Could New York be headed toward an Abdul Carter, Jaxson Dart first round?
With only a day to go before the 2025 NFL Draft, mock drafts from well-connected draft insiders are often based on information gleaned from sources around the league, many inside front offices. Thus, perhaps it is significant that mock drafts released Wednesday by Peter Schrager of ESPN and Todd McShay of The Ringer follow identical Round 1 patterns for the New York Giants.
Both Schrager and McShay have the Giants selecting Penn State edge defender Abdul Carter at No. 3 and then engineering trades back into the latter portion of Round 1 for Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart.
Let’s check the logic for the moves.
Round 1 (No. 3) — Abdul Carter, edge, Penn State
Both McShay and Schrager agree the pick here will ultimately be Carter.
Schrager says:
A few days ago, it sounded as if it was Carter or Hunter, but the Giants are having fluid conversations all week. I could imagine a host of teams calling if Carter is not a slam dunk.
In the end, the Giants passed on Micah Parsons in 2021, instead trading down and taking wide receiver Kadarius Toney. I can’t see them passing on another star pass rusher from Penn State.
McShay says:
Shedeur Sanders is a no-go for head coach Brian Daboll, who’s one of the most gifted offensive minds and quarterback developers in the NFL. The Giants will be wise to trust him in this instance. General manager Joe Schoen will make the only decision, in my mind, by taking Carter here. Keep an eye on Kayvon Thibodeaux, who might be moved as part of a trade to get the Giants back into Round 1 for a chance at Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart.
Trades for Dart:
Schrager has Sanders going No. 21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He then has the Giants giving picks 34 and 99 to the Los Angeles Rams to select Dart. He says:
If the draft falls this way, I think the Rams would be OK with this. They don’t currently have a second-round pick, but if they agreed to this deal, they’d have four picks on Day 2.
I think the Giants would pounce on Dart. I just am not 100% certain.
McShay also has the Giants surrendering picks 34 and 99, this time to the Detroit Lions for the 28th overall pick and the opportunity to select Dart. He says:
The Giants make a deal with Detroit to move back into the first round to get who I think is Daboll’s guy. Dart fits his mold of a sturdy, mobile quarterback who can thrive under pressure and process quickly on the move. With seasoned veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston on the roster, Dart can take a season to learn Daboll’s system. With this move, the Giants could end the first round with arguably this year’s top prospect in Carter and Daboll’s top choice at QB—without giving up significant draft capital. I would love this outcome for all parties involved.
McShay, incidentally, has Sanders falling to the Cleveland Browns at No. 33, the first pick of the second round.
Valentine’s View
This is the path I followed in my final mock draft, so obviously I am going to endorse it. I had the Giants giving up 34, 99 and a 2026 third-round pick to move to No. 18 in a deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
NFL Network draft insider Daniel Jeremiah told Big Blue View recently that the combination of Carter and a move up for Dart is something he “would love” for the Giants.
The question for GM Joe Schoen is whether or not he wait until the tail end of Round 1 to make his move if Dart is the quarterback head coach Brian Daboll is recommending, as McShay indicated on Tuesday night.
Seeing through all the smoke and figuring out where his competition for Dart, or whatever quarterback the Giants target, is what Schoen gets paid for.
“You better figure out, and you’ve gotta be on the phone and you better figure out where. And now you’ve got to trust your intel,” McShay said Tuesday night. “All your relationships that you should have been developing need to come into play for information, and information provides you the map for where you go and get Jaxson Dart.”
We will just have to see if Schoen has a good enough map to get where he wants to go. Provided, of course, that Dart is the destination.
