ESPN NFL Insider Weighs in on Which Prospects Won't Be There for the Giants at No. 3

From the beginning of the league’s long preparation for the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, the most intriguing prospect gaining wide attention has undeniably been Colorado cornerback/wide receiver phenom Travis Hunter. As the final two weeks before the event emerge, that insane level of popularity isn’t dying down.

There has been zero second-guessing that Hunter, the first dual-threat prospective player in NFL draft history, will hear his name called by Roger Goodell within the top five picks of the first round on April 24th. That said, there appears to be a major competition between the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants for his unique services.

Both franchises are coming in the draft off the heels of dismal campaigns in 2024, the Giants a historic 3-14 landslide behind four different quarterbacks, and with a gaping concern at that position after the release of Daniel Jones that needs to be addressed in this draft if they want to reach long term stability and success.

At the same time, there is also the allure of snagging the rare breed of player that Hunter displayed at the college level with Colorado, where he was part of one of the nation’s best-receiving units.

And the Giants need to show steadfast progress next season if they want the Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll regime to last more than a fourth year.

Signing two veteran arms all ready to assist with the cause, bypassing the rookie gunslinger early, and adding Hunter to the mix could provide a quality athlete who has shown he can fill two big roles on the roster in an electric fashion.

According to ESPN’s senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Giants might not want to hold out hope much longer than the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner could fall to their laps at No. 3.

Schefter said on The Adam Schefter Podcast that with just two weeks left until the first round opens, all signs he has seen point towards Hunter coming off the board at No. 2 to the Browns.

“That’s the thing about the draft is that it’s a moving target,” Schefter said. “Needs and desires change as teams go through the evaluation process.

“A couple of months ago, I was of the mind and the impression based on what I was hearing that the Browns were likely to take a quarterback, but that was because they realized they wanted Cam Ward, and Cam Ward is no longer going to be there.

“Once they realized that, they come off of that, shifted over to Abdul Carter…and now the latest intel is that, I believe, Travis Hunter is the more likely pick at No. 2 with a couple weeks out from the NFL Draft.”

Two-plus weeks ahead of the NFL Draft, there are signs that point to the Browns now using the No. 2 overall pick on Colorado standout Travis Hunter.

With @tyschmit:

🎧 https://t.co/pwhzj4PCTm pic.twitter.com/4nkO8ZFy8E
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 7, 2025

Schefter explained how the Browns’ sudden change of heart could have been sparked by watching the multiple-award-winning prospect perform in front of their large party of executives at Colorado’s pro day in Boulder. The Giants were also present at that showcase, albeit they were likely taking one last look at quarterback Shedeur Sanders throwing in the process.

Seeing the way Hunter moved and his ability to switch gears between a speedy receiving threat and shutdown corner on the defensive end, the Browns might now see him as a piece that reinvigorates what was a gloomy situation in Cleveland for most of the past decade and be sold on stealing him as the first non-quarterback name off the board.

While many on the outside still expect the Giants to focus on a quarterback at some point in the draft, the recent feeling has been that they, too, might be floating away from forcing a pick at the third spot and pursuing Hunter to primarily assume a big starting void in the defense amid what was an inexperienced and exposed secondary last fall.

If that is no longer on the table once the Browns submit their pick to claim Hunter, the Giants would be back to square one, reconsidering whether to go with the elite edge rusher in Carter or secure their future at the helm with Sanders.

Siding with Carter would hardly be a bad option, as he can add pass-rushing power to numerous spots along the Giants' defensive front and take some pressure off the duo of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns on every play.

That would also mean that the team is assured of his medicals and confident they can still find a gunslinger who falls out of the top 32 slots.

That holding off is becoming risky, as recent reports have detailed the Browns' interest in the class’s second-tier quarterbacks and a few other quiet teams in the middle to bottom of the first round.

One or more of those teams, including the Browns, who have been mocked for executing a trade back into the top 20 on a few occasions, could round up names like Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart before the Giants figure out their next move at No. 34. Then, the biggest piece of their offseason remains missing.

The Giants are doing their due diligence to unearth every possible contingency in that event. If they are really enamored by the chance of drafting Hunter, the one solace is that the final month of the draft process is typically when the NFL coined the catchphrase “smokescreen season.”

Things said now could be intended to separate an organization from a player and still turn out the opposite way when the draft finally arrives.

The one thing that doesn’t seem to be changing is the front office's decision not to force the quarterback dilemma to silence the heat on Schoen and Daboll’s seats. The Giants do not want to draft scared and have it blow up in their faces because they passed up on the wrong guy when he was available.

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