The Giants are in the market for a new quarterback. Will they find one in 2025?
What we’ve long expected has come to pass. The New York Giants are officially in search for their quarterback of the future.
We knew the Giants were interested in last year’s quarterback class, with GM Joe Schoen personally scouting each of the top prospects. The Giants also attempted to trade up with the New England Patriots in the hopes of drafting either Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. But as we know, that didn’t happen.
So now the Giants will turn their attention to the 2025 quarterback class. But will they find Their Guy in the upcoming draft class?
There’s skepticism that this class will yield many (or any) top flight quarterbacks.
Dane Brugler wrote in the introduction to his latest Top 50 big board,
But with all of the varying opinions throughout the league, the only consensus at this stage in the process is that teams are struggling to find positive conviction on any of these QBs.
In that same piece, he asked an NFL scout how he would stack the quarterback prospects. His response?
“I don’t envy you.”
We’re still a long way from establishing a final order for the quarterback class. For now, we’re simply keeping track of their draft stock.
Cam Ward (Miami), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), and Kurtis Rourke (Indiana) did not play this week, so we’ll consider their draft stock to be neutral.
Shedeur Sanders (Colorado)
Draft Stock – Neutral
We recently learned that the Giants have shown some significant interest in Colorado. Joe Schoen has personally scouted two of their games (including this one), and have also sent scouts to practices. They’re likely scouting both WR/CB Travis Hunter as well as QB Shedeur Sanders.
For our purposes here, we’re just concentrating on Sanders, who did what he was supposed to against a 4-5 Utah team over whom Colorado was heavily favored. He completed 30 of 41 for 340 yards and three touchdowns (one interception), on the game.
But the reason why his stock is listed as “neutral” is because his flaws have been on display as well.
Sanders still took three sacks, and his 21.2% pressure-to-sack rate is a pretty bright red flag. Only two quarterbacks in recent memory who have been drafted with a pressure-to-sack rate over 20% have not been busts — those two being Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. He also started the game with a bad interception thrown while feeling pressure.
Sanders is a good college quarterback, but there are questions as to how well his game will translate to the next level.
“I’m not impressed by the physical traits … [Shedeur Sanders’] arm is B-level” @Nate_Tice & @dpbrugler discuss if Shedeur’s game will translate to the NFL.
(via Football 301 Podcast) pic.twitter.com/UTCRy6mDit
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 15, 2024
Next game: Kansas vs. (17) Colorado – Fox, 3:30 p.m.
Jalen Milroe (Alabama)
Stock: Neutral
Similarly to Sanders, it’s tough to say that Milroe’s draft stock is raised by doing what he was supposed to against the Mercer Bears. Nothing against Mercer, but it would be a titanic upset if the game was even close.
Milroe did show off his plus traits, with his speed and arm strength on display. His speed, agility, and power as a runner was evident and he’s able to drive the ball to all areas of the field — even when off-platform. But it’s also tough to put too much weight on his performance when the opponent is so badly outclassed.
Next game: Oklahoma vs (10) Alabama – ABC, 7:30 p.m.
Quinn Ewers (Texas)
Stock: Down
Texas came into the game favored by almost two touchdowns (13.5 points), yet they could only manage 20 against a poor Arkansas squad. For his part, Ewers completed 62.5% of his passes for just 176 yards (5.5 per attempt) and two touchdowns. 18 of Ewers’ 32 pass attempts came less than 10 yards downfield, and 10 of those passes came behind the line of scrimmage. Arkansas used a three-deep safety shell to take away deep passes, and Ewers was somewhat slow to navigate the defense and struggled with pocket presence.
Ewers has solid athleticism and enough arm strength, but he struggles to consistently play up to his potential.
Next game: (3) Texas vs. Kentucky – ABC, 3:30 p.m.
Drew Allar (Penn State)
Stock: Up
Allar has had a very uneven 2024 campaign, with significant struggles against the top competition he’s faced. Personally, I would advise him to go back to school for his senior season and continue to polish his traits before declaring for the draft.
That said, Allar certainly has intriguing traits. He isn’t quite in the same league as players like Josh Allen or Cam Newton in terms of athleticism and arm strength, but he likely ranks with Drake Maye in that regard.
He had some impressive throws against Purdue and showing off those traits are why his stock is up. That said, this is another case of doing what you’re supposed to against an inferior opponent.
Next game: Minnesota vs. (4) Penn State – CBS, 3:30 p.m.
Garrett Neussmeier (LSU)
Stock: Down
LSU was supposed to handle Florida but instead they fell 27-16. Neussmeier appeared somewhat hesitant in this game and didn’t play well. He completed just 27 of 47 attempts and averaged 5.5 yards per attempt — while his hesitancy contributed to LSU giving up 7 sacks on the day.
Like Allar, Neussmeier is a player who should probably go back to school rather than declare for the NFL. He has good mobility behind the line of scrimmage and legitimate arm talent, but he is very inexperienced at this point. Neussmeier could be a top quarterback prospect, but isn’t one at this point.
Carson Beck (Georgia)
Stock: Up
Carson Beck’s draft stock has been in free fall this year, and he was in desperate need of a good performance. He had one this week, and unlike a lot of other performances this week, this game came against seventh-ranked Tennessee.
He was decisive with the ball, throwing on-time, with accuracy and good ball placement. Beck looked much more like a the player he was a year ago with Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. He also showed good competitive toughness, picking up tough yards with his legs when the play broke down. This game shouldn’t completely rehabilitate Beck’s draft stock, but to teams that are high on him, it could offer a glimpse of what he could be.
Next game: (12) Georgia vs. UMass – SEC Network, 12:45 p.m.
Dillon Gabriel (Oregon)
Stock: Down
The number one team in the country should beat a 5-4 Wisconsin team. And while Oregon DID wind up beating Wisconsin, a 16-13 win is too close for comfort. For his part, Gabriel completed 22 of 31 (71%), for 218 yards (7.0 per attempt), with no touchdowns, but an interception.
Gabriel has been efficient and consistent on a down-to-down basis this year, but this was a disappointing performance based on the opponent. Many of the top teams faced inferior opponents, and in this case, Gabriel didn’t dominate that inferior competition. He has a fine line to walk as a quarterback prospect, and he can’t really afford bad tape if he doesn’t want to be an afterthought.
He’ll get a chance to redeem the performance next week in Oregon’s Rivalry Week game against Washington.
Next game: (1) Oregon vs. Washington – Saturday, 11/30