The New York Giants are slated to pick No. 3 overall in April's NFL Draft. That should yield an impactful player, but man, it feels like a paltry consolation prize for the season that fan base just endured.
All the NFL basement-dwellers "deserve" their pick — Cleveland and Tennessee fans didn't exactly have a blast last season — but the 2024 campaign was uniquely torturous for the Giants faithful, in part because their demise was captured on camera thanks to "Hard Knocks". Joe Schoen is never going to live down those Saquon Barkley clips.
After getting cheap with their franchise player, the Giants spiraled to the bottom of the standings while Barkley's Philadelphia Eagles won 14 games and ran the postseason gauntlet to a Super Bowl. Barkley put together literally the greatest front-to-back RB season in NFL history. New York, um, got some nice production from Malik Nabers? That's about it.
At least the No. 1 overall pick would've made it all worthwhile, or at least partially worthwhile. Cam Ward felt like the obvious target — a mobile, talented quarterback with all the athletic traits GMs fawn over nowadays. The Giants were in the driver's seat to make it happen ... right up until an improbable Week 17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
That gave New York its third win of the season and moved them back in the NFL Draft standings, now slotted behind fellow three-win teams Tennessee and Cleveland. Tiebreakers are a you-know-what, and that is why the Giants are now in a precarious spot when it comes to the quarterback position.
Giants' Week 17 win over Colts will go down as an all-time blunder
New York is stuck with the No. 3 pick in a weak quarterback draft. It's clear Cam Ward is coming off the board either first or second at this point. The Giants could luck into Shedeur Sanders, but even then, it's fair to wonder if Sanders can actually live up to his billing as a top-3 pick. He needs a clean pocket, which the Giants aren't equipped to provide on a consistent basis.
There were rumblings about New York trading up to No. 1, but that opportunity "appears dead," per ESPN's Jordan Raanan. The Titans have said all spring that they won't pass on a generational talent, with Ward emerging as the current frontrunner.
Giants plan to trade to #1 Overall “appears dead” according to @JordanRaanan.
— Big Blue United (@BigBlueUnited) March 16, 2025
https://t.co/ejogmHh5z9
Just look at who the Giants are circling in free agency. It's dire. They're playing the Aaron Rodgers waiting game alongside Pittsburgh. If the 41-year-old, coming off a five-win season for the Jets in MetLife Stadium, decides to take his talents elsewhere, the Giants will be forced to sift through names like Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, or Joe Flacco. Nothing feels particularly desirable.
Even if the Giants only sign a vet to mentor Shedeur Sanders, that is a telling admission of where the Colorado product is at in his development. Most top-three picks at quarterback start out of the gate. Others take over weeks into the season. Putting Sanders behind Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson would mean the Giants aren't terribly confident in either investment.
It's grim in East Rutherford these days. The Giants pondering the expensive trade-up route when the No. 1 pick was theirs to lose is proof of how disastrous that Colts loss was. We can't blame a coach and team for trying to win games, but the Giants can't even tank right. Even their silver linings are a mirage. Let's see if Joe Schoen can worm his way out of this tight corner he's backed into.