There’s a common misconception that the annual NFL Scouting Combine is all about NFL Draft prospects. Though they play the biggest part in this week’s festivities, it’s the surrounding hoopla that makes combine week one of the most important dates on the NFL calendar. With basically the entire NFL world — coaches, agents, executives, scouts, media members and more — converging on Indianapolis right before free agency kicks off, it’s nonstop rumors, run-ins and speculation.
Basically, it’s a week solely dedicated to fact-finding, no matter your job title.
For us New York Giants reporters, there’s one topic of conversation that will dominate the week and is impossible to ignore: the quarterback conundrum.
Yes, there are other important Giants topics to discuss, but none of them really matters until and unless the Giants figure out what they’re doing at the quarterback position. So, as we think about which questions we’re looking to get some answers to — or at least gain some insight on — this week, let’s start at the most important position in sports.
Will a potential trade spice up the Giants’ veteran QB search?
“A hot new bombshell has entered the villa.”
You’ll have to excuse my use of a “Love Island” tagline, but it’s the first thing that popped into my mind when I learned that Super Bowl-winning Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford might be hitting the trade market.
Things became very interesting when the rumor that the 37-year-old Stafford could be dealt to the Giants began picking up steam. The buzz seemed to get loud after the addition of Chad Hall, Stafford’s brother-in-law, to the Giants coaching staff (assistant quarterbacks coach).
Could a Stafford trade happen? Who knows? There are plenty of mitigating factors to consider, including how much money Stafford wants to make (and for how many years), what the Rams would expect in compensation and the implication the Giants would be in more of a win-now mode with a 37-year-old QB at the helm.
Will this rumor prove to be more reality based than its reality TV counterpart? Tune in this week to find out.
Beyond a juicy trade plot, it’s going to be a wait-and-see market for the Giants. They’ll first have to find out what the Minnesota Vikings’ plans are for Sam Darnold and whether the Pittsburgh Steelers will try to re-sign one of their QBs (Russell Wilson and Justin Fields) before they hit free agency. These are a few of the QB dominoes that must fall, and each one that does will affect what the Giants can do in the veteran QB market.
As my beat partner Dan Duggan touched on recently in his 10-step offseason plan, we’ll see whether the Giants want to pay a QB like Darnold big money or hunt for the next Darnold — a veteran who has yet to realize his full potential. We should learn a little more about their intentions this week, but remember, free agency officially starts with the negotiating period opening March 10.
Will the Giants draft a rookie QB?
That’s the second half of the Giants QB question. How the Giants play the veteran market could help determine how they use the No. 3 pick. If they traded for Stafford or signed Darnold, would they still invest their top pick in a QB? How does that calculation change if they sign Fields, Wilson or someone else?
Maybe they’re hoping to draft a top QB prospect (Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders) regardless, or maybe they’re not impressed with the top end of the class and will instead invest that top pick in another position. In all likelihood, the Giants don’t have the answers to those questions just yet, as they probably haven’t finished their evaluations of the QB prospects.
A big part of that evaluation will come this week as the Giants sit down for interviews with prospects.
Of course, the Giants already met with Sanders this offseason at the East-West Shrine Bowl.
“He’s a great kid,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said last month. “Really good personality. Football smart. Dad’s a football coach. It’s a little bit cliche, but he checks all the boxes of (having) a dad who’s a football coach and the passion that he approaches the game with. It was good getting the meeting. He’s had a really good career in Colorado and, obviously, look forward to getting to know all those guys the rest of the process.”
Ward didn’t participate in any college star games, so the Giants will likely spend extended time with him for the first time this week. Ward had been relatively quiet since Miami’s season ended, but that changed when he received the Davey O’Brien Award (top college QB) last week. The QB sent a message to teams considering skipping him in the draft when addressing the idea that he quit on his team by not playing the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
“You’re either going to draft me or you’re not,” Ward told The Associated Press ahead of receiving the award. “If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You’ve got to remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career, and I’ll remember that.”
Last year’s “Hard Knocks: An Offseason with the New York Giants” proved insightful for many reasons, but one of my favorites was watching the Giants staff get to know the crop of QBs at the combine and seeing how they used their time. We know they came away liking at least a couple of those prospects and eventually tried to trade up to get one. Will it be a similar story this year?
What’s going on at cornerback?
OK, time to move on from the QB questions and start wondering about the defense.
At cornerback, the Giants will still have to rely on 2023 first-round pick Deonte Banks, despite an up-and-down start to his career. However, they can’t count on him to develop into the No. 1 they’d hoped he become. His struggles last year made that evident. So how will they try to bolster the room around him? Will they venture into free agency for a proven player or hope to find a top-tier player in the draft? Why not both? Bringing in a veteran to give the young-ish room some experience should help the unit perform better, but it’s never a bad idea to inject some young talent into the secondary.
One exciting way they could do that would be if Colorado’s Travis Hunter falls to them at No. 3. The two-way star is a dynamic corner and wide receiver who plans on working out with the DBs at the combine. However, it’s unclear whether the Heisman Trophy winner plans to stick to one position in the NFL or try to play both as he did in school.
Beyond Hunter, there are plenty of talented corners who will be in Indianapolis this week, just no one quite as tantalizing as the Heisman winner.
Will the Giants invest draft picks in the trenches?
The Giants didn’t draft a lineman — offensive or defensive – last year, choosing to address those deficiencies in free agency. And though those 2024 draft and free-agent classes showed promise, the team will no doubt need to beef up its line depth after injuries ravaged both sides of the ball last year.
The offensive line took a step forward last season, but it’s still far from a dominant unit. And if the Giants invest big money and/or draft capital at quarterback, it would be wise to simultaneously spend resources protecting those investments.
In terms of holes on the depth chart, starting right guard Greg Van Roten is headed to free agency; we’ll have to see whether the Giants move Evan Neal inside after three difficult and injury-riddled years at right tackle. Perhaps Schoen will address that issue at the combine. At right tackle, veteran Jermaine Eluemunor is signed only through 2026, so New York doesn’t have a long-term answer there. Can they find one in the draft?
On the defensive line, the depth behind Dexter Lawrence is less than inspiring. Beefing up the talent around him needs to be a priority this offseason. It’ll be interesting to see whether Schoen sees it the same way.
Ultimately, so much of what the Giants can do in free agency and the draft to shore up need areas will depend on how they address the quarterback situation. Until the QB plan begins to shake out, it’s difficult to contemplate what this team can and should look like in 2025.
Luckily, the cloudy crystal ball should start to clear up this week.
(Photo of Joe Schoen and John Mara: Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)
