How the New York Giants go about adding a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft remains a mystery with the first round just hours away.
After adding Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in free agency this offseason, New York is truly a wild-card team going into the first round of the draft. They could take a prospect like Shedeur Sanders at No. 3 overall, but it seems likely they will go the best-player-available route.
In his final predictions for the NFL Draft, based on what he's hearing, ESPN's Peter Schrager has the Giants trading back into the first round in a deal with the Los Angeles Rams. After obtaining the No. 26 overall pick, New York grabs Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.
"In this deal, the Giants would send pick Nos. 34 and 99 to the Rams to move up to No. 26. And crucially, New York would keep its original third-round pick -- No. 65 -- to continue to add talent to its roster," Schrager wrote. "If the draft falls this way, I think the Rams would be OK with this. They don't currently have a second-round pick, but if they agreed to this deal, they'd have four picks on Day 2. I think the Giants would pounce on Dart. I just am not 100% certain."
The Giants have kept their quarterback preferences close to the vest throughout the entire offseason. They've had workouts and meetings with just about every relevant prospect during the pre-draft process, and their moves to add Wilson and Winston only make their decision even more mysterious.
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Moving up to take Dart in the first round is a notion that has become increasingly popular. Dart has been one of the fastest-rising prospects throughout the offseason and even though he's not ready to start right away, the Giants have the flexibility to be patient with him given the current state of the room.
Grabbing Dart in the first round also gives New York the potential to tack on the fifth-year option at the end of his rookie contract, an aspect they wouldn't have if they land him in the second round.
A three-year starter at Ole Miss, Dart collected 81 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns throughout his collegiate career. In 2024, he completed 69.3% of his passes for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Dart brings impressive size, arm talent and experience to the NFL with the ability to run an offense predicated on RPO concepts. Coming from Ole Miss, though, there are concerns about his ability to throw with anticipation along with making full-field reads — something he wasn't asked to do often in Oxford.
The speculation will end in just over 24 hours, but the link between Dart and the Giants continues to grow stronger.