The New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in eerily similar situations heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.
Neither franchise is settled at quarterback — the game’s most important position. After watching Russell Wilson and Justin Fields walk in free agency, the Steelers are left with only Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson in their QB room.
The Giants recently nabbed Wilson, but the 36-year-old isn’t the same quarterback who won the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks over a decade ago. They also signed Jameis Winston in free agency, and though both veteran quarterbacks are proven leaders, they aren’t going to solve the Giants’ long-term issue in finding a replacement for Eli Manning.
Unlike the Steelers, the Giants have a chance to turn around their fortunes in this month’s draft, since they have the No. 3 overall pick (the Steelers have No. 21). One prominent NFL analyst is confident that New York can change its fortunes if it takes one of the class’s top signal callers.
Field Yates Urges Giants To Draft “Quarterback of the Next Decade” in Shedeur Sanders
Field Yates is a notable draft analyst for ESPN, and his latest mock draft was released earlier this week.
Appearing on ESPN’s “Get Up”, Yates was asked about his decision to slot Colorado prospect Shedeur Sanders to New York at No. 3, despite having Travis Hunter still on the board.
“We were just talking about this, how the Pittsburgh Steelers last year had a couple of quarterbacks, and yet here they are. It’s already April and they have no plan for 2025,” Yates explained.
“Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston signed contracts that are not reflective of guys that are sure bets to be your quarterback for maybe even a full season this year. As a team, you don’t plan on picking No. 3 overall year in and year out. You can be just bad enough to be far enough removed from a top quarterback prospect; the Giants learned that last year when they got No. 6 overall,” the analyst continued.
“If the Giants are convinced on Shedeur Sanders, nothing they have up to this point this offseason should hold them back from taking a player who could give them a chance to have a quarterback who could be theirs for the next decade.”
.@FieldYates' mock draft 4.0 is out now 🚨
These are his top five QBs he predicts to be first off the board ⬇️
More: https://t.co/uzD9KrZjzt pic.twitter.com/PnPfh2Qvjz
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 2, 2025
In PFSN’s latest mock draft, the Giants follow suit with Yates’ thinking and take Sanders with the third pick.
As Yates notes, the Steelers are mired in a lot of uncertainty surrounding the QB position. Aaron Rodgers has been rumored to to be a target of the team all offseason, but he remains a free agent just a few weeks out from the draft.
If the Giants want to avoid a situation like Pittsburgh where they keep turning over lackluster veteran options, landing a star prospect is the way to go, and Sanders certainly qualifies.
The Colorado product is coming off a dominant season, leading the Big 12 in completion rate (74.0%), passing yards (4,134), and passing touchdowns (37).
With Wilson and Winston also on the depth chart, he could sit for a few months while learning the NFL ropes, or he could take over the starting gig right away with reinforcements behind him in case he struggles early on.
Either way, if the Giants pass on drafting Sanders, they could find themselves on the dreaded QB carousel for even longer than they’ve already been stuck there. Coach Prime’s son may not be the answer to the team’s biggest need, but he would offer the fanbase and coaching staff some much-needed hope at the game’s most important position.