Would the Giants bring Sanders to New York?
The Draft Process has begun for the New York Giants.
We had already started shifting our attention to the draft when the Giants fell to 2-8 on the season. But by benching Daniel Jones and reportedly making him QB4 in practice, it’s clear that the Giants are moving on at the most important position.
So now pretty much every mock draft that comes out between now and April will likely feature a passer for Big Blue. That’s the case for the mock draft released by ESPN’s Matt Miller on Thursday morning.
In his draft, the Giants are picking at third overall, but he projects them trading up to first overall.
Projected trade: Giants move up for a QBI have the Giants going big to fix their quarterback situation, giving Jacksonville their second- and third-round picks in 2025, plus a 2026 second-rounder, to move up from No. 3. It gets New York out in front of Cleveland, which could also be looking at the QB class, and crucially doesn’t involve any future first-round picks. And the Jaguars, meanwhile, collect valuable draft capital to restock a roster in desperate need of repair.
1. New York Giants (via projected trade with 2-9 JAX)
Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
The Giants would be going all-in for what they hope will be their quarterback of the future, as it seems as if the Daniel Jones era is coming to a close. He was recently benched, and with no more guaranteed money on his deal, the Giants can easily move on.
Sanders is the best quarterback in the 2025 class, bringing pinpoint accuracy (72.9% completion percentage), toughness in the pocket and playmaking ability that the Giants’ offense has lacked. His ability to see the field and get the ball out with a fast release makes him ready to play right away.
Sanders is similar to C.J. Stroud in his ability to put the ball on his receivers. And like Stroud, Sanders isn’t a runner by trade but moves very well in the pocket and can be a rushing threat when needed; he has run for four touchdowns in each of the past two seasons. The Giants could pair the uber-accurate Sanders with 2024 first-round receiver Malik Nabers to give themselves a chance in the NFC East.
Raptor’s thoughts
I want to preface this by saying that I haven’t done a deep dive on any of this year’s quarterbacks yet. That said, I would have some definite apprehension with this pick.
Back in April, I was explicit in my fear that if the Giants elected to reenact 2018 and punt on the quarterback position in favor of adding a playmaker, they could be forced to select a worse quarterback the following year and potentially have to trade valuable capital to do so.
Again, I haven’t done deep dives, but if I had to stack this and last year’s quarterback classes, Shedeur would be QB7 for me.
His arm isn’t impressive and lags behind each of the top six quarterbacks from last year (as well as much of this year’s QB class). Likewise, he often appears awkward when forced to scramble or run, and I don’t find his field vision nearly as impressive as J.J. McCarthy’s. He can lose track of defenders in space (such as in his Pick 6 against Nebraska) and he shows some concerning indecision when his reads are muddied. That, I think, contributes heavily to his high pressure-to-sack rate*, as he can hold the ball when his initial read is covered or if the defense makes an unexpected rotation.
*Note: Pressure-to-sack rate is NOT dependent on offensive line play, but is a measure of how well quarterbacks respond to pressure.
That isn’t to say that Sanders is a bad prospect. He has upside and flashes the ability to make some impressive throws to the intermediate area of the field. Miller may have visions of C.J. Stroud or Joe Burrow when he watches Sanders, but I don’t. I would view his best-case scenario to be in the “Jared Goff/Tua Tagovailoa” universe.
IF this came to pass, I would be moving up for Cam Ward. I believe Ward is a better, smoother athlete than Ward, he has more arm strength, better field vision, and the ability to generate big plays both in and outside of the structure of the offense.
I also appreciate that he started his career by walking on to FCS level Incarnate Word and has put in the work to improve his game as a passer to get to where he is. That isn’t to say that Shedeur hasn’t put in work — far from it. However, I consider year-over-year improvement to be an important metric and part of the reason why I was high on both Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts coming out.
Ward isn’t without risk, and needs to learn that sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. What’s fun to watch at the collegiate level can be damning at the NFL level, and Ward will need to learn to temper his aggressiveness without dulling the edge that’s carried him to where he is.
As for the trade up from third overall to first overall … I don’t love the Giants trading their entire Day 2, but I also don’t hate it if the the quarterback pans out. That, I suppose, is the mark of a good compromise. I don’t believe that the Giants’ roster is nearly as bereft of talent as some (many?) others do. I obviously want the Giants to acquire as much talent as possible, and Day 2 picks are valuable. But adding a quarterback who can allow the coaches to fully open the playbook and the rest of the players on the team to play up to their full potential is worth the price.
