Giants 'Open To Anything' With First Pick But We All Know It Better Supply One Thing
We have entered the silly season in the NFL when the 30 teams not playing in the Super Bowl turn their attention to the next big thing, which is finding players for next season while saying as little about it as possible when talking to the media.
And so we present New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen, who spoke at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this week.
Jan 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen before game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Giants Believe They'll Get Good Player
Schoen's Giants hold the No. 3 overall selection. And what is the plan with that pick, Joe?
"We’re going to be open to anything," Schoen said, via the team’s website. "We’re in a good position sitting at three with the players that are available. By process of elimination, we know we’re going to get a good player. Regardless of what happens the next couple of months, we know there’s going to be a really good player there."
Yeah, um, silly season. Because this is stating the obvious without acknowledging the most important.
And the important thing is, the Giants need a starting quarterback. And they better get one in this draft because anything other than that might lead to folks losing their jobs – as both Schoen and coach Brian Daboll came perilously close to doing in 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 14: Miami quarterback Cam Ward (1) throws a touchdown pass in the second quarter as the Miami Hurricanes faced the Ball State Cardinals on September 14, 2024, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Giants Must Land A QB
So, Schoen can be open to anything … as long as it produces a quarterback.
Open to trading up … as long as it produces a quarterback.
Open to trading down … as long as it produces a quarterback.
Open to staying at No. 3 … as long as it produces a quarterback.
And we know this because the only way the Giants can emerge from this offseason with hope at quarterback is picking either Miami's Cam Ward or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders somehow.
We know this because those are the two best QBs in the draft according to the entire Earth. And we know this because free agency isn't going to offer a great, relatively inexpensive option that hasn't already been proven to be lacking in significant ways.
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Free Agency Is Not The Answer
We're talking about someone like Sam Darnold or Russell Wilson, Carson Wentz or Andy Dalton. Going the free agency route for a starting QB is fool's gold this year.
So Schoen has to figure out a way to land Ward or Sanders. No, that's not a guarantee, since there are only two of them and the Giants have the third pick.
And even if one or both of the first two teams – No. 1 Tennessee Titans and No. 2 Cleveland Browns – might not be interested in drafting a quarterback, there's always the possibility of teams trading up to those slots to make that QB pick.
So the Giants have to be prepared to be "open to anything," including a costly trade up.
The Giants, by the way, are constantly tied to Sanders for whatever reason. And Schoen said nothing to dissuade that connection.
Ward Or Sanders To Giants
"He's a great kid, he's a great kid, a really good personality, football smart, his dad is a football coach," Schoen said. "It's a little bit cliché, but he checks all the boxes of a [player with a] dad that is a football coach and the passion that he approaches the game with."
"It was good getting to meet him. He's had a really good career at Colorado and obviously looking forward to getting to knowing all those guys in the rest of the process."
Left unsaid: If Ward is gone, but Sanders is there at No. 3? Giants are picking Sanders.
If Sanders is gone but, Ward is there at No. 3? Giants are picking Ward.
If both are gone and the Giants pick Travis Hunter? It's akin to a 2024 redo when they picked Malik Nabers and got an outstanding player. But they lost 14 games because they didn't pick a quarterback.
The silly season has begun.