When it comes to the New York Giants and their journey to picking their next big prospect at the No. 3 pick of the NFL Draft, as the old saying goes, seemingly everyone has an opinion on what they should do ahead of a make-or-break season.
Legendary Giants defensive end Michael Strahan is the next influential figure to join that discussion and be an armchair general manager. The Super Bowl champion made an appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Kid Mero and former NBA great Carmelo Anthony to talk shop on the impending situation the team faces in the first round of the draft.
The latest barrage of mocks has projected the Giants to target a handful of prospects once they are on the board, including Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, whom they’ve all heavily scouted this offseason.
If there is anyone who can see all the sides of the coin in the Giants’ dilemma, it certainly is Strahan, the sole owner of the NFL’s single-season sacks record.
In his time with the franchise, New York had one of the scariest defensive fronts which powered them on an incredible run to Super Bowl 42 where they defeated the nearly unblemished New England Patriots.
On the other side of that legendary run was the incredible, ice-in-the-veins performances from then-quarterback Eli Manning, whom Strahan got to witness firsthand carry the Giants’ offense down the field in some of the biggest drives in postseason history, all while being battered and bruised yet always composed in the process.
With the tough decision ahead of them to make the right choice for their first selection of this year’s class, Strahan was asked to put on his general manager’s cap and say who he would choose to put the Giants in the best position moving forward. His initial response was quite open-minded towards any of the options, but he eventually landed on the former side.
“Shedeur, if the Giants got him, would be insane,” Strahan said.
“A lot of people look at Deion [Sanders’s] confidence and Shedeur’s confidence as if it’s a bad thing, but the only difference is that Deion did it already at the highest level. Now Shedeur comes in with that same confidence and hasn’t proven it yet, while there are more people who hope the kid falls on his face than is successful, and that’s not me.
“I think Travis Hunter would also be insane, and I think Abdul Carter, everyone looks at Micah Parsons and how [the Giants] missed out on him, and Carter is starting to look like the second coming of him. So at the third pick, I think the Giants have some interesting guys.”
Strahan eventually admitted to Hunter being his top selection if the pressure was really put on him to decide, mentioning the excitement over the prospect of the Giants pairing the dual-threat star at Colorado with last year’s first-round pick in Malik Nabers to lead the receiving corps.
Hunter could certainly contribute to both. He excelled on two ends with the Buffaloes last season, finishing in the top five in the nation in receiving production and adding nine interceptions forced as a shutdown-style perimeter corner, which won him the Heisman Trophy as the first two-way nominee.
That dream might come second fiddle if Hunter lands in the Big Apple on April 24th. It’s more likely the team will want to use his talents to bolster their secondary and uplift the competition for the No. 1 spot that is open next to free agent signing Paulson Adebo while mixing in some offensive snaps in specific passing packages.
However, the more significant obstacle to the pairing will be the Cleveland Browns do at No. 2 after they are even more positioned to not take a gunslinger at their pick with the recent re-signing of veteran Joe Flacco to the quarterback room this week.
Their strategy could be taking Hunter and jumping back into the late first round or waiting in the second for a rookie arm to learn behind Flacco. If they move up, the Giants could easily follow suit with Carter and their own arm choice at No. 34 or higher.
Regardless of their path, the Giants could also have a fair shot at selecting Sanders to become their future franchise quarterback and fill their biggest need of the draft if he takes a little nosedive that some analysts project he will on night one.
If they do, Strahan isn’t writing off the possibility that Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll view that as their smart move with nothing guaranteed beyond this season. He is confident in the Giants system with two new veterans, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, to show any rookie the ropes to success in the same media market he once conquered as a professional player.
And if Sanders comes to East Rutherford, one of the organization’s most accomplished faces was kind enough to leave some public advice for not letting the spotlight get to his head.
“I think he will have to display some humility at some point, but I hope he is great. People will try to tear him down and say, ‘Well, you know he’s Deion’s son, and Deion was this way,’ but Deion is truly building better men. Football is one thing, but Deion is building better men.”
