Daniel Jeremiah NFL mock draft 1.0: Giants nab QB1 with third overall pick

Might the Giants still be in the Cam Ward sweepstakes?

The New York Giants chief priority for the 2025 season is the quarterback position.

As of Saturday, Jan. 25th 2025, the Giants do not have a quarterback under contract for 2025. Drew Lock and Tim Boyle are free agents, while Tommy DeVito is an Exclusive Rights Free Agent (EFRA). It’s barely a formality to re-sign DeVito, but the fact remains that he isn’t under contract as of this writing.

So the Giants overarching priority must be to fill the quarterback position. Ideally, they would do so with a player who is — or could be — a franchise quarterback, in the draft.

That’s exactly what former NFL scout and NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah does in his Mock Draft 1.0.

3. New York Giants – Cam Ward, QB, Miami

The Giants are desperate for a quarterback. Ward’s strong arm and playmaking ability would be a great fit.

Raptor’s thoughts

Right now it seems like it would be a major coup for the Giants to land Cam Ward at the top of the draft. Ward had a stellar season in 2024, leading the FBS in passing touchdowns with 39 (to just 7 interceptions). He led the ACC in adjusted yards per attempt as well as yards per completion, and he also finished 15th in Big Time Throw* rate and 5th in Deep Yards (per PFF).

(*PFF defines “Big Time Throws” as being either deep or tight window targets in high leverage situations that require excellent ball placement and timing)

Ward has rare arm talent with an extremely elastic arm that allows him to make almost every throw from almost any arm slot and platform. He’s able to create off-schedule and out of structure, while having the field vision to find open receivers when the play dissolves into chaos.

That willingness to go Big Play Hunting got him in trouble at times, but it’s also the reason why Miami was even in the conversation for the College Football Playoffs. He’s also a very athletic quarterback who played in a Wing-T offense in high school and had to learn how to be a passer over the course of his college career.

Ward is currently my QB1 (I’ll be starting this year’s deep dives after the Senior Bowl), and that was reinforced by the development he showed over the course of the year. Most notably, he showed an increased willingness to take small gains and find his checkdowns as the year progressed.

Personally, I have questions as to whether or not Shedeur Sanders fits what Brian Daboll wants to do with the offense.

Ward, however, seems to fit like a glove.

It isn’t exactly notable that the Giants go quarterback in the first round. It would almost be more remarkable if they didn’t considering the state of the position and the value of the 5th year option. Though selecting a quarterback if Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are off the board could also entail some trades to maximize value with Jalen Milroe or Jaxson Dart.

And that brings me to what’s really interesting about DJ’s first mock draft: Neither the Tennessee Titans nor the Cleveland Browns select a quarterback. Both teams are almost as quarterback-needy as the Giants, though that “almost” does give them options. Here, Jeremiah has them exploring those other options.

That makes me ask “why?”

He’s a deeply connected guy thanks to his previous career as a college scout, and my gut says that DJ is hearing things from around the League. Him hanging a lantern on Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker saying that “the team wouldn’t pass on a generational talent with the first pick,” is something we shouldn’t ignore. Likewise, Jeremiah said that he sees the Titans adding a quarterback in free agency or later in the draft.

The Giants 45-33 win over the Indianapolis Colts felt for all the world like a pyrrhic victory. They had a great win and it showed the potential of the offense when things click, but in doing so they likely cost themselves the one piece the offense needs to fire on all cylinders.

But if Jeremiah is right, maybe QB1 isn’t out of reach for the Giants.