The New York Giants and New England Patriots occupy an important inflection point in the 2025 NFL Draft. With the Nos. 3 and 4 picks, respectively, how the Giants proceed could directly impact how New England proceeds — not to mention the next several teams after them.
We can loosely presume that Cam Ward will go No. 1 overall to Tennessee, with Penn State's pass-rushing phenom Abdul Carter all but a lock to join Cleveland with the second pick. That leaves the Giants with a difficult decision. Should they draft a quarterback, even after signing Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, or should New York build around its veteran signal-callers?
Most folks assumed Joe Schoen would go the latter route after signing Wilson. Most teams don't carry three quarterbacks on the standard roster, much less three quarterbacks with as much cachet as Russ, Jameis, and a top-three pick. The Giants, however, appear to be leaning toward the former.
According to ESPN's Matt Miller, the "worst-kept secret" in the NFL is New York's profound interest in Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Barring an unexpected development ahead of them in the draft order, he should be available when the No. 3 pick rolls around.
That is music to the ears of Patriots fans.
Giants' Shedeur Sanders interest puts Travis Hunter in Patriots' lap with No. 4 pick
With all due respect to Sanders, a talented quarterback with NFL pedigree, he's not the third-best prospect in this draft. Most boards toggle between Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter at the top, with Cam Ward as the consensus QB1 (and thus the popular candidate for the Titans' top selection). Should the Giants go with a quarterback — a totally justifiable decision given the frustration of the Daniel Jones era — that leaves arguably the best overall prospect available to New England in the No. 4 slot.
The Patriots don't need a quarterback. Drake Maye looks the part of a franchise cornerstone. What New England does need is a shutdown cornerback and another dynamic wideout to line up opposite Stefon Diggs. Eliot Wolf, Mike Vrabel, and the Patriots front office can kill two birds with one stone by drafting Hunter, the best cornerback in the draft and one heck of a wideout.
He pulled rare double duty at CB and WR for the Buffaloes last season, winning the Heisman Trophy and, quite often, making Sanders look better than he is. Sanders stands tall in the pocket and has plenty of arm talent, but he's not a generational athlete or an especially quick processor. He did well behind Colorado's leaky O-line, but a lot of his success was a direct result of Hunter's electric playmaking. New England would love to get some of that next to Drake Maye.
Now, New England selecting Hunter at No. 4, if he's available, is not a foregone conclusion. Vrabel historically values winning in the trenches, and plenty of mocks put an offensive lineman, such as LSU's Will Campbell, on the Patriots' radar. Maye made the Pro Bowl as a rookie despite operating under constant duress. Burning a top-five pick on the O-line is never the most popular outcome — fans just don't watch football for the pass-blocking — but it'd be a totally justifiable route for New England to take. Protecting Maye is a top priority.
That said, Hunter would be awfully hard to pass up given his ability to address two points of weakness simultaneously. There has been some skepticism around his ability to play both sides of the football in the NFL, but Hunter is one of the best cornerback prospects in recent memory. At worst, he's the shutdown DB this Patriots defense desperately lacks. In a more ideal timeline, he's exactly that and he's a productive WR2 opposite Diggs, giving Maye a second big-play threat down the sideline.