New York Giants mock draft: It’s all about the quarterback in two scenarios

It’s officially Draft Season for the New York Giants. If we’re being honest, it’s been draft season for a while now, but now we can fully turn our attention to the future with the regular season out of the way.

Scouting reports are on the way, but we thought we’d celebrate the end of the year with a mock draft.

The Giants have a number of needs, but none more pressing than the quarterback position. They need to find a starter for 2025 and a long-term answer to build around. Whether or not those are the same person remains to be seen, but every other need is secondary until the Giants answer their quarterback question.

Since that means either getting one of the top two quarterbacks or drafting a developmental prospect a bit later, I decided to run two mock drafts. The first one is done “straight up” without trades, while I moved off of the third pick in the second draft.

The Giants are sixth in draft capital, holding picks 3, 34, 65, 104, 134, 153, 219, 245, and 256. As usual, I only ran a four-round mock using the Pro Football Network’s mock draft simulator, making sure I got to the fourth-round compensatory pick the Giants are expected to get.

No-trade mock

For the first mock, I wanted to see what it could look like if the Giants don’t move around the draft board.

I got somewhat lucky here with one of the top two quarterbacks falling to No. 3 overall. Considering the news that Deshaun Watson suffered a setback with his ruptured Achilles and his 2025 season is in doubt, that could make it even more likely that the Cleveland Browns draft a quarterback. In this case, the Browns drafted Travis Hunter after the Titans selected Shedeur Sanders, dropping Cam Ward to the Giants at No. 3.

It’s also possible that the Titans sign a quarterback in free agency and elect to draft Hunter or trade out of the slot.

Looking at the rest of the draft, I made a point of addressing both sides of the line of scrimmage. Right now we don’t know who the Giants’ offensive and defensive coordinators will be, so I went with players who are fairly scheme diverse.

Deone Walker is the most “Giants” defensive tackle in the draft with surprising athleticism in a mammoth physique. As I’ve written before, Walker and Dexter Lawrence would form an absurd defensive tackle duo, with massive size and power to go with elite movement skills for that size.

Josh Conerly and Earnest Greene are listed as offensive tackles, but have versatile builds and each stands roughly 6-foot-4, 320 pounds. Either could potentially challenge for the right tackle job, right guard job, or be versatile depth.

Finally, we have Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo. The Giants don’t need a running back, however he’s a punishing interior runner who could be a sneaky-good addition. If the Giants are able build an explosive passing attack, pairing a power runner with Tyrone Tracy would put defenses in a “pick your poison” bind.

Trades allowed mock

For my second mock draft, I decided to explore a trade scenario. I (very briefly) looked at trading up to first overall to ensure I got Cam Ward. But I abandoned that idea once the Titans were essentially asking me to hamstring both this and next year’s drafts.

I resigned myself to missing out on the top two quarterbacks with Ward and Shedeur Sanders going in the first two picks. However, I still need to come out of this draft with a quarterback.

After starting the mock, I got a trade offer from the Carolina Panthers. They offered me the eighth, 54th, and 113th picks for the third overall pick, which I took. I don’t think the Giants’ roster is as riddled with holes as some despondent fans do, but accumulating picks is usually the correct choice.

With that in mind, I traded the eighth pick to the Houston Texans for the 19th, 55th, and 86th picks, as well as the Texans’ 2026 second-round pick.

After my double deals, I hold the 19th, 34th, 54th, 55th, 65th, 86th, 104th, 113th and 134th picks. In other words, I have six picks in the top 100, nine picks in the first four rounds, and an extra 2nd rounder in 2026.

(Note: This scenario is probably bordering on fantasy. I doubt the Giants could get that kind of return or would be willing to move twice in the same round. But I do expect them to be aggressive this offseason.)

Now we’re in business and I can add starters and depth all over the roster.

As I said before, the Giants need to come out of this offseason with a potential long-term answer at quarterback.

Jalen Milroe isn’t that player, at least not yet. He finished his college career with his worst game of 2024, which showcases how far he has to but he boasts elite physical skills and flashes some legitimately impressive upside. I view Milroe and Jaxson Dart as the two “developmental” quarterbacks who could appeal to the Giants if Ward and Sanders are off the board. I opted to go with Milroe because he has the highest upside in the draft.

Milroe sports a dense, powerful physique with great speed and agility, as well as elite arm strength. Brian Daboll has been pretty clear over the past three years that he wants to feature an explosive vertical passing element to the offense. Milroe’s arm strength and ability to threaten defenses as a runner would provide multiple avenues of stress to the defense, and he’s flashed the ability to deliver a great deep ball with good precision and placement.

From there I went to the line of scrimmage with Tyler Booker and (once again) Deone Walker. Booker is a 350-pound guard who can be a road grader but also has good movement skills for his size. I also like the idea of having a lineman who’s used to blocking for Milroe and can help shorten his linemates’ learning curve as to Milroe’s tendencies when scrambling.

Hairston is a long and toolsy corner with solid speed and fluidity at 6-foot-1. He’s also a ballhawk who had six interceptions (three touchdowns) to go with 10 passes defensed and three forced fumbles over the last two years.

Jalen Royals had his season cut short by an injury, but it shouldn’t linger. He’s a well-rounded and athletic receiver who can be a deep threat or a possession receiver. He would be much more highly regarded if he played for a big school instead of Utah State and is great insurance if Darius Slatyon leaves and Jalin Hyatt doesn’t take a step forward.

Once again, I made a point of drafting Cam Skattebo for the same reasons as above.

I’ve also mentioned Danny Stuttsman before as a versatile second level defender who can come downhill, rush the passer, or drop into coverage. Likewise, Malachi Moore is a hyper-versatile defensive back who can play free safety, strong safety, or the nickel. Jason Pinnock is a free agent, and Moore could fill a variety of roles along side Tyler Nubin, Dru Phillips, and Dane Belton.

Finally, Jason Marshall is a developmental cornerback. He missed the final five games of the year with a shoulder injury, but has the tools to be a gem later in the draft. He has good size at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, good feet and hips, and is disruptive at the catch point.