The NFL Draft seems to be filled with more intrigue and reconnaissance than geopolitics. This is understandably warranted given how high the stakes are for team executives and coaches whose careers and legacies are often determined and secured by the young men they draft.
Tonight in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the three-day NFL Draft begins at iconic Lambeau Field, home of the Packers, holders of 13 NFL championships including nine pre-Super Bowl era titles and four Super Bowl victories. The first round will be held tonight, Rounds 2 and 3 tomorrow, and Rounds 4 through 7 on Saturday.
As of AmNews press time, the Giants hold the No. 3 overall pick and the Jets the No. 7 spot. This could change as some teams will be endeavoring to move up to draft a player they think will be selected higher than the slot they currently occupy while others — seeking to obtain additional picks in the later rounds — will trade down to a lower position.
Both New York teams sit high in the draft because of their on-field struggles last season. In the standings, the Giants were tied with the Tennessee Titans, who hold the No. 1 pick, and the Cleveland Browns (No. 2), for the league’s worst record. The Titans, Browns and Giants were sequenced based on which teams’ opponents had the lowest combined winning percentage. Same for the Jets, Carolina Panthers (No. 8), New Orleans Saints (No. 9) and Chicago Bears (No. 10), who all were deadlocked with the third fewest wins at 5-12.
Both the Giants and Jets have urgent needs at multiple positions. They remain unsettled at quarterback, the most critically important position in all of sports. The Giants signed veterans, quarterback Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, this off-season, but neither is their long-term leader. University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward is expected to be picked by the Titans at No. 1, leaving the Giants with the option of taking the University of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. It will be a decision that co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, general manager Joe Schoen, and head coach Brian Daboll will deliberate intensively.
Despite the Giants investing more time and resources than perhaps any NFL team over the last eight months in scouting and evaluating Sanders, including a private workout last week, the likelihood is they will secure either Travis Hunter, Sanders’ close friend and Colorado teammate who won the prestigious Heisman Trophy in December, and with the ability to play both wide receiver and defensive back, or Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. There is widespread speculation the Browns will take Hunter. There is also the possibility the Giants will trade out of the No. 3 spot.
Similarly, the Jets also have not solved their pursuit of finding their franchise QB. With the failed two-year Aaron Rodgers experiment behind them, team owner Robert “Woody” Johnson, along with his new head coach-general manager tandem of Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey, are hoping that 26-year-old quarterback Justin Fields, who the Jets signed to a two-year, $40 million deal last month, will establish himself as a field general that can help elevate the team to a playoff contender and move them drastically closer to ending a 14-year postseason drought.