The New York Giants are nearing the finish line for their draft prep. On Thursday they worked out Shedeur Sanders in Colorado. On Friday, they see Jalen Milroe in person. And on Saturday they’ll watch Tyler Shough throw in person. (The team has already met with Jaxson Dart.)
These private workouts are important to head coach Brian Daboll. At a pro day, a quarterback is working off his own script and with his own language. In these private workouts, you get to watch a guy learn your system and terminology. You learn how they learn, and you get a glimpse into how you’d teach the player.
In less than a week the Giants could well have their quarterback of the future. The common belief, as it stands today, is that they won’t take that player with the third overall pick, but they’ll be ready to hop back into the first round if needed.
The late-in-process workouts have raised some eyebrows around the league. Is their indecision within the organization? Is the owner butting in? My read on this is the Giants won’t take one of these quarterbacks at No. 3, but they’re preparing their options for later in the draft, be that a trade up or sitting at the top of the second. This can obviously change since they’re in the middle of their information gathering process as you read this.
Something that is repeated annually this time of year is that a team wanting a quarterback will get back into the first round to secure the fifth-year option. The fact is that no team outside the first round has come back into the second half of the first round to get a quarterback since the Ravens did that with Lamar Jackson in 2018. So that’s a common refrain that hasn’t actually taken place in real life in the last six drafts.
QB shopping
Of course the Giants, Browns and Steelers could all take a quarterback within the first 34 picks. But who else could be lurking for a signal caller?
We know the Saints could also be in that group when you expand it to the top 40. The Rams shoot to the top of the list of teams that could take a quarterback in the first round. Matthew Stafford is a year-to-year proposition, after all.
I checked in around the league asking for other teams that could be in the market for a quarterback between rounds 2-4. A few sources pointed to the Jets, Raiders and Seahawks as potential teams that grab a quarterback in those midrounds, with a common theme that the new quarterbacks at each team are all essentially on pay-as-you-go deals.
The Miami Dolphins are the other team sources are eyeing as a potential quarterback-grabber in the second, third or fourth rounds. Miami has 10 picks total, including four picks in those three rounds, so they have the ammunition to do it.
The Dolphins missed the playoffs last year in part because they didn’t have a good plan for life without Tua Tagovailoa. They signed Zach Wilson in free agency, but he’s the only other quarterback on the roster. Skylar Thompson, the only QB the team has drafted since taking Tagovailoa in 2020, went 1-3 as a starter and is now a Steelers backup.
Dolphins deals on the horizon?
Speaking of the Dolphins, let’s take a closer look at them.
Last year, Miami made Jalen Ramsey the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history in terms of average annual value. This week, GM Chris Grier is talking to teams about trading Ramsey because it’s in “the best interest” of the team.
Last year, Miami inked Tyreek Hill to a new contract that gave him the most guaranteed money by any receiver in NFL history. This week, Grier is fending off more questions about potentially trading Hill.
Last year, Miami signed Tua Tagovailoa to the largest contract in franchise history. This week, Grier did not mention Tagovailoa as a team leader when rattling off a few names.
Last thing first: sources I talked to weren’t that bothered by Grier’s omission. One source said Grier “isn’t wired for passive aggressive stances” and dismissed any potential controversy around it.
It is hard to imagine teams are going to give the Dolphins any reasonable compensation for Hill for Miami to move him. The 31-year-old just had his worst season since becoming a full-time starter and quit on his still-in-the-playoff-hunt team in the regular-season finale. Police were called to his home for a domestic dispute last week that saw no charges being filed and the case quickly closing.
And now Ramsey has played his final game for Miami. One league source said they were aware of Miami’s interest in moving Ramsey as early as the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Another source believes the Dolphins going public is an effort to gin up a market for Ramsey that just isn’t there right now. Teams like the Falcons and Raiders should have some level of interest if the price is right.
The three-time first-team All-Pro cornerback is entering his age-31 season and due $21.1 million in guaranteed money for 2025. The Dolphins are prepared to take on the $29.2 million cap hit to trade Ramsey next week (or before June 1), but sources say teams are balking at being on the hook for all of Ramsey’s 2025 salary.
It seems if Miami wants to get a deal done during the draft weekend, the Dolphins will need to pay some of Ramsey’s salary as well to facilitate the trade. Otherwise, Miami can just wait until June 1 when it can split his cap charge over two seasons and then deal Ramsey. If a team is still willing to pay his full salary, of course.
Raiders leaning RB
Plenty around the league believe strongly the Raiders have fallen in love with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. One executive from an AFC team went so far as to say it’s “a foregone conclusion” that Vegas will take him with the No. 6 pick.
I reserve the right to learn differently over the weekend to change my one and only mock draft publishing Monday morning. All of this presumes the Jaguars, also with a first-time GM, don’t take Jeanty at No. 5.
Nonetheless, it’s hard to see a draft where Jeanty is available by the time the Niners pick at No. 11.
Browns showing their hand?
Uhh … did you hear Browns GM Andrew Berry compare Travis Hunter to should-be-the-AL-MVP-every-year Shohei Ohtani? The Browns can use all of the shot clock they want with the No. 2 pick, but it doesn’t feel like much of a mystery who their selection will be.
Cousins trade not a foregone conclusion
It’s no stunner that Kirk Cousins remains on the Atlanta Falcons roster today. From a financial standpoint, I had been reporting for months that it made sense for Atlanta to hang on to Cousins through the new league year when he got a $10 million roster bonus for 2026.
But it wasn’t until the league meetings a couple weeks ago that I realized it may not be as simple as a team sending a fifth-round pick to Atlanta for the quarterback, should he wish to waive his no-trade clause for them. The way Falcons owner Arthur Blank talks, it is clear he expects to see something from the investment of $90 million for one year of play.
“Kirk understands his situation. He understands our own situation. He understands we’ve committed a lot of funds to him,” Blank told reporters in Florida earlier this month.
“I told (Cousins) that we will be as thoughtful and sensitive to him as we can be,” Blank said, “but we have a responsibility to the franchise — which we do. And he understood that, and he repeated that to me that he does understand. But he wanted to make himself clear on his own situation, which I thanked him for, and I understand, too.”
His $10 million bonus is subject to offsets, so if/when the Falcons deal him, that doesn’t appear on their books. The sunk cost should be the focus here, and sources pair it with Blank’s words to show the Falcons ownership may not be content with your little Day 3 pick for the quarterback.
Opinions vary on whether Cousins will ever wear a Falcons practice jersey again, much less a game uniform. Mandatory minicamp isn’t until June 10, so that’s the natural next deadline if he sticks on the roster through next weekend.
With the Browns signing Joe Flacco last week, a reunion with Kevin Stefanski now seems unlikely for Cousins. Depending on what happens next week, Pittsburgh and Minnesota are potential options, too.
But Cousins must OK any trade with his full no-trade clause. And if this drags deep into the summer and into the fall with the belief that some team will need a QB due to injury, there’s no guarantee the Falcons would be able to deal him anywhere.
Cousins’ kids will enter second and first grades next school year, and he moved them three times last year. The Falcons are aware that his family will be a huge consideration the later this goes.
Lastly, whether the Falcons deal Cousins next week or at some other point, I would imagine they would still sign a low-cost veteran QB to fill out the room at some point this spring.
Steelers keeping door open for Rodgers
While the NFL world waits on a decision from Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers argue they aren’t waiting at all. They’re going about their normal pre-draft process.
Internally there is consternation about the position. There aren’t many coaches who aren’t wanting to get a move on with their offseason program. Even after Rodgers’ appearance Thursday on the Pat McAfee Show, there’s still hope in the building that the quarterback eventually comes there. But they aren’t waiting on him.
The Steelers can draft a rookie next week and still have enough room to sign Rodgers, who said publicly that money isn’t an issue. There will be a cutoff point for Pittsburgh, but I don’t think it will be at the moment they draft a rookie, if that’s what they do.
Rodgers could sign at any point between the publishing of this story and the draft, or during the draft, or after it. He is still not missing out on any on-field work, and he can always throw footballs with Steelers receivers at any non-Steelers facility available.
NFL casts wide net for draft invites
The NFL surprised a few draft observers this weekend when it announced 17 — and, a day later, 18 — players would be in Green Bay for the draft. Top picks like Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter are no-brainers, but there are plenty of players who are no guarantee to be a first-round pick.
Players like Jalen Milroe, Malaki Starks and Maxwell Hairston could wind up being All-Pros in due time, but they are far from slam dunks in the first round next week. I take this as proof the NFL itself thinks there are too many wild cards in this draft after the first four or five picks.
I’m told the league has communicated to some of the players that they are welcome — but not required — to return on Friday night if they wish. Some of those green room moments have been painful to watch in years past as guys stick around throughout the night. But with enough fringe first- and second-rounders, there will at least be company in the room.
The league wants to strengthen the draft as a tentpole event, and it has gotten great returns from the cities the NFL has visited. But the whole reason for the event is getting players drafted, and some of those players need to be in the building. To have a draft go four, six, eight picks or so without getting a player to walk across the stage is not something the league wants.
Carr driving Saints departure?
To call it a cold war would be too strong, but clearly things between Derek Carr and the Saints haven’t been great since last season. He wasn’t giving any money back even though the team wanted him to. And now there’s word about a shoulder injury that could require season-ending surgery.
Despite external wishes, the Saints have been resistant to a rebuild for years. Surgery for Carr would seem to force the team into such a place. But sources I talk to aren’t convinced surgery is certain. There’s also an idea that Carr is trying to force his way out, but the disclosure of an injury that may require him to miss the 2025 season won’t have many teams in line to give anything for him.
Word of the injury puts — here’s that word again — external pressure on the Saints. Is that what Carr wants? He has a winning record (14-13) as the starting QB there and is going into what will be his final season there, for all intents and purposes.
New Orleans has done its work on quarterbacks this draft. After getting seven games out of then-rookie Spencer Rattler under less-than-ideal circumstances, the Saints could still have a decent enough idea he may not be a fifth-round Brock Purdy.
If there’s a GM who doesn’t give a bleep about external pressure, it’s probably Mickey Loomis. I can still see the Saints going best player available at No. 9 and, depending on how the end of the first round goes, potentially being aggressive for a quarterback.
Rising to the occasion
Let’s wrap this up on a positive note. I want to shine a light on a handful of prospects I’ve heard some great things about over the past month or so. The guys below aren’t the only high-character guys in this year’s class, but they are definitely worth highlighting.
Boston College edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku “could go in the first round,” one AFC executive tells me, in part because of how well he presented to teams during this pre-draft process.
Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka will probably get drafted higher than some other receivers ranked ahead of him. “As pro’s pro as you can get,” one long-time evaluator told me. “Unbelievable character on and off the field.”
LSU receiver Jack Bech will also go higher than anticipated “because of how he crushed the process,” a different source said.
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard “has a special leadership IT factor to him,” said one coach who spent time with him.
And multiple sources across the league raved about the top Georgia players. Jalon Walker, Malaki Starks and Mykel Williams all impressed throughout the process.
“All those dudes know football,” said one assistant GM. “Kirby coaches them to understand the game of football and not just their own position.”
The 2025 NFL Draft is to take place from April 24-26 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. More draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly mock drafts and a regularly available look at the eligible prospects.
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