Not all Giants fans were gutted by arguably the franchise’s most embarrassing loss during an eight-year dry spell.
In fact, there is a segment that rejoiced at the Giants (2-8) moving up Sunday from No. 7 to No. 2 in Tankathon’s way-too-early 2025 NFL Draft projected order.
That was the by-product of their overtime loss in Germany to the equally lowly Panthers (3-7) combined with upset wins by the Patriots (3-7) and Saints (3-7).
Score a victory for the pro-tanking crowd that is tired of seeing prideful players and coaches win meaningless games during the second half of the season to worsen their draft position.
For every time that it works out — like beating the Commanders in 2019 and winding up drafting Andrew Thomas at pick No. 4 instead of Chase Young at No. 2 — there is at least one counterexample where it doesn’t.
Last season’s three-game winning streak engineered by rookie Tommy DeVito to improve from 2-8 to 5-8 pushed the Giants out of range for one of the top-three quarterbacks, for example. Their subsequent attempts to trade into the top-three from No. 6 were rebuffed.
The only sure thing as of now is that general manager Joe Schoen would not select a running back at No. 2 (apologies to Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty) like Dave Gettleman did with Saquon Barkley in 2018.
Whether the Giants remain at No. 2 and Schoen remains the one making the pick will be decided over the next seven games.
But for what exactly are the Giants getting positioned? A quarterback to replace Daniel Jones if he is benched and then released after the season for a $22.2 million dead salary-cap charge?
ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller only has first-round grades and top-32 rankings on two college quarterbacks: Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward.
“It’s a unique class: There’s not a great offensive tackle. There’s not a great quarterback,” Miller told The Post. “The great players are at cornerback and defensive tackle. I think what we’ll see more than anything is that teams who want to trade up for quarterbacks, it’s not going to be as expensive as it’s been. There is not that golden goose.”
The Giants certainly could fill a major need with a shutdown cornerback like Michigan’s Will Johnson, Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison or Colorado’s Travis Hunter (a two-way star who also could be a top pick at receiver) that bumps struggling 2023 first-round pick Deonte Banks into a less demanding role.
Except that “there are more questions about Johnson and Morrison now than before the season because they got hurt,” one NFL scout said.
Pairing Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham with Dexter Lawrence should immediately bolster the NFL’s worst rushing defense.
But Giants fans aren’t welcoming losses for anyone other than their own version of franchise-changing quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (Commanders) or C.J. Stroud (Texans).
The Giants have had at least one top-10 pick entering six of the last seven drafts. Jones was taken No. 6 in 2019.
The Jaguars (2-8) currently hold the No. 1 pick and won’t be in the quarterback market — Trevor Lawrence is signed to a $275 million contract — but there are 11 two- and three-win teams entering Week 11.
As many as seven could be looking to change starting quarterbacks in the offseason.
That could be stock-boosting news for Miller’s next crop of quarterbacks, including Georgia’s Carson Beck, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Texas’ Quinn Ewers.
“Some scouts might have a third-round grade on Beck,” Miller said, “but they think he will still get drafted late first because he is the cleanest [evaluation].”
Sanders, Beck and Ewers were all at the top of mock drafts when the season began. Ward and Milroe are the big risers.
“What happens in the spring matters,” Miller said referencing the college all-star games, NFL Combine, pro days and team meetings, “so we can still see a pretty big rise from these quarterbacks.”
