Apr 19, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes former player Shedeur Sanders before the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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How Giants’ Owner John Mara Could Intervene With Draft Plans and Avoid the Same Mistake Twice

Which way will the Giants go in the draft?

Apr 19, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes former player Shedeur Sanders before the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

With less than 24 hours to go before the start of the 2025 NFL draft, NFL analysts and insiders are all hearing several stories and speculations that may or may not turn out to be true. Having said that, these insiders receive a lot of information from genuine sources, so one must place a certain level of importance on it.

The latest report doing the rounds comes from FOX Sports NFL Insider, Jordan Schultz, who believes that the New York Giants’ owner, John Mara, has the option and the power to flip this draft on its head. What Schultz is hinting at here is the fact that Mara could decide that he wants to draft a specific quarterback with the third overall pick.

New NFL Confidential for @NFLonFOX — cleaning out the notebook and unpacking everything ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.https://t.co/TBkpj4VV2j
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 23, 2025

Which Player Are the Giants Linked With?

Looking at the top teams selecting in this year’s draft, the Tennessee Titans hold the number one overall pick, followed by the Browns, and the Giants at number 3. It is a nearly established fact that the Titans will end up selecting quarterback Cam Ward with their first overall pick, leaving the door wide open for the Browns to select either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter. Both of these players are considered to be the top two players of the draft class and are heralded as blue-chip prospects.

As per reports in the media, the Browns look favored to select Hunter with his capacity to play both the receiver and cornerback positions, which means the Giants will have the chance to draft the best pass-rushing edge defender in the class, Abdul Carter.

Carter is the type of player any team would love to have on its roster. Many experts are comparing Carter to Micah Parsons and we all know what the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year has been doing in Dallas. Passing up on Carter is not an option, and it is widely believed that Giants head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen are all for the former Penn State defender. But, there is one small catch: what about the Giants’ owner, John Mara?

Also Read: What Draft Picks Do the Washington Commanders Have in 2025? All Washington Commanders 2025 NFL Draft Picks per Round

How Mara Could Play Spoilsport in the Giants’ Pursuit of Abdul Carter

NFL Insider Jordan Schultz has ignited speculation that Mara could be the one to call the final shot on draft night. Mara has been quite interested with former Colorado Buffaloes’ QB, Shedeur Sanders. The Giants have been following him for quite some time, they have held meetings and throwing sessions with him, and it is widely believed that this is the player Mara wants in New York.

Schultz has also explained that back in the 2018 draft, Mara liked Josh Allen and could have easily grabbed him with their number 2 pick, but the former Giants GM, Dave Gettleman, was all in for running back Saquon Barkley. Therefore, Schultz believes that should Sanders be available to them at the number 3 spot, Mara could intervene and exercise his powers for the player he wants.

“Mara loved Josh Allen back when they took Saquon [Barkley],” one source said. “He had his Eli (Manning) successor in Allen and didn’t push for it. That’s stuck with him. What if Thursday night he just says, ‘F— it, it’s my team. I want the QB.’ That flips the draft on its head.”

On the eve of the NFL Draft, @Schultz_Report sheds light on potential slides for Shedeur Sanders and Abdul Carter, what several teams are prioritizing on Day 1, trade possibilities and more.

Check out the full story: https://t.co/mRqxvZrEbQ pic.twitter.com/obJV0TOSjj
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) April 23, 2025

Earlier in the offseason, Sanders was held in a higher regard by most, but since the NFL Combine, his draft stock has plummeted due to various reasons, including both on and off-field factors, and now there are serious doubts on whether he will be drafted in round 1 or not.

Thus, if Carter or even Travis Hunter are potentially available for the Giants at number 3, but Mara decides to go down the QB road to select Sanders, it would surely raise quite a few eyebrows.

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!