After falling short in their pursuit of Matthew Stafford, the New York Giants appear to be taking another big swing at trying to land a quarterback.
The Giants are eyeing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, with multiple people around the league viewing it likely they’ll make a trade with the Tennessee Titans for the selection, ESPN reported Tuesday. If they were able to land the No. 1 overall pick, the Giants would be expected to take Miami (Fla.) quarterback Cam Ward, ESPN added.
New York general manager Joe Schoen signaled that the team was strongly considering taking a quarterback with the third overall pick. He told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February that the team has already “done a lot of work” on Ward and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who are the consensus top two quarterback prospects in the 2025 draft.
[Related: Rob Rang’s top 101 draft prospects in the 2025 class]
However, Schoen has also left the door open for the Giants to bring in a veteran quarterback in addition to drafting a quarterback.
“We may evaluate both of those. Both may be options,” Schoen said at the combine. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in the draft. We don’t know who’s going to be there. When we get around these kids, they may or may not be a fit for us. We’re going to have to address the position somewhere, and even if you get a young quarterback, you’d like to have a vet in the room with them to show them the ropes and how to be a pro. So we’re looking at all different avenues.”
“We’re going to look at vets, we’re going to look at the draft, we’re going to look at trade candidates, we’re going to look under every rock to find the best prospect for us going into the 2025 season,” he added.
The Giants attempted to make the first splash in the quarterback carousel this offseason. They were one of at least two known teams to make a run at acquiring Stafford from the Los Angeles Rams, reportedly making him an offer with up to $100 million guaranteed. Stafford opted to remain with the Rams.
Shortly after Stafford turned down New York, reports emerged that the Giants were considering going after Aaron Rodgers. The New York Jets announced their plan to release Rodgers when the new league year opens on March 12.
Additionally, the Giants are interested in prospective free-agent quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Russell Wilson, according to ESPN. The Minnesota Vikings didn’t place the franchise tag on Darnold ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, paving the way for him to potentially leave Minnesota. But he and the Vikings remain in talks over a short-term deal, FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported.
[Related: Does an Aaron Rodgers and Giants pairing even make sense?]
If the Giants are unable to land any of those free agents, the pressure for them to select a quarterback with their first-round pick would dial up even further. Their offense has been among the worst in the NFL over the last two seasons due to poor play at the position, with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito each struggling to make an impact in 2024. Only DeVito remains under contract.
The question is whether Ward or Sanders would be available for the Giants when they’re on the clock with the third overall pick. In FOX Sports’ most recent writers’ mock draft, Ward and Sanders were selected with the first and second overall picks, respectively.
The Titans and Cleveland Browns, who hold the No. 2 overall pick, each have questions at the position entering 2025. The Las Vegas Raiders (sixth pick) and New York Jets (seventh pick) also loom as potential threats to trade up for a quarterback.
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