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First in a three-part series on the Giants quarterback issue. Coming tomorrow: Examining Sam Darnold and other proven or semi-proven requests.
These five words are irrelevant for the Giants and their fans and it is best to avoid saying them or thinking about them, for the sanity of all concerned.
“If this was last year …”
We will go ahead and use that phrase in the proper context and then banish it forever.
If the top quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft were available this year, the Giants would be sitting pretty. They own the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft and would have been assured of getting one of the three top-tier quarterback prospects.
The Giants had the No. 6 pick a year ago, watched quarterbacks come off the board 1, 2 and 3 — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye — and selected wide receiver Malik Nabers.
This year, it looks as if No. 3 is one spot out of where the Giants need to be in what is widely considered an underwhelming and largely a two-quarterback draft, in terms of bona fide high-level prospects. And the consensus is those two top guys, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, grade out significantly below the top three quarterbacks in the 2024 draft.
“They’re a year too late,’’ David Syvertse, senior draft analyst for Ourlads Scouting Service told The Post.
We shall see if better late than never is the route the Giants choose to take.
There are three quarterback groups, according to most draft analysts. Ward (Miami) and Sanders (Colorado) at the top of the list — in differing orders, depending on the eye of the beholder.
Next, it is Jalen Milroe (Alabama) as the third quarterback, almost in a space of his own, with Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) ranging into that tier.
Ward and Sanders will come off the board quickly — possibly No. 1 and No. 2 to quarterback-needy teams (Titans and Browns) — and most expect Milroe to go later in the first round.
After that, there is a third group, anticipated to be selected late in the first round, the second round, on into the third round and back into Day 3 of the draft.
That group consists of Dart (if he does not go earlier), Quinn Ewers (Texas) and a bunch of others that will be considered: Will Howard (Ohio State), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), Kurtis Rourke (Indiana), Kyle McCord (Syracuse) and Max Brosmer (Minnesota).
“It’s just a very questionable group,’’ Syvertsen said of the 2025 quarterback class.
Last year made history, with six quarterbacks taken in the top 12 picks, as Michael Penix went No. 8 to the Falcons, J.J. McCarthy went No. 10 to the Vikings and Bo Nix went No. 12 to the Broncos. Then, there was the largest gap in NFL draft history — 137 picks — until the next quarterback was taken: Spencer Rattler in the fifth round (No. 150) to the Saints.
There could be another long gap this year with this humdrum group. For the Giants, there are a few decisions they need to make:
Do they prefer Sanders or Ward?
Do they believe either of them are worth trading up to get?
Is there another quarterback in the group worth a second-round pick or a possible trade back into the first round?
Does it make more sense not to force the issue and go with an impact player at a premier position, sit tight at No. 3 and take outside linebacker Abdul Carter of Penn State or cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter of Colorado?
Sanders and Ward are so diametrically different as prospects that it is almost as if there were 10 positive and negative attributes available and someone decided to split them evenly, five apiece, between them. Syvertsen has them close, with Ward grading out one point higher than Sanders. “But their routes to that grade were so different,’’ he said.
Sanders is more polished, by far the more accurate passer, definitely more pro-ready. His floor is higher but his ceiling is lower. He does not have much bust potential but perhaps also not much star potential. He has been coached in high school and in his two college stops by his famous father, Deion Sanders, and looks as if he has been well-schooled, possessing top-flight mechanics and a sense of what to do with the ball. He also is not nearly as athletic as Ward and smaller, which is a concern.
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“I have 6-1, 198 for Sanders,’’ Syvertsen said. “You don’t play quarterback in the NFL at less than 200 pounds and this kid’s been in college for five years. He’s not a 20-year old that’s still growing into his body. He’s very slender below the waist, very small calves and thighs.’’
Ward is 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds.
“He’s a lot thicker, kind of like that country boy thickness to him,’’ Syvertsen said.
Ward was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school and bounced from Incarnate Word to Washington State without ever being viewed as much of an NFL prospect. His 2024 season at Miami vaulted him into the top rung of quarterbacks in this class, but buyer beware.
Ward’s arm is stronger than Sanders’ and he is more capable of making things happen with his legs. He can throw it from a variety of arm angles, so much so that Syvertsen likens Ward to former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
“There are times when I think ‘Oh he’s not a good athlete, he’s a pocket passer,’ but he’s really athletic in short areas,’’ Syvertsen said. “When he needs to escape out of a phone booth he can do it, and he’s very slippery to pass rushers, like he’s covered in Vasoline. He just has a way, similar to what [Patrick] Mahomes does, anticipates pass rushers, passing lanes and that’s a big part of transitioning to the next level — can you feel the pass rush? I think it’s the biggest weakness in Shedeur Sanders’ game. That’s one of the biggest contrasts to the two of them, Ward has that sixth sense, Sanders does not.’’
There is a downside, though. Where Sanders is polished, Ward is raw. The safer pick is Sanders. The more forward-thinking pick, with risks, is Ward.
“His bad tape is the worst tape of all these guys,’’ Syvertsen said. “His spectrum is very wide. He has some awful interceptions on tape, against Cal and Duke, Georgia Tech. His bad is really bad. It’s almost like he gets a little lazy, a little lackadaisical with his footwork and that’s the biggest issue. To use a basketball analogy, he’ll hit 3 after 3 but then he’ll miss two free throws and a layup. His mechanics aren’t consistent. It isn’t a natural 1, 2, 3 fire motion. He doesn’t set himself up properly. I called him a JV version of Caleb Williams.’’
As far as the best of the rest, Milroe is the most intriguing but also the most dangerous, as far as trying to figure out what he might become. He is nearly in a Lamar Jackson class as an athlete and as a running threat but he is not close to being an NFL-caliber passer. Dart is a far more accomplished passer, and Syvertsen believes Dart is the best in this class when it comes to throwing against the pressure of a pass rush.
The best course of action for the Giants? Syvertsen says go for the sure thing at No. 3 in Carter or Hunter to add talent and playmaking to the defense and then go quarterback with their second pick. That rookie, along with a veteran bridge quarterback signed in free agency, could hold the Giants over in 2025.
“They’re two difference-makers at key positions,’’ Syvertsen said of Carter and Hunter. “It’s not the Saquon Barkley argument where you are going against position value. Those guys play premium positions and the Giants need playmakers at premium positions.
However, the Giants have to do something at quarterback that is going to help them win games next year. I would take Cam Ward at 3, if they have to go quarterback.’’
Do they have to? Yet another question for the Giants to ponder.
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