Shedeur Sanders’ unprecedented freefall in the NFL draft had many puzzled. One of the teams looking for a quarterback was the New York Giants. They got out of the Sanders’ sweepstakes quickly by drafting Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart after trading back into the first round.
In the post-NFL draft media conference, Giants head coach Brian Daboll responded to a viral rumor that the pre-draft meeting between Sanders and himself didn’t go well.
Brian Daboll Responds To Rumors About Awkward Shedeur Sanders Meeting
Daboll was quick to set the record straight on the alleged awkward visit with Sanders when reporters questioned him about it on April 25.
The Giants head coach didn’t flinch, refusing to go into details but saying nothing but positive things while supporting the decision to draft Dart.
“We had good meetings with all the guys that came in here on 30 visits,” Daboll said. “Quarterback meetings were productive. We’re happy with Jaxson (Dart).”
Brian Daboll was asked about a report that he and Shedeur Sanders had a meeting that did not go well:
"We had good meetings with all the guys that came in here on 30 visits. Quarterback meetings were productive. We're happy with Jaxson (Dart)." pic.twitter.com/NyXpRXou57
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) April 26, 2025
The reporter was referencing a report from The Ringer’s Todd McShay, which claimed the Giants walked away unimpressed with Sanders following a Top 30 visit last week. In the report, McShay shared that the meeting between Daboll and Sanders turned heated.
“I’ve heard from two different sources that his visit with head coach Brian Daboll did not go particularly well. The friction centered on some frustration between the two regarding Sanders’ preparation of an install package,” McShay wrote.
“It seems the interview process as a whole — beginning in Indianapolis, as I reported a few days after the Combine — has negatively affected the leaguewide perception of Sanders during the lead-up to this year’s draft.”
McShay elaborated on this during an episode of his podcast “The McShay Show.”
“Shedeur didn’t have a great interview with Brian Daboll in a private visit. An install package came in, the preparation wasn’t there for it. [Shedeur] got called out on it, didn’t like that. Brian didn’t appreciate him not liking it. … The interviews did not go well,” he said.
Giants Moving Forward with Dart as Quarterback of the Future
Regardless of whether the rumor is true, the Giants are moving forward with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart as their quarterback of the future after trading up to get him at No. 25.
Unlike Sanders, the Giants didn’t host Dart for a Top 30 visit. He was the only draft pick among the seven players chosen by New York who did not visit the team prior to the 2025 NFL Draft. Nonetheless, the Giants did extensive work on the Ole Miss quarterback and were confident enough to trade back into the first round to secure his services.
The Giants traded the No. 34 pick, No. 99 pick, and a third-round selection in 2026 to the Houston Texans to move up nine spots for Dart. The 21-year-old will enter a crowded quarterback room featuring veterans Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Tommy DeVito.
Dart threw for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns while posting a 69.3% completion percentage last season for Ole Miss under head coach Lane Kiffin.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen attended one of Dart’s games, then held a private workout with the Rebels quarterback in Oxford, Mississippi.
“He’s in a really good spot where he can come in and he can sit behind a couple of veteran quarterbacks and learn and doesn’t have to be thrown out there right away,” Schoen told reporters, via ESPN.
“I think from a developmental standpoint and the ability to grow, I think it’s a perfect situation for a young quarterback.”