The New York Giants need to find their next franchise quarterback. Ideally, that new signal-caller to build the franchise around will come by way of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, picking third overall, the G-Men might not be able to land the quarterback of their dreams. Instead, they might need to pivot in another direction, or break the cardinal rule of the draft and reach on a quarterback.
Giants are in danger of missing out on the draft’s top quarterbacks with the No. 3 pick
Miami QB Cam Ward and Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders are the consensus top-two quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class. They are the only two quarterbacks widely expected to be drafted in the first round. Picking first and second overall respectively are two quarterback-needy teams: the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns.
Ward and Sanders both going off the board in the first two picks would be a nightmare scenario. But that’s exactly what happened in the latest mock draft by Chris Trapasso on CBS Sports. In most of the mock drafts where the Giants miss out on Ward and Sanders, they typically pivot to taking the best player available (like Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter or Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter). However, Trapasso had them taking a different route.
Giants draft Alabama QB Jalen Milroe third overall in the latest CBS Sports mock draft
Trapasso had the Giants passing on Carter and Hunter and instead drafting the best quarterback available — despite that quarterback’s mid-round projection. That quarterback was Alabama’s Jalen Milroe:
“Semi nightmare for the Giants, but Jalen Milroe has freaky talent and is an ascending thrower,” Trapasso said of the selection. “Another high-upside passer for Brian Daboll.”
To say that drafting Milroe third overall would be a reach is no understatement. Many mock drafts have him landing with the Giants at No. 34 overall and some have him going much, much later in the draft. Instead, Trapasso has him going to Big Blue at No. 3 overall, being taken ahead of blue-chip prospects like the aforementioned Carter and Hunter.
Milroe would be a massive reach with the No. 3 overall pick
Trapasso has Milroe ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the draft class but the No. 45 overall prospect. Meanwhile, Hunter, the No. 1 ranked prospect in the class, went fourth overall in this mock to the New England Patriots. This kind of egregious reach on a prospect in the first round would undoubtedly spark an uproar from Giants fans — and rightfully so.
There are traits to like about Milroe. However, he is far from a finished product and is the definition of a developmental project at the next level. Projects like that don’t get taken this high.
Milroe possesses rare physical traits and athleticism, rushing for 726 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2024. However, he is an inconsistent and inaccurate passer, throwing for 2,844 yards and a lackluster 16-10 TD-INT ratio.
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Milroe is viewed more as a prospect a team should take a flier on in the middle rounds, rather than take in the top five and build a franchise around. He isn’t a pro-ready prospect and needs to take time to develop, whereas other first-round prospects, like Hunter, Carter, LSU LT Will Campbell, Michigan CB Will Johnson, and others, are potential plug-and-play starters.
If the Giants reached on Milroe with the third-overall pick it would be a truly perplexing decision. Sure, the Giants need to throw a dart at the board and take a quarterback at some point in this draft (they shockingly have not drafted a single quarterback, even in the middle rounds, since they selected Daniel Jones sixth overall in 2019). But reaching and over-drafting a quarterback out of need and desperation is how they got into this mess. It’s not how they will get out of it.