This isn’t the year for New York Giants fans to be upset about losing the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
There may not be a franchise quarterback ready to be picked on April 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
It’s possible that no one like Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Andrew Luck, or Matthew Stafford is available to change the team’s future.
Beating the Indianapolis Colts 45-33 on Sunday and ending a 10-game losing streak didn’t turn a win into a loss.
What it did was move the Giants (3-13) from the top pick to the fourth overall pick in a draft with many strong defensive players, behind New England, Tennessee, and Cleveland going into the final week of the season.
The Giants are still likely to get a talented young player, and it doesn’t have to be a quarterback. While they do need a quarterback, it’s better to take one at the right time rather than risk picking one who isn’t ready yet.
Caleb Williams of the Bears and Bryce Young of the Panthers were the last two No. 1 overall picks, but neither has yet impressed everyone as much as Jayden Daniels of the Commanders, who was the No. 2 pick in 2024.
Giants coach Brian Daboll on Monday avoided saying whether the team lost out by winning.
“We can control what we can control,” he said. “We come in, we do everything we can to prepare for the week and go out there to play as good as we can play, coach as good as we can play, and that’s where our focus is.”
Daboll also didn’t want to say if the NFL should use a draft lottery for non-playoff teams like the NBA and NHL do to decide the No. 1 pick.
Outside linebacker Brian Burns, who joined the Giants in a trade with the Panthers this offseason, had experienced a lot of losing in Carolina too.
“That’s more of an upstairs thing,” he said about losing control of the top pick. “They’ll figure out however they want to play those cards.”
