The importance of the Giants' 2025 draft class
By Andy Davies
Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, the New York Giants possessed the third overall pick, one which holds a significant amount of importance for head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.
After the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to get Travis Hunter second overall, the Giants used the pick as a lot of NFL fans predicted, by going out and getting Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. For a team that finished 8th against the pass and 27th against the run in 2024, this could be a game changer on the defensive side of the ball. With a new quarterback room and some experienced heads walking through the door, this will hope to bring some stability to the position.
After a 9-25 record across the past two seasons, there is a growing feeling that this is the last chance saloon for both Daboll and Schoen, who both arrived in the same offseason back in 2022.
With such a high draft pick, that holds so much power for the Giants, this is going to be a really important sliding doors moments for the duo of Daboll and Schoen.
A promising first year
After impressing during his time as the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator, Daboll was hired by the Giants in 2022. Having worked alongside quarterback Josh Allen, he was seen as a guru of the position. With QB1 Daniel Jones fighting for his Giants career, this was seen as an appointment that could help him fulfil his potential.
Daboll got off to the perfect start, guiding the team to the Divisional Round in the 2022 season. They started the campaign 6-1 after a road win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week Seven. However, the form dropped off and the went 3-5-1 down the stretch.
As a result, they went into the Wildcard Round game against the 13-4 Minnesota Vikings as underdogs. They shocked US Bank Stadium, leaving with a 31-24 win. Whilst they were eliminated in the next round, losing 38-7 to the Philadelphia Eagles, there was hope in the air.
Jones had the best season of his career, with 3,205 yards, 15 passing touchdowns to just five interceptions, along with 708 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He earnt a new contract, signing a four-year deal worth $160 million. For Giants fans, this decision ended up being one the team would live to regret.
NFL offseason regrets
Two years later, in the present day, Jones is no longer a Giant. He was released during the 2024 season and has since been with two organisations, joining the Vikings practice squad before signing with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.
Meanwhile, as a result of his contract, the front office could not afford to pay running back Saquon Barkley. He ended up joining the Philadelphia Eagles last year and went on to have a season for the ages in 2024, running for over 2,000 rushing yards, winning Offensive Player of the Year and winning Super Bowl LIX.
Not only did the Giants fans have to see one of their NFC East division rivals hoist the Lombardi Trophy, but were also forced to see their former player winning it with them. This has led to all NFL fans wondering why on earth they did not give Barkley the deal before Jones.
Of course, hindsight is key and Barkley did have his injury issues, and quarterback is the arguably the most crucial part of the team. Despite, Barkley only played less than 13 games in one of his six seasons as a Giant and Jones had only had one good season.
Barkley would have not had he season he just had if he stayed with the Giants, with an offensive line that leaves a lot to be designed as opposed to the Eagles’ perfection between the trenches. However, they would have at least been competitive.
Quarterback room gets upgrade
It has been a tough stretch at the quarterback position for the Giants, having failed to find a good signal caller since father time caught up with Eli Manning in the late 2010’s before his retirement in 2020. Everyone, including the player himself, backed the Giants to draft Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft.
In the end, the Giants traded up to get Jaxson Dart 25th overall, Sanders subsequently failing to the fifth round before being taken by the Cleveland Browns.
The Giants have shaken up their quarterback room this offseason. In 2024, it consisted of Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito and Tim Boyle. In 2025, it will feature Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, Dart and DeVito.
Despite drafting Dart in the first round, Daboll has already confirmed that he will not play in 2025. We see some quarterbacks succeed straight away in recent years, such as C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels. This is just the anomaly and more times than not, a quarterback is thrust into the spotlight straight away and struggles with a poor roster, which is often the reason why they are taken by the teams in the first place. A new head coach may not take a liking to a player, and their career is over before it even starts, just ask Josh Rosen.
Speaking to NFL.com, it appears Daboll has a clear plan in place for Dart. He said: “We’ve been through this; we went through it with Josh Allen.
“’We had a little bit different quarterback room at the time, but he was going to sit his rookie year and then halftime of the opening game we’re getting smoked by Baltimore, so we put him in and the rest was history.
“So that plan didn’t go as well, but we didn’t have a Russell Wilson or Jameis Winston in the room. So again, Jaxson’s going to come in, he’s got to learn the offense, there’s a lot to learn, these NFL offenses are hard to grasp and pick up and then be able to go out and execute, so the ability for him to learn and sit behind two consummate pros already will be beneficial for him.”
Learning behind two experienced pros in Wilson and Winston will only help Dart. The fact that Daboll has already confirmed Dart’s redshirt year, removes that media narrative that would come, especially somewhere like New York, whether they should start Dart or not. This removes the pressure on Daboll and allows either Wilson or Winston to have one last great year as a starter.
Of course, time may not be kind to Daboll and Schoen should they have a poor season. Someone such as Wilson, will provide that stability that could see them win at least seven or eight games and an improvement on 2024. This could easily see both keep their jobs. With one of the best defensive players through the door as well, it is these offseason additions that hold so much weight in the future of these two staff members with the organisation.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS SUCH AS THE SUPER BOWL, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, PATRICK MAHOMES, TRAVIS KELCE, DERRICK HENRY, SAQUON BARKLEY AND JALEN HURTS.