2025 NFL Scouting Combine Preview: Giants at Crossroads

The New York Giants have very little margin for error this year as they look to fix a damaged roster.

Jan 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen before game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The annual "Underwear Olympics," better known as the NFL Combine kicks off this week in Indianapolis. 

While the combine is just one part of the scouting process leading up to the 2025 draft, the current regime, which admittedly had a successful draft last year, is under pressure to follow up with another stellar class from this year’s crop of prospects.

There is good and bad news, though, for the Giants, who are coming off a franchise-worst 3-14 record and have holes at every position group. This class's quarterbacks, receivers, and safeties groups aren’t exactly overflowing with talent, while the offensive line, running backs, tight ends, and defensive line groups are.

The Giants' biggest question is quarterback. The top two prospects in this class are Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Cam Ward of Miami. After that, the next tier consists of Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, Jalen Milroe of Alabama, and Kyle McCord of Syracuse. 

With general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll having been granted a grace period after seeing the team regress the last two seasons, the Giants’ brass’s margin of error is paper thin. How will it all play out? Let’s dive in with some thoughts.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll walks out of the tunnel prior to the start of the a game between New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

2024 Season in Review

In 2024, the Giants celebrated their 100th anniversary with a year-long celebration. But it's safe to say that the 2024 squad played like centenarians, given how badly they were pushed around, particularly in the trenches.

The quarterback situation was the most glaring problem for the Giants’ franchise's worst 3-14 record. After attempting to trade up in the 2024 draft to get a new quarterback (as straightforward a sign as ever that the team was planning to move on from Daniel Jones), the Giants were rebuffed and decided to pivot by adding receiver Malik Nabers to help improve the supporting cast around Jones.

Like the rest of the 2024 rookie class, Nabers was brilliant. Jones, however, was not in his return from a torn ACL. He showed many of the same problems as he did the year before his season-ending knee injury.

With the team continuing its struggles, Jones was benched and then ultimately cut, thus beginning the second straight odyssey at quarterback in which Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito, and Tim Boyle all took turns trying to right the ship. 

Lock, the No. 2 guy, had that one career game against the Colts that arguably knocked the Giants out of the top draft spot in the order, but at the end of the day, none of those three quarterbacks were good enough to anoint as the team’s starter for 2025 and beyond.

The quarterback situation wasn’t the only personnel problem. Working in a brand new scheme run by first-year defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, the defense took a step backward in most areas. The lone exception was the pass rush, which was boosted by the addition of Brian Burns, acquired via trade from Carolina. 

But despite having Pro Bowler Dexter Lawrence up front and high hopes for second-year cornerback Deonte Banks, the Giants got pushed around in the trenches while Banks, more of a press-man cover corner, badly regressed in Bowen’s zone-heavy scheme.

There were other issues, such as the lack of quality depth on the offensive line where, once left tackle Andrew Thomas went down with a season-ending foot injury, the team had no choice but to plug in career right tackles into the spot until finally biting the bullet and moving Jermaine Eluemunor to that side to calm things down. 

In short, Schoen and Daboll must now prioritize fixing the many holes on the Giants' roster. One wrong move leads to another losing season, and the odds increase that one or both men will not be back next year. So yes, the pressure is on to get things right. 

Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Malik Nabers poses with fans after being selected by the New York Giants as the No. 6 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

2025 Draft Position

Spots: 3, 34, 65, 204, 134 (projected comp pick), 155 (via Seattle, Leonard Williams trade), 221, 248 (via Buffalo, Boogie Basham trade). 

Jan 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) and quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) take the field against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Helped Wanted/Needed

Quarterback: Unless you’ve tuned out the minute the Giants 2024 season went south–and no one would blame you, by the way, if you did–you no doubt know the Giants desperately need quarterbacks (that’s right, multiple) to replace a room that last year was a huge part of the offense’s woes.

The problem is that this year’s class isn’t quite as talent-rich as last year’s. Further, there has been a growing number of draft big boards, such as this one, that don’t even list this year’s top quarterback prospects, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward, in their top ten, let alone in their top three, where the Giants are slotted in the first round.

Do the Giants go all out to land a veteran bridge either in free agency or via trade (hello Matthew Stafford!) and punt on drafting a rookie this year? Do they take a chance on one of Ward or Sanders, hoping that head coach Brian Daboll can work his magic? 

Or do they take a different approach with a potential Day 2 prospect such as Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, Jalen Milroe of Alabama, or Will Howard of Ohio State?

Cornerback: Colorado’s Travis Hunter sure could solve a big problem in the Giants’ defensive secondary if he’s sitting there at No. 3. But if he’s not, the Giants might need to spend some of that $48.39 million in cap space they’re projected to have on a potential CB1 such as D.J. Reed of the Jets, Byron Murphy of the Vikings, or Carlton Davis of the Lions.

Ideally, the Giants add a veteran to their still-young group, which could help Deonte Banks, who struggled last year in the scheme change, get back on track. But beyond Hunter, there are some other intriguing cornerbacks in the draft class, such as Will Johnson (Michigan), Jahdae Barron (Texas), Trey Amos (Ole Miss), and Shavon Revel (ECU). 

Or even better, maybe the Giants double-dip at this position by adding a veteran in free agency and drafting a Day 2 prospect if Hunter isn’t their guy. After all, a team can’t have too many corners in this pass-happy iteration of the league, right?

Defensive Line: The Giants have Pro Bowler Dexter Lawrence and everyone else. And not for nothing, but the Giants still haven’t replaced the impact Leonard Williams, previously Lawrence’s running mate until he was traded to Seattle, made while he was here. 

Fortunately for the Giants, this year's draft class is fully stocked with defensive line talent. Some of that talent might normally be first—or second-round picks, but because of the depth this year, they could slide down to the third round or later. 

Michigan teammates Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant have made a strong case for spots one and two in the defensive linemen big board. Both should easily be Day 1 picks. But if the Giants wanted to wait a bit, maybe Walter Nolen (Ole Miss), Derrick Harmon (Oregon), or T.J. Sanders (South Carolina) could be of interest to them.  

Wide Receiver: Similar to the defensive line, this unit has Malik Nabers and everyone else. And with WR2 Darius Slayton set to hit free agency, the Giants have question marks on this unit.

Jalin Hyatt has not developed as hoped after two seasons, so the upcoming year promises to be a make-or-break one for him. And while slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was productive on the surface, his shortish size (5-8) and 27⅝" arm length puts him at a disadvantage against taller and more physical defenders.

Robinson averaged 7.5 yards per reception, the last among the Giants receivers last year. Working from the slot, he averaged 7.7 yards per reception, putting him with a minimum of 57 slot targets despite having the second-most slot targets among that 15-member group. 

The easy fix would be to , such as Chris Godwin of the Bucs, but that would cost the Giants significant cap dollars that right now need to be devoted to the quarterback and cornerback positions.  

Offensive Line: Last year, the Giants inexplicably didn’t draft a single offensive or defensive lineman, an occurrence some seemed fine with because they feared devoting too many resources to one particular unit.

We found out that once injuries began piling up on the offensive line, there was no such thing as having too many offensive linemen. And if you want a reason why the Giants' offense has been so bad, look no further than the lack of young, quality linemen waiting in the wings to step in if an injury strikes or a starter moves on.  

---

More New York Giants Coverage

•

What Prospective Giants Draft Targets Deemed Among Most Pro-Ready?

•

2025 Key College Pro Days and Giants-Related Storylines to Watch

•

New Report Projects Estimated Cost to Sign Potential Giants Bridge QB Russell Wilson

•

Pair of Potential Free-agent Giants QB Targets Deemed "Boom or Bust"

•

How Will Giants Answer Their Biggest Question?

•

This Quarterback Predicted to be Giants’ Starter in 2025 

---

New York Giants On SI Social Media

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow on Instagram.
• Check out the New York Giants on SI YouTube Channel.