7-round New York Giants mock draft: The definitive quarterback answer

Pairing Cam Ward with Jameis Winston

The latest 7-round NFL mock draft from Pro Football Network allows me to do something I have been considering for the last few days. What’s that? Put my marker down on what I think, as of today, should be the 2025 quarterback plan for the New York Giants.

What’s the plan?

• Sign Jameis Winston in free agency. Spotrac estimates a two-year, $12 million deal for Winston. That is neither expensive nor a major commitment.
• Trade up to No. 1 with the Tennessee Titans and select Cam Ward of Miami as the quarterback of the future.

I will get into all of the reasons as we go along. Let’s get to the mock draft, though. Coincidentally, perhaps the reason why this mock hits on the exact scenario that is my favorite for the Giants is that the mock was done by former Big Blue View contributor Joe DeLeone.

Round 1 (No. 1) — Cam Ward, QB, Miami

The trade:
Giants get — No. 1 overall pick
Tennessee gets — Picks 3 and 34 in 2025, and a 2026 second-round pick

DeLeone says:

The Giants coaching staff and front office are in desperation mode. They can’t miss out on the best quarterback prospect in the class. Someone will try to move up by draft night for Cam Ward, and in this case, it’s New York landing the gunslinger out of Miami.

Valentine’s View

Aaron Schatz of ESPN wrote recently that the “bold offseason move” for the Giants should be not trading for Matthew Stafford, then sitting at No. 3 in the 2025 NFL Draft and hoping that either Ward or Shedeur Sanders falls to them.

Nonsense!

If 2024 had been GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll’s first season with the Giants, the 3-14 would have been shrugged off as the beginning of a rebuilding process, and they would still have a grace period for finding the organization a quarterback of the future. They could sit back and let the draft happen.

This, though, will be the fourth offseason for Schoen and Daboll. They tried and failed to make it work with Daniel Jones. They tried to move up in the draft a year ago, were unsuccessful, and then chose to pass on the three remaining Round 1-worthy quarterbacks. The Giants have gone 9-25 the past two seasons, and often looked like maybe they should be relegated to the UFL.

There is no more grace period. The seats for Schoen and Daboll are hot, maybe hotter for the coach than the GM — but no matter. They must put a better product on the field in 2025, or they probably have new employers in 2026.

They also, in my view, must identify and put in place a player who shows the potential to be the team’s quarterback of the future. The fact that this is a lesser quarterback class than the one they were presented with in 2024 doesn’t matter. This...