The New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen made it clear how he feels about Travis Hunter ahead of the NFL Draft next week. Schoen hyping up Hunter and reinforcing his athletic ability to the fan base, it makes it clear that Shedeur Sanders isn’t an option.
It’s hard to get a read on where Sanders will land in the draft. He’s good enough to be a top pick, but the Cleveland Browns and the Giants fortified their quarterback rooms (for now) with veteran signings this offseason.
That likely leaves No. 9 to the New Orleans Saints as Sanders' first landing spot, but a couple of mock drafts have had him falling even further. Because the Giants are hyping up Hunter and have Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, the Giants will probably go after a skill player.
Assuming the Cleveland Browns don’t deviate from reported predictions, Hunter probably won’t be there at No. 3. That said, if Sanders is, he won’t be in New York.
The New York Giants avoiding a franchise quarterback in this draft could haunt them
The Giants are putting all their faith in Wilson, who managed to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to the NFL playoffs, only to lose in the first round to the Baltimore Ravens. I’m not quite sure what the Giants are seeing in Wilson, but he isn’t going to save Brian Daboll or Schoen’s job.
While I don’t think it’s wise to draft a skill player with a quarterback available for the taking in their situation, it could work out in the short term. But after this season, then what?
The Giants have been scrambling for their next quarterback since Eli Manning retired. That hasn’t been that long, but they've also whiffed on Daniel Jones and haven’t found a bridge option yet.
Schoen coming out and admitting the team isn’t looking at a quarterback is bold — or a smokescreen. I respect that he’s making it clear the team has more needs other than quarterback. But without a difference-maker at quarterback, Schoen won’t have a team to hype up next year anyway.
Sanders went from being a lock in the top 5 to sliding down the first round into the 20s. The Giants could regret letting Sanders slip away if their season falls flat like it seems to do every year.