Should Giants do unthinkable with 2025 1st round pick: Not take a QB?

The Giants need a new quarterback. We all know that by now.
The Daniel Jones era is an official announcement away from being over — both coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen were non-committal about his post-bye starting status earlier this week — and the Giants clearly aren’t rolling with Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito as the long-term answers.
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After six wasted seasons, plus a wasted top-five draft pick in 2019, the Giants will (finally!) select their new franchise face at the 2025 NFL Draft in April.
But wait… should they?
Depending on where they stack in the final draft order, punting on the QB question might just be the best route for the Giants, who are 2-8 for the second straight year.
Now, before you take out your pitchforks, let’s take a look at some of the top quarterbacks in this class — and whether they’re worth a possible top-five pick investment.
Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, both of whom come with their fair share of question marks, seem to be the cream of the crop.
Ward, a late-bloomer prospect, who did not get first-round buzz until this year, looks like the safest bet of all. He’s excellent under pressure and has been praised for his arm talent — which would add a much-needed downfield-attack element to the Giants’ offense.
He would likely be a top pick no matter the draft class, so the Giants can safely pick him without second guessing.
Then there’s Shedeur. Look, the No. 18 Colorado Buffaloes are a fun story and all, and Shedeur has certainly played a huge role in lifting them into the College Football Playoff discussion, but he also quit on his team during a loss earlier this season (among other things), which has led to serious leadership concerns.
There’s also the fact that whichever team selects him also has to deal with his father, Deion Sanders — who might not let certain teams take his son in the first place, à la Eli Manning.
But hey, he’s still a wildly talented mobile pocket passer, who uses his athleticism, poise and high football IQ to elevate the weapons around him. It’s up to the Giants to decide whether the off-field headaches are worth his undeniable talent.
But what if neither are available? What if, like last season, the Giants rattle off some meaningless wins down the stretch, and let a few of the 10 teams with three wins or less — half of which need a quarterback too — pass them in the draft order?
If it comes to that, the Giants must seriously consider drafting the best player available at one of their other pressing position needs (like cornerback or right tackle).
After Ward and Sanders, the quarterbacks get… murky. There are a handful of wild card options, no doubt — Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, to name a few — but after six seasons of Daniel Jones, the Giants aren’t exactly in a position to reach.
If they can’t draft the top two guys, they’d be better off using the pick on a No. 1 corner in Michigan’s Will Johnson, a freak athlete in Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who can play both corner and wide receiver, or a dominant tackle in LSU’s Will Campbell, before taking a flier on a second-rounder to compete with a veteran bridge QB signed in free agency.
Of course, all of this is a long shot. Schoen and Daboll (if they’re still around) will almost certainly draft a quarterback — if nothing else but to buy them job security for a few years. Even if they’re gone, ownership might mandate a QB selection anyway to regain the fanbase’s trust after six years of Jones.
But beware: Reaching on a quarterback in a weak draft class is what landed you Jones in the first place.
Repeat that mistake and you risk losing some fans’ trust for good.
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Ryan Novozinsky may be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on X @ryannovo62.