The Giants, heavily connected to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders throughout the pre-draft process, used the No. 3 overall in last month’s draft – a pick once seemingly ticketed for Sanders – on Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. The club ultimately got the player it hopes will become its franchise passer when it struck an agreement with the Texans to trade up from No. 34 to No. 25 and select Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart.
A recent episode of Giants Life, which is worth a watch for any NFL fan and for Giants fans in particular, offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the trade-up with Houston materialized (video link). As New York GM Joe Schoen confirms, rival teams knew that Big Blue, after having used its first selection on a non-quarterback, was still in the market for a QB. As such, when the draft proceeded to the No. 18 pick (at which point the Seahawks were on the clock), Schoen began getting calls from other GMs looking to trade down to No. 34.
When the draft moved into the 20s, Schoen himself became proactive and began making calls to determine who was interested in trading down. As Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post observes, Schoen believed he could swing a deal with the Broncos to acquire Denver’s No. 20 overall pick, which would have allowed him to leapfrog the Steelers and their No. 21 choice. Schoen knew Pittsburgh was in need of a quarterback as well, though he had intelligence indicating the team was also looking to trade back, which suggested the Steelers were not prepared to take a signal-caller at that point.
He nonetheless considered offering the Steelers the same deal that apparently had been discussed with multiple clubs. However, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Giants were banking on the belief that Pittsburgh would select a defensive player with the No. 21 pick, thereby obviating the need to trade for No. 20 or No. 21. This is despite Schoen’s concern, as he voiced in Giants Life, that the QB-needy Browns or Saints could also move back into the first round (though he knew division rivals Pittsburgh and Cleveland would not come together on a trade of that magnitude). Fowler also says New York did not want to part with its No. 65 selection, which the Texans were willing to exclude from a trade package.
Ultimately, the Giants and Texans agreed to a trade that sent the Nos. 34 and 99 picks of the 2025 draft, along with a 2026 third-rounder, to Houston in exchange for the No. 25 pick and the right to select Dart. As Schoen admitted, no one will remember the third-round picks that went to the Texans if he got the Dart pick right. Interestingly, right before Houston GM Nick Caserio called Schoen to formally accept the deal, it looks as if Schoen received a call from Rams GM Les Snead. Los Angeles originally held the No. 26 pick, one spot behind the Texans, so Schoen naturally put Snead on hold to talk to Caserio and finalize a trade. Ultimately, Snead found a taker for his No. 26 selection, which he dealt to the Falcons in exchange for a package fronted by a 2026 first-rounder.
Dunleavy highlighted the portion of Schoen’s war room conversations in which he told head coach Brian Daboll, “you guys are convicted in [Dart]. You believe in him. We did the process. He checked all the boxes. Let’s roll the dice.” That exchange leads Dunleavy to believe the Dart pick, as previously reported, was indeed driven by the coaching staff.
Earlier reports also indicated Daboll was one of the coaches who did not see eye-to-eye with Sanders, and while the Giants reportedly still would have entertained a trade-up for Sanders if Dart had been taken off the board, multiple Daboll-Dart connections formed in the run-up to the draft. It became clear that Dart was Daboll’s preferred target, and Sanders himself acknowledged that he “didn’t hit it off with Giants coaches,” according to Fowler.
The No. 65 pick that the Giants did not want to include in a trade-up maneuver was used to select Toledo defensive end Darius Alexander. Though New York had already added the high-ceiling Carter to a group that includes Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the club further leaned into its defensive front with Alexander, whom many scouts viewed as an ascending prospect. One team source told Fowler, “when you think of the New York Giants, you think of how they are built up front.”
Came here hoping for more Sanders coverage. Left satisfied!
One of the better articles I’ve read on this site in a long time. Nice piece
I sincerely hope Sanders is a great QB, if for no other reason than to have the “hey, remember his draft free fall?” annual draft day jokes with friends
Daboll is a hothead, which is why he lost his DC and even had to have his ownership talk to him about the way he handles people after his first year. Lost in his odyssey through coaching, people forget he’s another Belichick disciple and operates on that wavelength, and we’ve seen how that’s gone with Judge, Patricia, and McDaniels stories of how poor of people skills they have. With all of the people running with Sanders being the problem in their meeting, did anyone think it’s the other way around and that Daboll was talking to him crazy in those meetings, especially if he bristled at a question like how are you going to set me up for success in light of the disaster that their QB development has been. I remember him interacting with the QBs in Hard Knocks from last year’s draft, and he came off brusque in those exchanges too, especially with Daniels.
Exactly. So glad my Browns selected Sanders when he was still there in the 5th. Hopefully they give him time to develop…..
Losing Martindale should be considered a positive if you look at the Giants defensive ranking under him vs under Bowen this past season. For all the blitzing Wink did they did worse in the sack department then the less blitz happy Bowen.
Yea, the other side of that is Martindale’s defense lead the league in turnovers, so while that pressure didn’t always get home it still served it’s purpose. Their passing D improved with Bowen, run D was still terrible. In my eyes – philosophy change more then anything, there wasn’t much of a difference in the total defense as last year the Giants were 24th in yards allowed and 21st in points compared to winks 26th in yards and 27th in yards. The Giants offense was also better (still bad) in 24 and helped the defense out a little bit.
“Daboll is a hothead, which is why he lost his DC”
He might be a hothead, but losing Wink is 100% Wink’s fault. He was openly defying Daboll and ignoring his schemes and plans. You can’t have that. Besides, Wink was awful and that was addition by subtraction. Wink hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire at Michigan, either. He sucks.
Martindale is in a better place in Ann Arbor given the culture of entitlement the Giants have returned to.
And it’s Don Martindale — Wink was the TV game show host who passed away last month.
Tomlin and the Steelers were not going to take Sanders with ANY pick. That about sums it all up!!
Based on projected win totals, the Giants have the hardest schedule of any team for 2025. Will Schoen and Daboll be the first GM and HC axed this season? Let’s conduct a poll.
“Projected Win Totals” are a Dumb Sportsfan metric. Daboll and Schoen should’ve both been sacked on Black Monday given the 3-14 record last term.
Projected win totals is a metric used by the same sportsbooks that provide the betting line on games each week. These books make big profits every year so that would suggest their research is pretty darn good.