Giants Mailbag: Is Travis Hunter a realistic target at No. 3 in the draft?

The offseason is underway. It’s a huge one for the Giants. Co-owner John Mara made it abundantly clear after the season that continued futility would not be accepted.

He wants progress – real progress. Otherwise, he’ll make the wholesale changes most felt were coming after this past season.

The pressure is on general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

What’s coming over the next few months?

Let’s open the mailbag on the state of the Giants...

Please tell me the Giants will do the right thing and take Travis Hunter if he’s available? Not take a marginal quarterback project. - @RobMillerTime

They might not have a choice. It seems as if the Titans are locked in on a quarterback at No. 1. The Browns, right after the regular season ended, were believed to be the team more open to moving back. That was before they announced Deshaun Watson re-tore his Achilles, putting his 2025 season in question. Now, like the Titans, they are in desperate need of a passer.

There are just two quarterbacks worthy of a top-5 pick. That’s italicized because, in most other drafts, Cam Ward (Miami) and Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) are likely top-15 or 20 quarterbacks. SNY touched base with several league sources in recent weeks. Not one had Sanders or Ward better than the fourth-best option in last year’s class, to put their caliber of prospect into perspective. In fact, three sources from three different teams all said that J.J. McCarthy, if he were in this year’s draft, would be the No. 1 quarterback. It wouldn’t be all that close.

Still, if Tennessee and Cleveland, desperate for quarterbacks, fall in love with some variation of Sanders-Ward, Ward-Sanders, then there won’t be a quarterback there for the Giants – much like a season ago.

Just my opinion to answer your question, though: I wouldn’t select Hunter … initially. Schoen should see what he can get for the No. 3 pick in this situation. Move back, recoup some additional assets in 2025 and 2026. See if you can’t get two really good players.

The Giants are not a piece away. You can make the argument they need a No. 2 receiver, running back complement to Tyrone Tracy Jr., a guard, long-term answer at right tackle, potentially center (John Michael Schmitz hasn’t been good), defensive end, linebacker, safety and No. 1 corner … in addition to quarterback.

If no team is willing to offer a nice package to move back then, sure, take Hunter. But the goal should be to get a quarterback or add assets.

Do you know which quarterback Joe Schoen prefers? Will he mortgage the future to trade up? - @Thomas_Spallone

The talk around league circles has been Sanders. It’s been that way since before the season ended. The Giants actually had a completed report on Sanders ready if he declared for last year’s draft. He would have been a target in the second or third round.

Mara made it very, very clear after the season that his commitment to this regime was for 2025 only. If he feels next year as he does now then he’ll make wholesale changes. That mandate, which NFL Network went as far as to say means playoffs, tells you there needs to be drastic changes. Mara also made it clear the top priority for the Giants is finding their franchise quarterback.

That tells me the Giants are going to do everything they can to go up and get their quarterback. The biggest question, as addressed above, is if the Titans or Browns are willing to move back.

Is there a legit scenario where the Giants sign Justin Fields or Aaron Rodgers since they are in desperate need of a quarterback with everyone else’s seats blazing hot? - @Jimmy_Tomredle

The Pittsburgh Steelers are among the most effectively-run organizations in the NFL. They chose to move on from Fields despite his 4-2 mark for a reason. The Bears had no problem trading him, too. A source of mine in Pittsburgh implored me to "watch the tape" when I questioned moving from Fields to Russell Wilson. There are guys running open, most players on their first reads, and Fields either wouldn’t pull the trigger or would miss them.

I do not believe he should be an option for that reason. Neither is Rodgers. He’ll want to go somewhere he’s familiar with if he doesn’t return to the Jets. The name I’d keep an eye on: Kirk Cousins. Most around the NFL believe he’ll be an effective quarterback again once he’s further removed from the Achilles injury. He’ll also be dirt cheap to sign if the Falcons cut him. He’s the perfect bridge option for the Giants – they won’t have to force the rookie into action before he’s ready.

Should the Giants try to trade for Deshaun Watson and see if he’d do better in New York?

No.

What are the chances the Giants move on from Shane Bowen for another defensive coordinator? - @GiantsFate_

I think it’s more likely than some are leading you to believe. Bowen is different than Mike Kafka last year, who also desperately wanted to leave. He can play hardball with the Giants because he has another opening just waiting for him on Mike Vrabel’s Patriots staff. Some around the league believed that was Vrabel’s plan all along: Bring Bowen with him to New England.

That doesn’t mean Bowen is going to go all nuclear like Wink Martindale did when he left, but this might very well be a situation where both sides agree it’s better to separate than stay together. Remember: Bowen was the Giants' fourth- or fifth choice at coordinator last year. They only hired him because so many others turned Daboll down.