NFL Draft 2025: These teams will be in QB mix with Giants, as they surely replace Daniel Jones

The Giants are 2-6 — after starting last season 2-8.
So for the second straight year, there will be plenty of late season (and even midseason) speculation about which quarterback the Giants could draft to replace Daniel Jones.
General manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll just tried hard to divorce Jones this past offseason. They wanted to trade up for Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels (who has looked great so far in Washington) — but weren’t able to draft either, because the Giants closed last year 4-3. (Giants fans might eventually look back on Tommy DeVito Mania with a huge amount of regret.)
Now, the clock is ticking on Jones’ time in East Rutherford, as he nears the end of what is essentially a two-year, $82 million contract (a horrible deal handed out by Schoen). The Giants are 3-11 in Jones’ starts since he got that money. They can finally get rid of him after this season — and they almost certainly will.
In the meantime, the Giants are once again careening toward the top of the draft — albeit in what might not be a great year for quarterback prospects.
Still, Schoen (presuming he keeps his job) almost certainly will pick Jones’ replacement high in the 2025 NFL Draft. Schoen might have to trade up in order to make it happen, but it’s not hard to see where things are heading for the Giants.
Another issue for Schoen, besides the pool of quarterbacks he’ll have to choose from: The Giants could have plenty of competition in their search for Jones’ replacement.
Just look at the eight teams currently ahead of the Giants in the 2025 NFL Draft order. Five of them likely will be in the mix for a quarterback — Panthers (first), Titans (second), Jets (fourth), Raiders (seventh), and Browns (eighth).
Then there are five more “maybe” teams, in terms of quarterback neediness — Saints (sixth), Rams (12th), Colts (14th), Seahawks (16th), and Steelers (27th). Obviously, all five of those teams won’t draft a quarterback in 2025. But some of them certainly could.
So it’s not just the Giants — and those five teams currently ahead of them — who could covet a quarterback in next spring’s draft.
The Panthers and Titans both have one win. The next eight teams in the draft order — including the Jets, Saints, Raiders, Browns, and Giants — have two wins. The top of the draft order obviously will change between now and the end of the season. But the Giants are behind a bunch of quarterback-needy teams. And most notably, they are a full game behind the Panthers and Titans.
If Carolina and Tennessee stay at the very top of the draft, there’s no way they won’t pick a quarterback in 2025. The Panthers have already given up on Bryce Young (last year’s No. 1 overall pick). And Will Levis (last year’s 33rd overall pick) clearly isn’t the answer in Nashville.
So let the quarterback draft speculation begin anew for the Giants, who have destroyed their season by losing three straight games — and now have to face Daniels and the 6-2 Commanders on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Who will it be in Jones’ seat next year? The top options include Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Miami’s Cam Ward, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Georgia’s Carson Beck, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, and Penn State’s Drew Allar.
Schoen surely will scout them all. There’s no chance they’ll all wind up being great players, of course. And yes, drafting a quarterback can be a crapshoot.
But Schoen at this point has no choice but to pick Jones’ replacement — after missing on a star (Daniels) this year — even if he’ll have plenty of competition from other quarterback-needy teams.
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Darryl Slater may be reached at [email protected].