With Week 15 of the NFL season finally here, New York Giants fans have shifted their focus to the offseason, where the team is expected to draft a franchise quarterback with their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and hopefully address other positional needs.
In Pro Football Focus's most recent mock draft, the Giants selected Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the second overall pick. PFF also projected the Giants to address their secondary and wide receiver room with East Carolina defensive back Shavon Revel and Miami wideout Xavier Restrepo.
This mock draft stood out. Not only did it have the Giants selecting Ward instead of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, but it also had New York drafting a wide receiver in the third round. The Giants have drafted a wideout within the first three rounds of the draft in each of the past four years.
Interestingly, this mock draft also has the Giants taking a quarterback-wide receiver duo with pre-existing chemistry and experience playing together in college, as Restrepo and Ward were teammates at Miami this past year.
The New York Hurricanes 🌀
— PFF (@PFF) December 11, 2024
Be the GM: https://t.co/YXqHIJgQnR pic.twitter.com/Zsqbw5WIpL
Ward and Restrepo are expected to carry their Miami success to New York if the Giants select them in this year's draft. This quarterback-receiver duo draws inevitable comparisons to one of the best in the NFL: a pair who transitioned exceptionally well from college to the pros.
Could this be the next Joe Burrow-Ja'Marr Chase-like tandem to take over the NFL?
This season, Ward threw for 4,123 yards and 36 touchdowns, ranking second in the nation in passing yards and first in passing touchdowns. The senior quarterback also led the entire FBS with a quarterback rating of 88.0, guiding the Miami Hurricanes to a 10-2 record and a third-place finish in the ACC. However, he couldn’t have done it without his top target.
Restrepo led the Hurricanes in receptions (69), receiving yards (1,127), and touchdowns (11) in 12 games this season. The 5-foot-8, 198-pound pass-catcher is as tough as they come and would immediately elevate any NFL team's slot receiver position. While Tetairoa McMillan, Emeka Egbuka, Isaiah Bond, and Luther Burden III dominate headlines at wide receiver, Restrepo could be a sleeper and a steal on day two of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ward and Restrepo would have a significant impact on the Giants' offense in 2025. Quarterbacks and receivers with experience playing together in college often thrive in the NFL. There’s no better example than the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, who have dominated the league this year.
Burrow and Chase played together at LSU and were instrumental in delivering the Tigers their most recent national championship in 2019. The Bengals drafted both, and they’ve since been among the NFL’s elite. Chase leads all receivers in receptions (93), yards (1,319), and touchdowns (15), while Burrow tops all quarterbacks in passing yards (3,706) and touchdowns (33) this season.
While Ward and Restrepo may not reach the same heights as the Burrow-Chase duo, history shows that quarterback-receiver chemistry can translate to high-level success in the NFL. On the most recent edition of The Pacman Jones Show, Nevin Shapiro claimed that Ward being drafted by the Giants is a lock and that Miami's offensive coordinator, Shannon Dawson, would follow him to New York.
Whether Dawson would serve as Big Blue's offensive coordinator or potentially its new head coach is unclear. Regardless, Giants fans have reason to be excited about the possibility. It’s also worth noting that Shapiro, a former Miami booster with a troubled legal history, isn’t the most reliable source. Still, if his claim holds any weight, it could provide Big Blue fans with renewed hope for the future of New York Giants football.