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Peter Schrager Predicting Quarterback Trade In NFL Draft

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 9:36 AM ET

Peter Schrager doesn't think Jaxson Dart will wait until Friday to learn his NFL landing spot.

The 2025 NFL Draft's opening round isn't expected to be heavy on quarterbacks. While Cam Ward looks like a near lock to go No. 1 overall, no other passing prospect is guaranteed to get selected on Thursday night.

Dart is on the border of first-round consideration. If nobody besides the Tennessee Titans takes a quarterback with a top-10 pick, one of those teams could trade back into the opening round to snag the Ole Miss prospect.

Schrager predicted that scenario unfolding in his latest mock draft. The new ESPN insider has the New York Giants moving up to the Los Angeles Rams' No. 26 pick to choose Dart.

On Tuesday's Get Up, Schrager said there's "buzz" that the Giants prefer Dart to Shedeur Sanders. SNY's Connor Hughes said Brian Daboll is "high on" Dart because of his toughness, and Todd McShay claimed Daboll's coaching staff is against taking Sanders with the No. 3 pick.

Schrager noted the connections between the Giants and Dart. General manager Joe Schoen has a kid attending Ole Miss, where former Giants head coach Joe Judge is currently an analyst. Another disciple of the Bill Belichick coaching tree, Charlie Weiss Jr., is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

It also wouldn't be the first time the Giants selected a quarterback from the SEC squad. Eli Manning went to Ole Miss.

"The Giants will know everything they need to know about Jaxson Dart," Schrager said. "So if they take him over Shedeur Sanders, it's not just them throwing -- pun intended -- a dart at the wall. It's because they've done just as much work on that player as they have on Shedeur."

Dart called Manning a "huge role model" during the NFL Scouting Combine. During a Tuesday interview with Kay Adams, he discussed his pre-draft interactions with the Giants.

"They were great. I feel like the people in the organization really get it, and they want to win now," Dart said. "That's something that was very apparent in the way they were talking to me. I think it would be a special opportunity."

Earlier in his mock draft, Schrager predicted the Giants to forgo a quarterback and take Abdul Carter at No. 3. They could use the No. 34 pick on a signal-caller or leverage that choice in a Day 1 trade to secure their preferred target.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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