Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images Could Rivers be a starter in waiting for the Giants? The New York Giants offensive line was much improved in 2024, and it should be fine for the 2025 season. There are some questions regarding the right side of the line with veteran Greg Van Roten entering free agency, but the Giants have several options available. The long view, however, is less certain and the Giants could be well-served to have talent in the pipeline to develop into a starting guard or tackle. Miami offensive lineman Jalen Rivers has experience starting at both tackle and guard, though all of it on the left side. He could develop into a starter at either position. Giants’ offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has already coached Rivers as the head coach of the National Team at the 2025 Senior Bowl. Prospect: Jalen Rivers (64)Games Watched: vs. Florida (2024), vs. Louisville (2024), vs. Wake Forest (2024), vs. Syracuse (2024)Red Flags: Leg – Undisclosed (2024) Measurables Height: 6-foot-5 (estimated)Weight: 325 Strengths Best traits Size Foot quickness Competitive toughness Play strength Leverage Rivers is a big, versatile, and athletic offensive lineman. He’s a wide-bodied lineman listed at 6-foot-5, 325 pounds with obvious power in his upper and lower body. He also appears to have long arms, which complete a versatile build that allowed him to play both tackle and guard for Miami (though obviously not at the same time). Rivers has quick feet for a player his size, with impressive body control and spatial awareness. There were multiple instances in the tape viewed where he was able to alter his kick-slide to cover ground while avoiding getting tangled in teammates’ feet – and did so while keeping his eyes up and on the defense. His short, choppy steps keep his feet close to the ground and ready to anchor once he engages a defender. Rivers is athletic enough to match most edge defenders at the collegiate level as well as mirror athletic defenders on the interior. Likewise, he uses his feet well to deal with power and anchor against bullrushes. Rivers plays with good hip and pad level. There are instances where he allows his pads to rise once engaged or on longer reps, but he usually maintains good leverage throughout the rep. He is a reliable pass protector who makes an obvious effort to sustain his blocks for as long as possible. He’s also a versatile run blocker who has the athleticism to execute outside zone blocks or pull, as well as enough power to execute inside zone or down hill man-gap blocks. Weaknesses Worst traits Hand usage Lateral agility Rivers is a good athlete within his range, however that range also appears somewhat limited. He has quick feet but doesn’t cover much ground in his kick-slide. That can lead to him struggling to mirror speed off the edge, as well as getting back inside if he needs to redirect to deal with B-gap pressure. As a result, Rivers can occasionally lunge or lose leverage if he needs to respond quickly to an athletic rusher on the outside, an unexpected inside move, or a looper. Rivers also needs to tighten up his technique and hand usage. He has a tendency to carry his hands low and wide, leading to a pronounced wind-up before engaging a defender. He also has a tendency to “catch” defenders as opposed to striking them with his punch. That not only exposes his chest, it makes it more difficult for him to control them without drawing holding penalties. Because his hands often go wide, he tends to be late with his hands, giving defenders more opportunity to win quickly. Finally, teams will need to do their due diligence on Rivers’ injury from the beginning of the season. The exact nature of the injury is undisclosed as of this writing, though it reportedly appeared to be a leg injury. Teams will need to find out the exact nature of the injury as well as the long-term prognosis. Game Tape (Rivers is the Miami left tackle wearing number 64) Projection Rivers’ projection will depend heavily on whether he’s viewed as a guard or tackle at the NFL level, and that likely varies for each individual team. If teams view Rivers as a tackle first, he’s probably viewed as more of a developmental prospect or possibly career backup. He has many of the tools to succeed on the edge, but his range and redirection ability in pass protection are issues. That likely also influences his hand usage, which itself is a weakness and could draw penalties. It’s possible those issues could get ironed out with coaching and he could have starting upside after a year or so. Other teams could see a higher ceiling at guard for Rivers. Rivers would be a very athletic guard with great feet for the position, though he’d have to be consistently careful with his leverage and hand placement to maximize his play strength. Those teams might even place an early Day 2 grade on him if they believe he can transition to NFL guard quickly. Does he fit the Giants?Yes Final Word: A Day 2 value

Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images Could the Giants bypass another quarterback class? The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is here. The NFL has gathered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Likewise, the whole of the media ecosystem surrounding the NFL has descended upon the city. Everyone with contacts in the NFL is working the phones to get the latest rumors and intel, and that will inform reporting for weeks to come. On-field workouts will start Thursday afternoon, so the big outlets are taking the opportunity to translate what they’re hearing into pre-combine mock drafts. The names don’t get much bigger than ESPN’s Mel Kiper, who released his pre-combine mock Tuesday afternoon. In his mock draft, Kiper has the New York Giants select CB/WR Travis Hunter out of Colorado. For context, edge Abdul Carter went first overall to the Tennessee Titans and QB Cam Ward was selected second by the Cleveland Browns. 3. New York GiantsTravis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado Let’s start with the QB question, since I’m sure Giants fans would raise their eyebrows at seeing New York pass on Sanders. First, there are mixed feelings on him around the league, and he isn’t seen as a surefire top-five pick. The front office and coaching staff have to win right now, and banking their futures on the class’s QB2 might not get it done. Second, I’m not ready to close the door on the Giants bypassing this lackluster QB class in favor of a veteran option. Could New York trade for Matthew Stafford? Would signing Sam Darnold fix the issue? There are options here, and if the Giants go another route, they can instead use this pick to address one of many other needs. Or, in Hunter’s case, maybe two of them. Hunter is my top-ranked prospect in the class, and though I currently see him as a receiver in the pros, he could also play cornerback for New York. He can make a massive impact on either side of the ball, and he’ll likely see at least some time on both sides. Perhaps the Giants take his ball skills and quickness and drop him at receiver opposite Malik Nabers to form a solid supporting cast around whomever is under center. Perhaps they look at his elite instincts and finally land a true CB1. Either way, this pick would be clutch for a struggling Giants team. Raptor’s thoughts There is a lot to unpack here, so we’ll start at the very beginning. As the song says, that’s a very good place to start. At this point, I’m not sure how many eyebrows would be raised by the Giants passing on Sanders. We’ve been hearing quite a bit that Sanders is 1a/b with Cam Ward, but he (Sanders) was also the highest profile name in the draft class. That always pumps up a name before we get to dive into their tape in detail — just look at how highly-regarded Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers were before their 2024 seasons. There seems to be a growing separation between Ward and Sanders as their tape is directly compared and contrasted, while Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough have entered the QB2 conversation as their tape has been studied more carefully. By the time the draft rolls around, eyebrows might not even be raised if we see Sanders be the third quarterback off the board. Moving on to addressing the QB situation for 2025. Ed said earlier today, based on Joe Schoen’s remarks at the Combine, that he believes that Matt Stafford is the Giants’ best option for right now. There suddenly seems to be a tremendous amount of smoke in the air and I certainly believe there’s some ember of truth to it. There’s also probably an element of gamesmanship as well. Schoen could be (and probably is) using rampant media speculation to strengthen his bargaining position with the Tennessee Titans for a trade up. After all, if it’s out there that Schoen could keep the third pick and still get a QB to save his job, Tennessee has to consider that he’s free to walk away if their price is too high. Of course, the opportunity cost of acquiring Stafford could also preclude the Giants from selecting a developmental quarterback on Day 2 — provided that option is even available by the time the second round rolls around. Even if Tyler Shough or Jalen Milroe slip to the second round, the Giants couldn’t select either if they send the 34th pick to Los Angeles for Stafford. All of which brings me to the pick itself: Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter. Hunter will almost certainly be a Top 5 pick in the upcoming draft and likely one of the five best players to come out of the draft three years down the line. But is he the right pick for the Giants? Personally, I doubt that Hunter will be a “two-way star” in the NFL. Put simply, I think there are far too many opportunities for injury playing both sides of the ball for a 17-game schedule. On top of that, it would be incredibly hard (if not impossible) to manage the fatigue that would accumulate from practicing and playing on both sides of the ball for that schedule. That could not only degrade his play, but make him more susceptible to injury. But even as just a cornerback, he should be a very good one. He and Deonte Banks (who was third in separation allowed last year) could emerge as one of the best cornerback tandems in the NFL. But is that worth it for the Giants? Was receiver or cornerback that much of an issue for them? My fear if this comes to fruition is that the Giants would be repeating the same mistake they made in 2018 and 2024. They could once again be drafting the shiny object while failing to secure the long-term future of the team. Of course, Schoen did also mention exploring trades down. So in this scenario I think I’d want