Another Mock Draft Proposes Bold Move for Giants in Round 1

Should the New York Giants go to this extreme to land a franchise quarterback?

Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward has been frequently linked to the New York Giants in mock drafts. | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

After failing to trade up in last year’s draft to grab their quarterback of the future, the New York Giants should move heaven and earth in the 2025 draft to get the best quarterback on the board.

That is the opinion of Jamie Eisner of The Draft Network, whose bold trade proposal in his latest mock draft has the Giants swapping spots with the Tennessee Titans, who currently hold the top pick in the draft.

Eisner has the Giants sending the Titans their first-round pick (No. 3), second (No. 34), and third (No. 65) in this year’s class, plus their 2026 second-round pick to the Titans so that the Giants can select Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

Notes Eisner of his proposed scenario, “I don't believe they'll spend their ninth life with Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Jimmy Garoppolo, or Jameis Winston as their starting quarterback. 

“That means they need to be aggressive and move up to get "their guy." Schoen and director of player personnel Tim McDonnell already have one in-person viewing of Ward. The Miami quarterback's potential upside is the highest in the class.”

Dec 28, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward (1) warms up prior to the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Camping World Stadium. | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Oh, if only it were that easy.

First, Eisner assumes that the Titans, who also appear to need a quarterback, will go the veteran bridge route, which is not guaranteed. He also assumes that the Titans, even if they were looking to trade down, would be happy with swapping first-round picks in this year’s class, which is also a longshot.

But the overall logic makes no sense for a couple of reasons. First, the Giants are not one quarterback away from where they should be thinking about giving up two top-100 picks in this year’s draft for a quarterback prospect that, while having a high upside, probably wouldn’t be a top-five prospect if he had come out in last year’s quarterback loaded class. 

Second, this notion of the Giants not “spending their ninth life” with a veteran bridge quarterback is ludicrous. The Giants were all set to do that last year if they had been successful in trading up to select one of Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. The plan was to run it back with Daniel Jones until a rookie was ready to take over.  

So why would that change this year? The answer is it won’t, especially considering the Giants will likely re-do the quarterback room. Right now, Drew Lock and Tim Boyle are set to be unrestricted free agents, and Tommy DeVito is an exclusive rights free agent. 

Of those three, DeVito is the most likely to be retained for continuity purposes and will likely cost less than Lock and Boyle.

The Giants’ brass of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have been granted a reprieve by team ownership, as co-owner John Mara confirmed for reporters the day after the team’s 100th season ended.

But Mara also sent mixed messages regarding his confidence in the pair's ability to turn things around and admitted that he was running out of patience. 

This suggests that if both men are to reach the fifth and final years on their respective contracts, the team would need to win more than three games in 2025 and perhaps even push for a postseason berth.

While the team could find success with a rookie quarterback at the controls–just look at the success Washington has that could happen with a rookie quarterback (Daniels) at the helm–the Giants have a bunch of other problems they need to address, not just on the offensive side of the ball, but also on the defensive side to where giving up two other top-100 picks makes any sense.

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