New NFL Power Rankings Hands Giants Surprising Standing Before Draft

It’s not very often in the modern era of the NFL Draft when a team picking within the top 10 of the first-round order is deemed to be in a respectable situation relative to their place on the big board.

Surprisingly, that might be the case for the New York Giants, eagerly waiting to see what they do with their No. 3 pick on Thursday.

The franchise’s newest selection feels like it could have one of the biggest impacts in the first round, and the uncertainty of which player will be taken is leaving some with immense anxiety.

Not for Pro Football Focus writer Bradley Locker, though. He released his NFL power rankings poll ahead of the 2025 draft and has the Giants sitting closer to the median than the basement at No. 20 as the final big roster-building marker of the offseason looms.

Locker’s ranking is probably the highest the Giants have seen in a while. In the 2024 season, it beat out 10 other teams that held better records than New York.

Just recently, the Giants were ranked 28th in a different pre-draft exercise, but much of that was due to the lack of an answer at quarterback before the team signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in free agency.

With those two veteran additions locked down for the upcoming season, the Giants still have some work to fortify their roster and ensure quality depth is available.

Per the rankings, Joe Schoen and the front office have done fairly well in establishing a foundation on both sides of the ball that they can continue to grow with extra picks in their pool.

“The Giants are picking third overall, but when considering Joe Schoen's work in free agency, the team is actually in a solid position to be decent with a safer floor than before,” Locker said.

New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson — Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws the ball during AFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“Russell Wilson (77.5 PFF passing grade) should upgrade a quarterback room that finished 30th in PFF passing grade, unlocking additional elements to Malik Nabers’ game (87.1 PFF receiving grade).

“Although the team’s secondary now has star power, it will need better play from Deonte Banks, Jevon Holland, and Paulson Adebo, who all finished short of a 64.0 PFF coverage grade in 2024. Getting back Andrew Thomas (75.4 PFF overall grade) and Dexter Lawrence (89.9) will be critical as the Giants look to remain relevant into December and January.”

When it came to the Giants’ offseason plan, the prevailing feeling was that they would address many skill position holes on their roster via the open market.

Schoen used the team’s expanding cap space, partly from league media deals and the offloading of free agents, to target key areas like the secondary and the offensive tackle group that struggled mightily last season.

The big question was how they would navigate the offense's helm, which only had Tommy DeVito under contract at the end of the year. From the start, it hasn’t seemed like the Giants brass was all in on any quarterback prospects in this year’s class outside of Cam Ward, who has been out of reach at the No. 1 pick.

Nevertheless, with Schoen and Brian Daboll’s seats as hot as they could be, they needed to find answers somewhere to help their cause in 2025.

Tagging Wilson and Winston will no doubt give the Giants a better chance to win games next season, but doubts still linger about the organization’s long-term future.

As the Giants head into night one of the draft this week, there have been reports of a split among the key decision-makers in the room. Some siding with Locker and believe the team should snag the best available player, while others are pushing hard for a third addition to the quarterback's room with a potential franchise heir apparent.

That debate will continue to swirl as the first couple of rounds unfold, and the Giants will likely pursue a gunslinger in the late first round via a trade or the second round.

It behooves them to do it there, as a promising rookie could step in late in the season if the veterans stumble and give credence to the regime as talent evaluators who can mold the next leader of the Giants' offensive huddle.

But as Schoen has repeated all offseason, the Giants feel good where they are at under center and won’t risk it all just to quell outside noise. If they like a prospect, they will jump on him if he is available, but they also have other areas of need if they don’t.

In the spirit of building on their rise in these new rankings, the Giants need to target a couple of extra pieces along the offensive front, particularly the guard spot, which hasn’t been touched outside of resigning Greg Van Roten and moving Evan Neal over to start serving that role as a depth guy.

Dexter Lawrence will return as the centerpiece of the defense that compiled the sacks at a record rate last season, but the Giants could snag a counterpart to help him stuff the middle and increase the power of the pass rush up front.

The Giants have a strict schedule in 2025 and want to be more competitive before considering 2026 and beyond.

Still, they’re not in the best place just yet, especially as they grapple with what kind of team they want once Wilson and company stitch up the pieces that have gone astray in recent years.

Progress can come quickly depending on how the draft unfolds, and hopefully, the spirit of their ascension in PFF’s power rankings carries over into their haul in Green Bay.

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