After missing out on a Matthew Stafford trade, most reporters and insiders covering the New York Giants relayed that plan B could be a trade up to No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. The expected target, should Big Blue go this route, being Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward.
On March 3, CBS Sports NFL analyst Jordan Dajani ranked the Giants’ top five quarterback options now that Stafford is off the table, and a trade up for Ward topped the list at No. 1. Dajani even included a potential trade proposal between NYG and the Tennessee Titans. It read:
- Giants get No. 1 overall pick in 2025 (select Cam Ward).
- Titans get No. 3 overall pick, No. 34 overall pick and No. 104 overall pick (all in 2025), plus a “future second rounder.”
To clear that up for fans, Dajani is suggesting that the Giants might have to pay as much as two seconds and a fourth in order to swap No. 3 for No. 1.
“Trading for the top pick in the draft is scary, but it won’t cost the Giants what it did the Carolina Panthers to move up to No. 1 two years ago,” the CBS Sports analyst noted. While also acknowledging that “I’m not [Titans GM] Mike Borgonzi, I don’t know what he’s looking for in a potential trade or what the market is.”
“Ward doesn’t have the excitement surrounding him like Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels did, but he is the QB1 of this class,” Dajani continued. “He set Miami single-season records by passing for 4,313 yards and an FBS-leading 39 passing touchdowns. It was the first time an ACC quarterback had ever led the FBS in passing touchdowns.”
The writer also voiced that Ward got “better and better” each year of college, transforming from a “zero-star quarterback” to the potential No. 1 pick in the draft.
Concluding: “The quarterback with the highest ceiling is Ward, and if the Giants fall in love with him, they should chase him.”
NFL Cap Expert Thinks Giants Might Have to Include 2026 1st-Round Pick in Order to Trade up for Cam Ward
There are differing opinions on what it might cost to trade up for Ward. Some, like Dajani, believe it could be a more affordable ask than usual for a couple of reasons.
One, the Giants hold some bargaining power at No. 3 overall, being that Tennessee can trade down and still secure one of either Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter or Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter — who are both consensus top three prospects.
The Titans could attempt a trade with a different team, but then they run the risk of missing out on one of the top talents in this year’s draft.
On top of that, Ward is not expected to spark the same sort of bidding war as a QB prospect like Williams, Bryce Young or Trevor Lawrence, which could also help the G-Men a bit.
Having said all of that, Over the Cap founder and salary cap expert Jason Fitzgerald broke down what it might cost for the Giants to trade up to No. 1 overall just based on prior draft trade history and pick value, and what he came up with was different from Dajani.
“So what might it cost the Giants to move up to the top pick this year?” Fitzgerald wrote within the article. “They hold the 3rd overall pick which is a big help. To get to that 3,000 point premium [that the No. 1 pick is worth] you would probably be looking at giving up the 3rd overall pick and 34th overall pick in this year’s draft along with next year’s 1st round pick and 3rd round pick.”
“If [the Giants] did not want to part with this year’s 2nd rounder they would probably have to include this year’s 3rd round pick, this year’s 4th round pick and then a 2nd rounder in 2027,” Fitzgerald added.
Giants Must Be Absolutely Sure Cam Ward Is QB of the Future If They Agree to Either of These Trade Proposals
In both cases — but especially with Fitzgerald’s trade proposal — the Giants must only do this if they are certain Ward is the player that can transform their franchise from recent bottom-feeder back to Super Bowl contender.
Otherwise, this Giants’ roster simply has too many holes to justify such a trade.
Spending multiple seconds, or even worse, a future first rounder on Ward would be very costly. And that potential cost doubles when you factor in that next year’s QB class is expected to be deeper than this year’s.
Of course, all it takes is one prospect to turn things around, and Ward flashes the dual threat potential of a Daniels or Williams. It’s up to general manager Joe Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll and president and CEO John Mara — who will almost certainly be involved in a present and future decision of this magnitude — to determine if he’s the quarterback that Big Blue wants to go all-in on.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Giants Trade Proposal Lands ‘No. 1 QB Option’ Cam Ward appeared first on Heavy Sports.