The New York Giants made history and stole the show on Thursday night in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Joe Schoen did it! There should be no more Schoen slander as far as the draft goes, as he continued to impress with the young prospects the franchise brought in.
Last season, we watched the Giants' front office bring in a rookie class headlined by Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy Jr., and now Big Blue will head into 2025 with a rookie class that already includes Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter and Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.
The move that rocked the night was the Giants trading back into the first round to select Dart and selecting their quarterback of the future. However, the Carter pick was nothing to scoff at either. Taking the pass rusher with the third overall pick had Big Blue fans hyped about what next year's defense could look like.
It was a no-brainer for the G-Men to take him at three, which gives them arguably the best defensive line in the game: Dexter Lawrence II, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
WE GOT HIM!!!!
— New York Giants (@Giants) April 25, 2025
📰: https://t.co/DLoGT5aBDj pic.twitter.com/PP0HPQr2WC
This franchise has already featured some of the best pass rushers to ever play the game in guys like Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, Justin Tuck, and Michael Strahan, and now they might have just added one more name to the list.
What does the Carter pick mean for Kayvon Thibodeaux's future in New York? The Giants traded a second-round pick (34th) and a third (99th) to move up nine spots to draft Dart, so if they wanted to get back in early on Day 2, they could deal the presumed odd man out.
For now, opposing O-lines and QBs will be up at night thinking about New York's new defensive front. Apparently that also includes New York's as well—who will have to face these pass rushers daily in practice.
The Giants offense has their work cut out for them in practice
Several current players took to X to react to the team's moves in an eventful draft night. One of those players was Jermaine Eluemenor, who became a fan favorite in his short time in New York and has a significant social media presence.
Eluemenor tweeted, "Practice will be fun!" after the Giants drafted Carter. Big Blue's offensive line will be battle-tested, and they know it, and that's a great thing.
Carter will come in and should perform well immediately as sort of a Micah Parsons 2.0. Still, it will strengthen the offensive line in practice, which has been a consistent issue for the G-Men for several seasons.
The offensive line must play well in 2025 if this team is going anywhere. They have to keep the quarterbacks upright. Dart joins that room now, alongside veterans Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Tommy DeVito.
Another player who took to X was Darius Slayton, who said, "KT, Spider, Sexy, Carter no QB will sleep peacefully tonight….not even Russ and Jameis." He's not wrong.
After night one, how could you not be thrilled about what Schoen and the Giants front office have done? If this team wants to make a playoff run in 2025, plenty of work remains to be done.