Another Post-Combine Mock Draft Sees Giants Pass on Quarterback in Round 1

While the New York Giants suffered their first major blow of the 2025 offseason by missing out on the sweepstakes for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, how they rebound in their quest for a quarterback will be very telling.

Stafford was a quarterback who not only could have brought an instant boost to their offense and team as a whole but might have even lessened the need to move up in the draft if there was any doubt about the long-term viability of prospects Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

That said, just because the Giants didn’t get Stafford doesn’t mean that trading up is a given, as Pro Football Focus NFL draft analyst Trevor Sikkema noted in his post-combine mock draft.

Sikkema has the Giants bypassing the quarterback position and picking Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.

“I think the Giants are in a tough spot,” Sikkema said. ‘They brought back their head coach and general manager, both on hot seats, with the understanding that 2025 must be better despite not having a quarterback.

“That makes me think they will do everything they can to acquire a proven veteran quarterback, especially after reportedly swinging and missing on Matthew Stafford.

“There are rumors of New York trading up to No. 1 overall for its preferred quarterback (I assume it's Cam Ward), but I’ll leave that scenario for another mock. Instead, I could see them drafting the best football player in the class, Travis Hunter, and being very happy about what he and Malik Nabers can do for them for years.”

(Interestingly, there have been reports that the Giants view Hunter as more of a full-time cornerback than receiver, but there is certainly a world in which Hunter could see a package of plays on offense if he were to be selected by the Giants.)

University of Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter — CU football standout athlete Travis Hunter flashes a No. 1 with his finger after a win against CSU in the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Canvas Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colo. | Cris Tiller / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Like some other mocks, the Giants were presented with the opportunity to select one of the top two quarterbacks on their list, Sanders, who hadn’t gone in the first two picks after the Titans took Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter and the Browns changed course on their need for a gunslinger and went with Cam Ward.

They did not, and the more surprising element of the exercise was that Sanders fell out of the top 32 picks altogether, leaving Ward as the only player at the position taken in the opening round. That is likely a graver picture of how the ilk of Deion Sanders’s draft stock has dropped recently, especially as he hasn’t thrown in the recent events leading up to his pro day.

More so, the mock’s prediction follows how the Giants have responded since being runner-up for Stafford in the middle of the combine. As a handful of insiders noted, the organization has kept tabs on several veteran options slated to hit the open market on March 10th and a couple of players who might need a trade to be acquired.

The first name to be mentioned for the Giants after Stafford and the Rams reached an agreement was Aaron Rodgers, whom the Jets plan to release after a mostly failed tenure with the crosstown franchise. Rodgers is the oldest veteran available at 41 years old, and his mobility is a big question mark for the Giants' offense despite throwing for almost 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns last season.

The Giants' most likely scenarios right now are a short-term veteran and a rookie, the latter of which, if they can get into a position for Ward, would probably be the way they go.

The Titans are not at the point in their process where they can say what compensation would look like, so it’s not definitively in the cards yet. The idea of reaching on Sanders as the second guy in the top three picks is seemingly fading.

Having a chance to secure a second-tier prospect like Jaxon Dart later in the second or third round, the Giants could approach it that way, and that makes a pick of Hunter work out. They’d have their veteran to start the season and a slew of upgraded weapons to play with in a must-win season, including Hunter’s two-way talents that can assist the secondary.

One way or another, that’s the picture of the Giants' offseason that has to be formulated by the time it’s over. The regime needs to partner two quarterbacks into a currently empty room to secure the organization's present and future, and acquiring Stafford wasn’t going to change that mindset.

So, while any mocks without a quarterback in the top three picks might sound an alarm among the fanbase, the constant reminder has to be that the Giants will figure it out in some fashion. A lot could still change before the draft, but the feeling in the room, and this mock, is that the big swing is still geared towards a veteran before a chase for a rookie.

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