For a while, it seemed like there was an obvious path for Colorado quarterback prospect Shedeur Sanders to land with the Giants. Some later acquisitions made it seem likely that New York would go elsewhere in the 2025 NFL Draft, but a recent mock draft by Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York suggested that there’s still a less obvious path that could see Sanders end up with Big Blue. 
Initially, it was thought that the Giants would be considering drafting Sanders with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. A few things have changed that thinking. First, while quarterback was certainly seen as an area in need of improvement initially, the Giants have since added two veterans with starting potential in Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson. Adding two veteran passers doesn’t solve the team’s long-term future at quarterback, but it did make it to where there’s no obligation to address the position in this year’s draft, perhaps delaying to a class with more than one first-round worthy player at the position.
Second, Sanders’ draft stock has not exactly been on the rise in recent weeks. Whether a result of one-on-one interviews or his workouts, some teams seem to have fallen out of love with him. As a result, Sanders has seemed to be in danger of sliding down the draft board and, at times, out of the first round altogether.
The third thing to change the potential outcome is the increasingly certain outlook of the Titans’ No. 1 overall pick. While not Sharpied in, there’s growing certainty around the league that Miami quarterback Cam Ward is headed to Tennessee. That leaves the draft’s top two prospects — Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter and Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter — available for Cleveland to decide between, assuming they’re also out on Sanders.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler asserted recently that with the acquisitions of Winston and Wilson lessening the need for a passer, it’s the belief of most teams in the top 10 picks of the draft that the Giants will choose whoever remains out of Carter and Hunter after the Titans and Browns make their picks. He doesn’t abandon quarterback as an option but claims they may defer that position to Days 2 or 3.
Hughes’ mock draft agrees on one hand, showing New York selecting Hunter after Ward and Carter go 1 & 2. Where it disagrees with Fowler’s sentiment comes six picks later, where Hughes doesn’t rule out the possibility of the Giants trading back into the first round to draft Sanders alongside his teammate at No. 9 overall. As Hughes explains, New York has plenty of picks to give up in order to move up; they have two thirds this year and their full cache of picks in 2026.
It would be a bold move for general manager Joe Schoen and company, likely spending a lot of draft capital in order to take the Buffaloes teammates in the top 10, but perhaps a bold move is exactly what is needed in New York. It was news when Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll kept their jobs after Black Monday, so making bold moves to setup up the future of the team may be the all-in action necessary for Schoen to stick around past 2025.