position, but with such a divide in the value of the other prospects besides Cam Ward, it doesn’t look like many teams expect a bunch of quarterbacks to be taken off the board in the first round.
Many factors can alter that mindset once the board goes live, including what the Saints do at No. 9 and the Steelers and Rams at No. 21 and No. 26. The Giants, Browns, and other teams could also battle for positioning if they view a trade back up as necessary to secure their franchise guy.
As such, the Giants aren’t running rampant trying to obtain more insight into Sanders’ skillset or any of the other names’ scouting profiles. They are just trying to have contingencies in place for whatever happens once the “fascinating” part of the draft starts to unfold and the top eight picks on night one have been told.
With how in tune Schoen and Daboll have seemed to be during their tenures together, the only possible cause of a reported rift would have to come from the highest level of the organization.
McShay hinted that co-John Mara is dipping his fingerprints into the debate once again, and there is some friction that was an issue for the Giants before.
"I also wonder, too, at this point in time with ownership -- we hear a lot of stories after the fact of ownership getting involved when it comes to the quarterback position and drafting that high," McShay said. "So, that part is fascinating as well."
If Mara really is getting involved and trying to get his men to force a pick of a gunslinger at No. 3, he needs to step back and recall what happened the last time his franchise went the wrong way with a quarterback they miscalculated at a top 10 selection.
That was former arm Daniel Jones, who the Giants reached on at No. 6 in 2019 in a desperate move to find a successor for Eli Manning as the two-time Super Bowl MVP’s career was approaching the sunset.
The team wasn’t riding high on Jones’ talents, but they took him over other prospects that ascended to greater heights. After six mostly failed years, they parted ways and needed to find his successor.
That player doesn’t need to come from the top of the first round to become the franchise’s next star, so long as whoever is picking him believes in their choice. Mara needs to step back and let Schoen and Daboll do what they planned and save their jobs after he gives them one last opportunity to do that.
With the stakes this high, meddling from the Giants' ownership will likely lead to a repeat of history at what they understand is the most important position on their roster and in sports.
