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NFL Draft countdown: Focus on Giants' first-round pick at No. 3
Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Abdul Carter. Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

NFL Draft countdown: Focus on Giants' first-round pick at No. 3

By Bruce Ewing  |  Last updated Apr 21, 2025 9:04 AM ET

The New York Giants own the third pick for the first time since 1984 when they selected linebacker Carl Banks. This year, they’ve been linked to these three players.

QB Shedeur Sanders | Colorado

Sanders completed 74 percent of his passes for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns for Colorado last season.

The Giants added a pair of veteran passers in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in the offseason, leading many to believe they weren’t interested in Sanders. Then news broke that head coach Brian Daboll and members of the front office were flying to Colorado for a private workout with Sanders a week before the draft.

Per Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz, the team also scheduled private workouts with Louisville’s Tyler Shough and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, two quarterbacks with second round grades, but the Sanders news should excite Giants fans after a dismal 3-14 season.

At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Sanders has the requisite size needed to succeed in the NFL and is generally regarded as a poised, accurate passer with a quick release. While not much of a runner, he’s mobile enough to extend plays and had four rushing touchdowns in each of his last two seasons with Colorado.

If he comes to New York, he’ll take over an offense that gained the third-fewest yards (294.8) and second-fewest points (16.1) points per game with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito throwing passes in 2024.

CB/WR Travis Hunter | Colorado

Keep in mind that 1,258 of Sanders' yards went to Hunter, who had 96 catches and 15 touchdowns with Colorado on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy last season. He also led the FBS with 21 catches of 20-plus yards and would make quite a tandem with wide receiver Malik Nabers, the team’s first-round pick in 2024.

Hunter also had 35 tackles and a team-high four interceptions at cornerback last season, a position he still wants to play at the NFL level. 

"They say nobody has ever done it the way that I do it, but I tell them I'm just different. I'm a different person," Hunter told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I want to play 100 percent (on both sides of the ball), but it's up to the organization."

The Giants lost All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney to the Packers last offseason and cornerback Adoree' Jackson to the Eagles this offseason. They added former Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo to play opposite former first-round pick Deonte Banks, but adding Hunter to the mix could give the team a truly dangerous secondary.

DE Abdul Carter | Penn State

There’s not a team in the NFL that couldn’t use an edge-rusher like Carter. The 6-foot-3, 259-pound All-American had 68 tackles, four passes defended and a team-high 12 sacks for the Nittany Lions last season. He also led the FBS with 24 tackles-for-loss as a defensive end after being used as an off-ball linebacker in 2023.

Carter chose not to work out at the scouting combine but his NextGen Stats scores are considered elite and well above others at his position. NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein believes he has “the urgency and athletic talent to bombard the stat sheet with a rabid, all-game intensity that’s hard for opponents to match.”

If Hunter is off the board and the team isn’t sold on Sanders, Carter will likely be a Giant in 2025.

Bruce Ewing
Twitter/X

Bruce Ewing is 183 pounds of twisted steel and Happy Meals. His work has appeared on Yardbarker, 5th Down Fantasy, Inside the Iggles and MSN. Give a Philly fan a break and follow him on X at @fantasybruce.

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