The New York Giants are stepping up their due diligence on the top quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft after head coach Brian Daboll met with Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
Daboll “spent significant time yesterday morning meeting with Shedeur Sanders,” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported on Saturday, January 25. Raanan also noted Sanders “is participating in the East-West Shrine Bowl this week. First practice is later this morning.”
Sanders could be on the board when the Giants make the third-overall pick in this year’s draft. He’s potentially in play, along with University of Miami signal-caller Cam Ward.
Links between Buffaloes star Sanders and the Giants have been growing in recent weeks. Those links, along with the presence of Daboll’s assistants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and linebackers coach John Egorugwu as respective head coaches of the East and West Shrine Bowl rosters, makes this a great opportunity for Daboll to gather further intel.
Shedeur Sanders Increasingly Looking Like Preferred Pick for Giants
Stars appear to be aligning for the Giants to take Sanders in an attempt to solve long-standing issues at football’s most important position. Not only are insiders proclaiming Sanders as the Giants’ first choice, but Egorugwu will get to see first hand how the player responds to coaching.
What Daboll and his assistants will hope to see is a dynamic passer working hard to refine his mechanics in a crucial moment during the pre-draft process. In particular, Sanders needs to improve his decision-making under pressure.
Holding onto the ball under duress has been his “biggest weakness,” with SCOUTD showing worrying pressure to sack numbers for 2023 and ’24.
Shedeur Sanders’ primary weakness is holding onto the ball and taking bad sacks
2023 P2S%: 25.1
2024 P2S%: 20.8
Question becomes: is this an inherent issue or a byproduct of a bad o-line and a necessity to play hero ball to get a W? Stay tuned…
Similar to Caleb in this regard
Those statistics have to concern a Giants team that’s surrendered 133 sacks during the same time span. Any such concerns might be offset by Sanders’ core athletic traits, notably his arm strength.
This throw highlighted by Raanan’s colleague Jordan Reid as being dropped “right in the bucket” while taking a hit against Oklahoma State, showcased Sanders’ flair for the big play.
#Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders vs. OK State
His best throw of the day. Box fade vs. Cover 0. Takes a hit and still drops it right in the bucket.
The Giants have had precious few big plays through the air in recent years. It’s why Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen face an uphill battle to keep their jobs.
They can’t let Sanders get away, but the Giants should be worried about other teams showing interest.
Brian Daboll Should Keep an Eye on Attention Paid to Ideal Draft Pick
Picking third puts the Giants behind two other teams needing a quarterback, the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans. The latter are owners of the top pick and also have an in with Sanders at the Shrine Bowl.
It’s provided by Titans assistant Payton McCollum “Coaching the quarterbacks for Sanders’ West team,” per NFL.com’s Lead Draft Writer Eric Edholm. The Titans have already made a head-start on getting to know Sanders by also meeting with the player.
Worryingly for the Giants, Sanders “made a good impression,” and the Titans “really like his personality, feel he’s very mature,” according to ESPN’s Turron Davenport.
Shedeur Sanders after meeting with the #Titans brass. He made a good impression on them. They really like his personality, feel he’s very mature. Deion hit him on FaceTime during the meeting.
There are other QB options for the Giants in this draft class, but selecting them could involve a nightmare scenario or two. Like Sanders being taken off the board before Schoen and Daboll even get the chance to call his name.
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Brian Daboll, Giants Had ‘Significant’ Meeting With 2025 NFL Draft QB