NFL Draft Analyst Projects This Top College Quarterback Prospect to Giants in Draft
There might be some who don’t believe that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is an NFL-ready prospect, but Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News is clearly not among those who share that opinion.
In his latest NFL mock draft, Iyer projects Sanders, 6-2 and 215 pounds, to the Giants at No. 2 overall, one pick behind the Jaguars, whom Iyer projects will select Sanders’s teammate Travis Hunter, the cornerback/receiver dynamo, with the first overall pick.
Notes Iyer of his selection for the Giants:
“Daniel Jones' rollercoaster ride with coach Brian Daboll keeps going back down for stretches after limited peaks. Jones' work and the Giants' struggles might lead to Daboll not returning, but whoever's in charge of the offense would lobby to replace Jones with Sanders. The Colorado star is separating himself from other QBs as the most polished pocket passer, one who can fit right into the Giants' youth movement vibe with WR Malik Nabers, RB Tyrone Tracy Jr., TE Theo Johnson.”
At this point there seems to be little doubt that the Giants will be moving on from Jones after this season, especially if, as is expected to be the case, head coach Brian Daboll decides to bench Jones for the rest of the season.
Jones’s tenure with the Giants has been anything but smooth, between the constant turnover in coaching staffs and systems, from the injuries that have cost him chunks of the season—all things beyond his control.
But Jones also hasn’t helped himself either, failing to look anything like the confident gunslinger he was in 2022 in his first season with Daboll, in which the Giants finished 9-7-1 and with a postseason berth.
Tossing out the 2023 season, in which Jones dealt with injuries of his own as well as those to his key teammates on offense, such as running back Saquon Barkley and left tackle Andrew Thomas, there was hope that in 2024, things would be different.
To ensure that, the Giants upgraded the offensive line, drafted a No. 1 receiver in Malik Nabers, and surrounded Jones with young talent, such as those mentioned by Iyer.
But even with all that, plus Daboll having taken over the play-calling, the results haven’t been close to what the Giants hoped for. Jones, who is tied for having been hit the most in the NFL through ten games, has looked skittish in the pocket. His biggest issue has been his reluctance to trust what he sees post-snap, which has led to many missed opportunities to connect with wide-open receivers.
As for Sanders going to the Giants, another potential factor might come into play: Deion Sanders, Shedeur’s father and head coach at Colorado, who has already said he would personally step in to ensure that his son lands with the right team.
Asked what kind of team he’d want his son to land with, Sanders said during an appearance on SpeakOn FS1 that it’s all about the franchise being ready to help him succeed.
“Somebody that can handle the quarterback that he is. Somebody that can handle understanding what he’s capable of,” Sanders said.
“Someone that has had success in the past handling quarterbacks or someone in an organization understands what they’re doing, not just throwing you out there amongst the wolves if you don’t have the support and the infrastructure of the team. Forget the line, he’s played with lines that haven’t been great, but he’s been able to do his thing, just the infrastructure of the team, the direction of where we’re going.”
The elder Sanders, who added he would stay behind the scenes in ensuring his son goes to the right team, will probably want some sort of reassurance that the Giants aren’t planning to have yet another coaching change any time soon, particularly after seeing how multiple coaching staff changes may have influenced Jones’s development.
Then again, it’s also unknown how Sanders feels about the current Giants setup—or how the Giants, for that matter, feel about his son as a potential franchise quarterback or if they will pursue a veteran in free agency or via trade instead if they do move on from Jones after the season, as is expected.