The Jacksonville Jaguars have never really been a team with a plan, have they?
They looked like a lock to finish with the No. 1 overall pick, and yet they managed to beat the Tennessee Titans and limit their chances of kicking off the draft. The Jags have no reason to tank. Their coach, Doug Pederson, is trying to keep his job. The organization just paid Trevor Lawrence to serve as their QB of the future. As we mentioned earlier, it’s not like they have a plan. It’s just that they don’t need a QB and therefore don’t seem interested in the top selection.
So, it’ll likely land with another team, probably one of the two-win teams: the Las Vegas Raiders or New York Giants. Let’s take a look at the top of the draft at this point in the season.
1. Las Vegas Raiders (2-11)
2. New York Giants (2-11)
3. New England Patriots (3-10)
4. Carolina Panthers (3-10)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-10)
6. Tennessee Titans (3-10)
7. New York Jets (3-10)
8. Cleveland Browns (3-10)
9. Chicago Bears (4-9)
10. New Orleans Saints (5-8)
As we track the race for the No. 1 pick, spotlighting a different team each week until the final order is set, our focus this week is on the Giants.
They’re in the top two at this point, and it’s hard to see them winning another game with their quarterback situation as fraught as it has been. Daniel Jones is gone, but he was clearly their best option. And we can now see how Drew Lock slipped to QB3. He has been awful. Next season, and a new starting QB, can’t come soon enough.
With that, here’s what FOX Sports NFL writers Henry McKenna and Ben Arthur believe the Giants should do if they get the No. 1 pick.
McKenna: Let’s talk quarterbacks.
For now, Shedeur Sanders is the top signal-caller in the draft, followed by Cam Ward. After those two, it’s a talented (but messy-to-rank) group that includes Quinn Ewers, Jalen Milroe, Carson Beck, Garrett Nussmeier, Drew Allar and Jaxson Dart.
With those two top QBs, the draft process is likely to create more contention over which prospect is best. Sanders’ dad is Deion Sanders, and that could create problems for a franchise that doesn’t want to deal with the headache that comes with the Sanders family. Ward, meanwhile, is 22 years old and should test extremely well. When the underwear Olympics roll around, Ward will be a winner. And the hype will only grow if he performs well at the whiteboard with Xs and Os, recall and off-field processing.
Shedeur Sanders full season highlights | Future No. 1 pick?
But this is New York. Coach Brian Daboll is on the hot seat. There’s definitely a chance that the Mara family would welcome the Sanders family into the New York media market. It would absolutely sell tickets. Maybe the Giants draft Sanders and hire Sanders, and see if they can rebuild the Giants like they elevated the Colorado Buffaloes out of anonymity.
Arthur: As Henry outlined, the Giants absolutely need to go quarterback with the Jones era officially over. And while Sanders would absolutely be better from a media and marketing standpoint, you can make a strong argument that Ward is the better choice, football-wise.
Ward’s exponential growth over the past few years as his level of competition stiffened twice (from FCS Incarnate Word to Washington State to Miami) shows that he might have more upside than Sanders. You can make a strong argument that he’s QB1 in this draft. And in an underwhelming quarterback class overall, Ward’s combination of arm talent, off-platform prowess and mobility could be the jolt a dead Giants offense needs. Imagine what a Ward-Malik Nabers tandem could do in New York? That has fireworks written all over it.
What makes Miami’s Cam Ward an NFL caliber prospect?
The downside with Ward is that he can play a bit reckless at times. Maybe he tries to play hero ball a little too much. His play-to-play consistency isn’t quite there yet. The Giants would benefit from having an established veteran quarterback as insurance as Ward develops. Handled the wrong way, you could have a Bryce Young or Anthony Richardson situation (though both players have bounced back nicely from their midseason benchings). But with the right offensive staff around him, Ward could be a legitimate franchise quarterback in time.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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