The New York Giants might hold the keys to how the 2025 NFL Draft’s first round unfolds. Over the last week or two there has been a lot of chatter about them passing on a quarterback at No. 3 overall and selecting either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter. If they do, then the QBs could start to slide further down the board than expected.
GM Joe Schoen spoke to the media today and he was asked about the possibility of adding to the quarterback room at some point.
“With the signing of those two players [Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston], I think we put ourselves in position where I don’t think that’s mandatory,” he said. “We’re happy with the makeup of the room right now.”
That the Giants are attending Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders’ private workout so late in the pre-draft process has raised a lot of eyebrows. But it’s been planned for a while and Schoen pointed to the way the NFL calendar fell this year.
“If we could have done a private workout with Shedeur before his Pro Day, we probably would have,” Schoen said.
It doesn’t sound like the timing of the private workout should raise any eyebrows. Sanders has always been in play for the Giants, so it’s not really as newsy as some are trying to make it out to be.
Overlooked in the midst of the Sanders workout, they are also doing the same with QBs Tyler Shough and Jalen Milroe. It’s unlikely that all three will end up going in the first round. The Giants are clearly keeping their options open if they pass on a quarterback at pick No. 3.
Schoen was asked about his overall thoughts on the quarterback class this year.
“There’s some depth to it,” he said. “There’s quarterbacks in this draft that will go on to play and be starters in the league.”
The possibility of Shedeur Sanders falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21 has dominated the media discussion over the last week since Sanders came in for a pre-draft visit. If the Giants pass on him, the chance that he falls will dramatically increase.
Another reporter asked Schoen if he’d be surprised if they walked out of this draft without a quarterback.
“If the value matches up with what we have on a player and there’s an opportunity to take any position, we’ll do it,” he said. “Not gonna force it if it’s not the right value. If the board lines up when we’re on the clock and that’s the position we want to go with, then we’ll go with it.”
The million-dollar question then becomes whether or not they have Sanders valued at the No. 3 overall pick.
There is always the possibility that the Giants have him graded higher than many other evaluators. But looking at some of the top draft analysts around the NFL media landscape, Sanders is valued as more of a mid-to-late first-round talent. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler gathered quotes from anonymous scouts and execs around the league, and they expressed similar sentiments on Sanders.
Every team that doesn’t have a franchise quarterback is looking for one, and the Giants are no different. If they view Sanders as the solution to that problem, then they’ll take him.
“If there’s one available, we will definitely take one,” Schoen said.
Nobody has done more due diligence on Sanders than the Giants. But if they come to the conclusion that he isn’t a franchise quarterback, that doesn’t automatically make them right.
It sure sounds like the Giants are gearing up to take either Carter or Hunter with the No. 3 pick. How far could Sanders fall?
