No team invested more time and effort into scouting Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders than the New York Giants. Not a single one.
For months, it felt inevitable. From sending seemingly the entire front office to Sanders’ Pro Day to hosting private workouts and piling up endless meetings, the Giants were practically tethered to Sanders’ NFL future. Even as whispers grew louder about their interest in Penn State’s Abdul Carter at No. 3 overall, Sanders’ name lingered like a promise unkept—a safety net if the board broke wrong, a player they knew better than any other.
Then draft night came. And for a few brief moments, that inevitability still hung in the air.
The Giants passed on Sanders with the third pick, opting for Carter and a chance to rebuild the defense. Logical enough. But with Sanders somehow slipping past the early quarterback-hungry teams, New York saw an opportunity to trade back into the first round. They moved up to Pick 25. Sanders was still sitting there. The story everyone expected could still be written.
Instead, the Giants took Jaxson Dart. And in that instant, everything changed—not just for the Giants, but for Sanders, too.
Giants’ Dart pick sent ripple effects through the draft
It wasn’t Dart’s fault. It never is the pick’s fault. The Giants fell in love with his arm talent, his mobility, his fit in Brian Daboll’s system. They valued the toughness and the willingness to develop behind Russell Wilson. They chose the quarterback they wanted, and if you’re in the business of winning football games, that’s what you’re supposed to do.
But the unintended fallout was seismic.
Sanders had been connected to New York more than any other team—an attachment that likely influenced how the rest of the league viewed his market. Other teams assumed the Giants would grab him if they truly needed a quarterback. They had the access. They had the insight. If New York was out on Sanders? Maybe there was something everyone else missed.
So teams started blinking.
The Saints, Raiders, and Browns all passed at multiple opportunities. The Steelers looked elsewhere. Day 2 came and went. By the time Day 3 arrived, Sanders wasn’t just falling—he was tumbling.
Maybe some of it was lingering concerns about his NIL celebrity status. Maybe it was the speculation about whether he loved the grind enough. Maybe it was just the brutal math of a quarterback market that dried up quicker than expected.
But the Giants’ decision—whether they realized it or not—gave permission to every other team to talk themselves out of Sanders. They were the team that knew him best. If they weren’t convinced, why should anyone else be?
From No. 3 candidate to Day 3 mystery
It’s a cruel twist. For a year, Sanders had been discussed as a legitimate possibility at the top of the draft—perhaps even No. 1 overall—a player capable of bringing life back to a crumbling franchise. His interviews, his play style, his leadership, all of it pointed toward someone ready for the biggest stage.
And yet when the moment came, when the franchise that knew him inside and out had a chance to pull the trigger—not once, but twice—they turned elsewhere. First to Abdul Carter, then to Jaxson Dart. In a league built on confidence, perception is reality. Once the Giants chose Dart, Sanders’ reality shifted. Teams looking for reasons to hesitate now had their rationale.
Maybe he’ll use it as fuel. Denver Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton threw caution to teams who passed on Sanders. And maybe Payton’s “beware” prophecy will come true. Maybe the teams that passed—including New York—will come to regret it. That’s the beauty and cruelty of the draft: nothing is final until the games start. But there’s no denying what happened.
No team invested more time and effort into scouting Shedeur Sanders than the New York Giants. After all the visits, all the meetings, and all the homework, they still went with Jaxson Dart instead.
And when they did, they left Sanders dangling—with no obvious home and no clear runway. It wasn’t just a slide. It was one of the most jarring draft-day falls the NFL has ever witnessed.