NFL Draft Analyst Poses Most Interesting Round 1 Scenario Yet for Giants

A new mock draft has the Giants double-dipping in the first round in a low-risk/high-reward scenario.

Feb 1, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; American team quarterback Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss (2) during the first half of the 2025 Senior Bowl football game against the National team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Draft analyst Todd McShay, formerly with ESPN and now the author of his own subscription draft site, The McShay Report, has outlined the boldest first-round mock draft for the New York Giants yet.

In his scenario, he has quarterbacks Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders both going off the board to Tennessee at one and Cleveland at two. 

At three, McShay goes best available, giving the Giants Colorado cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter, who gets the edge ahead of Penn State outside linebacker Abdul Carter in what McShay conceded was “a brutal choice” to have to make. 

In a surprise but not unrealistic move, McShay then has the Giants trading back into the bottom of the first round by sending picks 34 and 65 and a 2026 third-rounder to the Bucs, who draft at No. 19. With the 19th pick, McShay projects Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart to the Giants. 

While that would seem like a huge jump for the Giants, as McShay noted, the Steelers, who still need a quarterback, could be in direct competition for the Giants to grab Dart, who has been fast rising up draft boards. 

It would be imperative for the Giants to put together a tantalizing offer to a team drafting ahead of the Steelers if they can get Dart, who is reportedly the third-best quarterback in this draft class.

McShay further backs this move by noting that Dart has a strong arm and is mobile, two qualities that Giants head coach Brian Daboll should be able to optimize in his offensive scheme. 

It would be rather difficult for the Giants to pass on Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter if he was on the board at No. 3 when they go on the clock. / Tanner Pearson-Imagn Images

Does this scenario make sense?

What McShay has proposed is something that I have said would make sense for the Giants. General manager Joe Schoen has repeatedly said that the preference would be to get a quarterback in the first round because first-round picks get an option year in their contract, which gives their teams an extra year with them.

Based on whom the Giants have been targeting in free agency at the quarterback position, it’s pretty clear that they want their veteran bridge to play the entire 2025 season while a drafted rookie sits and acclimates. 

For that plan to work, it becomes imperative to draft a quarterback in the first round, even if a prospect appears to be slightly overdrafted.

If McShay’s scenario were to play out, that would give the Giants that flexibility. The last thing the Giants probably want to do is rush a rookie into the starting lineup, especially with jobs potentially on the line with this current regime. 

The scenario proposed by McShay would be worth a swing by Schoen, who has vowed to keep swinging at the position until he gets it right–or no longer is in a position to take the swings for the Giants, whichever comes first.

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