The New York Giants signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston this offseason and seemingly took themselves out of the 2025 NFL Draft quarterback market. The Giants hold the third overall pick, but multiple ESPN personalities believe the team could find its quarterback answer in the second round.
Dan Orlovsky Wants Giants To Draft Alabama QB in Second Round
The Giants have had an intriguing 2025 offseason. They needed a quarterback after releasing Daniel Jones and decided to sign Winston in free agency. Winston alone kept New York in play for a rookie quarterback, however, they signed Wilson soon after and expect him to be the 2025 starter.
The two signings likely take trading up for Miami’s Cam Ward off the table for the Giants, but Alabama’s Jalen Milroe could fall into their lap at the top of the second round. ESPN Draft Expert Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft has the Giants picking up Milroe with the 34th-overall pick, and former quarterback Dan Orolovsky agrees.
A recent On3 article by Nick Schultz highlighted Orlovsky’s comments from a recent “NFL Live” appearance: “If I could hand-pick one team for Jalen Milroe, it would be the New York Giants in the second round. This would be the ideal situation. No. 1, Brian Daboll’s Alabama ties. I remember hearing Nick Saban talk about Jalen Milroe and said, this guy changes the game.
“I remember Brian Daboll talking about how Nick Saban told him the No. 1 guy he could not stop in college over the past couple years was Jayden Daniels. No. 2, Mel hit it. The impact he had with Josh Allen, but mainly the quarterback run, which gets me to point three – desperation. They’re desperate.”
The Giants made the playoffs in 2022, Daboll’s first season at the helm, but haven’t returned since. They bottomed out at 3-14 in 2024, and it’s likely win or get fired for Daboll and GM Joe Schoen in 2025.
Orlovsky continued, “And if it comes to a point this season where Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen are like, ‘We need to do something to keep our jobs,’ I’d just sit there and go, if you’ve got Jalen Milroe, you can go full Lamar Jackson rookie mode where here it comes 15 times a game. Because this young man, while he’s improving as a passer, is an absolute rocket ship with the ball in his hands.
“I think he’s got more talent as a thrower than maybe some of the inconsistencies of the season last year showed itself. He’s got to get much, much better in the red zone. But this would be the perfect place for both the player and the organization.”
Milroe is one of the more intriguing prospects in the 2025 draft class. He’s an elite, dual-threat athlete who will be immediately productive with his legs, but there are questions about his passing ability. He was the starter his last two seasons at Alabama and never surpassed 2,850 yards through the air.
However, he added 531 and 726 rushing yards in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Milroe accounted for 78 touchdowns in his career (45 passing, 33 rushing), so he knows how to find the endzone. Daboll could be the right coaching fit for Milroe, but getting the Alabama product in the second round could be tough after he accepted an invitation to the draft.
Schultz mentioned the invitation, saying, “Kiper projected Milroe to go in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but an interesting ripple came up this week. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler reported the NFL invited him to the draft, which typically indicates a chance to go in the first round.”
PFSN’s latest mock draft agrees with Kiper, having New York select Milroe at No. 34. The Baltimore Ravens traded back into the first round to select Jackson in the 2018 NFL Draft. Could we see a similar situation with Milroe?