Dane Brugler mock draft: Another Abdul Carter-Jaxson Dart pairing for Giants

This has become the standard mock for New York

Dane Brugler of The Athletic joined the Abdul Carter-Jaxson Dart to the New York Giants party in his final mock draft, with the Giants taking Carter at No. 3 and getting their quarterback via trade back into Round 1.

That is five straight draft insiders — Daniel Jeremiah, Peter Schrager, Todd McShay, Mike Mayock and Brugler — who have predicted this scenario for the Giants. It’s what I also did in my final mock draft.

Are we sensing a trend? Perhaps a belief around the league that Dart is the quarterback GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are hoping to land Thursday night when the real 2025 NFL Draft begins?

Here is how Brugler handled the draft for the Giants.

Round 1 (No. 3) — Abdul Carter, edge, Penn State

Brugler says:

Although edge rusher isn’t a glaring need for the Giants, the smart philosophy is to draft impact players — not positions — in the top three. Carter is one of the best prospects in the draft class, too, which should make this an easy decision.

Is there a quarterback the Giants could fall in love with at No. 3? It doesn’t appear that way.

Valentine’s View: The Giants need blue chip, game-changing players. Remember when Nick Falato color-coded the roster recently? The Giants don’t have enough top-tier talent. Carter should help change that.

The trick for Schoen, of course, will be reading the draft board correctly between 3 and 34 to get the quarterback he and Daboll want.

Round 1 (No. 26) — Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss

Brugler has the Giants moving up from No. 34 to No. 26 in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams to select Dart. Shedeur Sanders is also still available.

Brugler does not list the trade terms. The Johnson trade chart shows the 26th pick as worth 700 points. The combination of picks 34, 99 and 154 is worth 654. On the Hill trade chart, 26 is worth 222.74 points, and that trade package is 222.59.

Brugler says:

Trade! The Giants move up from the second round into the Rams’ pick and take a quarterback. Coming out of Round 1 with Carter and Dart would bring some excitement to the Giants’ organization.

If New York targets Dart, it might push Sanders into Round 2, where the Browns could potentially grab him at No. 33.

Valentine’s View: It is apparent that the league believes Schoen and Daboll like Dart over Sanders. I would not be thrilled about giving up picks 99 and 154, but if he turns out to be the right guy losing a fifth-round pick will be meaningless.

Just a few hours to go, Giants fans! We’ll see if things really turn out this way.