Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll called the bluff on Shedeur Sanders and it may have saved the Giants franchise
No matter how much smoke there was surrounding the New York Giants and Shedeur Sanders – it never made sense for Joe Schoen and Co. to take the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback with the third pick.Sanders just isn't worth that kind of selection and the Giants knew it. Sure, he's one of the most accurate […]
No matter how much smoke there was surrounding the New York Giants and Shedeur Sanders – it never made sense for Joe Schoen and Co. to take the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback with the third pick.
Sanders just isn't worth that kind of selection and the Giants knew it. Sure, he's one of the most accurate quarterbacks in college history and had a lot of good production behind a really bad offensive line, but he just doesn't have any traits to bet on other than the accuracy. Everything is kind of "meh" at the end of the day and that's said with all due respect.
Still, there was all kinds of speculation surrounding Big Blue and Sanders, even to the point where league executives were telling Adam Schefter the Giants would just take him at No. 3 instead of trading back into Round 1 and drafting him because it made more sense? I'm not sure I follow the logic on that one, but hey, the NFL and quarterbacks have always had their own set rules they play by, so we'll just chalk it up to that.
The Giants called the bluff on Sanders and in the end they came away with a potential All-Pro pass rusher in Abdul Carter and a much better overall quarterback prospect in Jaxon Dart. Dart's selection didn't cost the Giants a fortune, either. As we saw with the Browns-Jags trade, it would've cost New York a pretty penny just to move up two spots and take a guy that is easily the best QB prospect in Cam Ward, but also wouldn't be the No. 1 overall pick if this was your typical quarterback draft.
Maybe I'm cheating by choosing the top player on my board, but I love Carter's fit in New York thanks to his explosive ability and versatility. With defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II and edge Brian Burns also on this defensive line, Carter won't have to deal with many double teams out of the gate. – Matt Miller, ESPN
Instead, they moved up nine picks and sent their third-round comp pick (No. 99), plus a 2026 third-rounder to the Texans for No. 25 overall. Now they don't have the pressure of forcing a Top-3 pick that isn't ready onto the field and the Giants know all too well how missing out on a Top-6 pick at QB can set a franchise back.
And think about it: Let's say the Giants draft Sanders at No. 3 overall and end up with at top-5 pick again in 2026. Or, let's say they trade back into the first round to get him and they are still extremely bad, which is more likely than not. Both Schoen and Daboll would be out the door in 2026 and New York would be left in a spot where they'd have to choose between sticking it out with Sanders or using yet another Top-5 selection on a QB (albeit next year's draft class should be much better). So, the Giants potentially avoided yet another GM-head-coach-quarterback carousel that would have undoubtedly set the franchise back more.
Sanders was never worth a first-round pick, not even in the context of trading back into Round 1. The Giants saw that and instead of taking a gamble on him, they now have what could be the NFL's best pass rush group and a quarterback that has the tools and ceiling to be a capable starter in the NFL as opposed to a pure project that requires a near-perfect environment around him to succeed. They also have two veterans in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston who can at least keep the team somewhat-competitive while Dart figures things out.
In a year where Schoen and Daboll have to show the Giants brass that they have the team on the right track, it's an excellent move that could very well save their jobs when the 2025 season is all said and done.
