Giants reporters, scout agree about handling of No. 3 pick

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Giants reporters, scout agree about team's handling of No. 3 pick in NFL Draft

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Apr 17, 2025 11:16 AM ET

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen sounded like a front-office executive ready to pass on making Colorado's Shedeur Sanders the third overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, even though the club's long-term quarterback probably isn't on the roster this spring.

For mock drafts posted on Thursday morning, Giants reporters Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic predicted that the Giants will take Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter over Sanders at No. 3.

"Carter clearly is a better prospect than Sanders," Slater directly said. Specifically, ESPN's Matt Miller recently ranked Carter as the top overall prospect of this draft class.

Also on Thursday, Giants insider Jordan Raanan of ESPN mentioned that it "is becoming increasingly likely" that the Tennessee Titans will select Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the draft's first pick and that the Cleveland Browns will grab Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter at choice No. 2. Such a scenario playing out would leave both Carter and Sanders for the Giants unless they trade out of the third pick and move down the draft order.

"You can’t have too many great pass-rushers," Carroll explained. Aligning Carter with 2022 first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns would provide the Giants with one of the best pass-rush rotations in the NFL. And in passing situations, combining that trio with All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence would be the stuff of nightmares for quarterbacks and their offensive coordinators."

Sanders' alleged draft stock has plummeted to the point that he may fall all the way to the second round, possibly even to the Giants at overall pick No. 34. That said, New York could target a project for the future who could spend the 2025 season sitting behind veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston such as Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart or Alabama's Jalen Milroe.

In a different piece published on Thursday morning, Miller shared that an anonymous AFC North area scout also thinks the Giants will grab Carter with the draft's third pick.

"Easy decision," that scout said. "Sure, in a perfect world, we'd wish this would align a little better with a more immediate and glaring need on the roster, but we'll take the blue-chip talent and rest easier for it. The only other real consideration would be a trade down if the right opportunity presented itself on draft night, given how many pieces [away] this team is."

Noteworthy individuals such as Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht have indicated that such trades could be hard to come by due to the nature of this draft class. Thus, the Giants may have to "settle" for drafting the best player available on the night of April 24.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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