The New York Giants are currently in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. With a 2-13 record, they sit alone at the top of the draft order as the league’s only two-win team remaining. With two games left to play, it seems unlikely that the Giants will pick up another win this season. However, their Week 18 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles could get interesting.
The Giants could lose their top draft pick with a win in Week 18
The Eagles could enter that Week 18 game with their playoff seeding locked in. As a result, they may opt to rest their starters and preserve the health of their best players for the postseason.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter recently suggested that the Eagles should rest their starters for a surprising reason. Not only would this keep Philadelphia’s best fresh, but Schefter argued on ESPN’s NFL Countdown it would also give the Giants a chance to win and ruin their draft pick:
“I would say, they would not want to get Saquon the record because you know what? They would want to sit down, rest their players, and make sure the Giants win that last game so the Giants then fall from 1 or 2 to 7 and don’t get their quarterback of the future,” Schefter said on television.
Former Giants and now-Eagles superstar running back is on pace to break the single-season rushing record. He could have a chance to etch his name into history books in Week 18. However, Schefter is arguing that Barkley and Philadelphia could forego that opportunity and instead stick it to the Giants one more time.
At this point, any win would actually be detrimental to the Giants. The more losses the better for a struggling team in need of a reboot and in need of a new franchise quarterback. Landing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft ensures the Giants an opportunity to take the quarterback they like best in April’s draft. A win over the Eagles in Week 18 could hurt them more in the long run.
