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Malik Nabers, Giants React to Slipping in 2025 NFL Draft Order With Win vs. Colts

New York no longer is in the pole position to land the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Tom Dierberger

The Giants defeated Indianapolis 45–33 on Sunday.
The Giants defeated Indianapolis 45–33 on Sunday. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The New York Giants might have won a franchise-altering game on Sunday—and not in a good way.

New York entered Week 17 as the only NFL team with two wins this season, putting them in the pole position to land the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft if it lost its last two games. Quarterback Drew Lock had other ideas, however, as he threw four touchdown passes and ran in another in a 45–33 win over the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium.

With the win, the Giants improved to 3–13—and slipped from owning the No. 1 pick to No. 3, which could end up being No. 4 if the Cleveland Browns lose on Sunday evening.

"I ain't got really nothing to say about that," star receiver Malik Nabers said Sunday when asked what he would say to Giants fans who wanted New York to lose.

"You would rather your team go out there and fight for every inch than lay down and just take an ass-whooping," Giants tackle Jermaine Eluemuor said after the game. "Yeah, you get the pick that you want, but what is that player coming into? You've got to establish some sort of culture."

There is plenty of time from now until the 2025 draft for prospects to rise and fall in the rankings, but it appears Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward are the two top options at quarterback. Both will likely be gone after the first few picks. And if the Giants are sitting outside the top two or three selections, they might miss out on their next franchise quarterback.

"We're obviously not tanking," receiver Darius Slayton said. "At the end of the day, we have a job to do. This isn't basketball, it's not golf, it's not tennis. Football, you get hit. I'm not finna go out there and just let people tee off on me to tank... I'm not about to let people dive at my knees for free.

"We're always trying to win, and I think today showed that."

The Giants will wrap up their regular-season schedule in Week 18 with a matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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