The New York Giants hold the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, positioning them nicely to land one of the best prospects in the class. However, that third-overall pick is a coveted selection this offseason with several teams clamoring to trade up in this year’s draft.
The Giants have been picking up calls on the No. 3 pick
According to ESPN’s Peter Schrager, both the Cleveland Browns, picking second overall, and the New York Giants, picking third overall, have received interest from teams looking to trade up in the draft order. Both teams have been listening to offers, too:
“There have been phone calls made to both the Browns at two and the Giants at three with the intention to move… it would be for Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter, or the running back Ashton Jeanty,” Schrager said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday morning. “… There have been teams making calls, and those teams [the Browns at two and the Giants at three] are not immediately slamming down the phone.
“Everyone assumes it’s going to be chalk, that this is going to go Cam Ward, it’s going to go Travis Hunter, it’s going to go Abdul Carter — not so fast. I think the two spot gets very interesting if the Browns are listening to a ‘Godfather’ deal for them to trade back and for someone to trade up into the top three.”
The expectation is that the Giants will stick and pick the best player available at third overall. However, general manager Joe Schoen fielding offers on the third-overall pick is interesting and notable.
Giants seem unlikely to trade down, but could a Godfather offer convince them?
While teams might be interested in trading up to the No. 3 pick, it seems unlikely that the Giants will trade down for a few reasons. Mainly, they only held top-30 visits with three projected first-round picks: Colorado CB Travis Hunter, Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter, and Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders.
Under Schoen, New York has had a tendency to only draft players that they have met with privately. It seems unlikely that they would trade down the draft order, where they would be positioned to have to draft someone who they did not have in for a top-30 visit.
Could a “Godfather” offer convince them? Potentially. But any such deal would likely drop the Giants outside of the top-10 picks in the draft. The San Francisco 49ers, picking No. 12, have reportedly expressed interest in trading up. Moving back with the 49ers could potentially yield an additional second-round pick in this year’s draft and a future first-round pick for the Giants. A deal could be reminiscent of the one made between the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals for Will Anderson Jr. during the 2023 NFL Draft.
In all likelihood, the Giants will stick and pick at third overall and take the best player available. Perhaps a team behind them could convince them with an undeniable trade offer, but Carter and Hunter are undeniable talents. Schoen and company seem intent on landing an immediate-impact star with the No. 3 overall pick.
