Giants Working on Significant First-Round Trade As NFL Draft Nears

New York has the No. 3 pick in Thursday's first round, but may not be done.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll ahead of a game. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

So far, no 2025 first-round picks have exchanged hands ahead of Thursday's NFL draft. If the New York Giants have their way, that may change in the coming hours.

The Giants, a team with plenty of holes to fill and incredible pressure on both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, currently hold the No. 3 pick, with which they're widely expected to target Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter.

According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, New York wants to get back into the back-end of the first round as teams attempt to jockey for position with less than three hours before the draft begins.

The phone lines are getting busier as the first round nears, per sources.

The Broncos and Texans are attempting to move up the draft order, while the Giants are trying to acquire a second first-round pick at the back end of the round.

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 24, 2025

The Giants officially brought the Daniel Jones era at quarterback to an end during the 2024 season, releasing the former first-rounder. The team has added a pair of veteran options, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, but neither is expected to be a long-term answer for the franchise.

New York had been connected to Shedeur Sanders for months, but are not expected to consider the Colorado gunslinger at No. 3; he is now most commonly connected to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21, but there is no guarantee that he is selected in the first round at all. A franchise like the Giants, who may like Sanders but not enough to take him at the top of the draft, could be a prime candidate to jump back into the late first-round and draft a quarterback.

Seven teams who need a QB button. Seven Teams Who Need to Select a Quarterback in the NFL Draft. dark. Next

Ole Miss's Jaxson Dart and Alabama's Jalen Milroe are among the other quarterbacks who could draw late-first round interest.

Of course, New York has a host of other needs on top of pass rusher and quarterback, so a trade may not necessarily come with Sanders in mind, but it is hard to look past him as a prime Giants target if they find themselves back in the mix tonight.

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