The Titans are probably going to take Miami’s Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick.
They badly need a quarterback and Ward is the best of the bunch “by far,” as multiple scouts and team decision-makers told NJ Advance Media at last month’s combine.
But with a QB class this weak, the possibility of cold feet is always on the table. That said, what if Titans GM Mike Borgonzi — who has publicly gone back and forth on whether he’s taking a QB or not — falls in love with Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter instead and decides to trade out of No. 1?
BUY GIANTS TICKETS:STUBHUB,VIVID SEATS,TICKETMASTER
In this scenario, Borgonzi’s first call would surely be the QB-desperate Giants, who hold the No. 3 pick, right? The answer is, “probably yes” — but a trade wouldn’t come cheap with how desperate Giants GM Joe Schoen.
But should he give in? It depends on the price.
Around the combine, Tennessee’s reported ask, according to SNY, was a first-round pick swap this year plus two third-round picks. That’s not a ransom. Schoen should have taken that and ran. Obviously something changed since then. Ward’s stock rose, and the Giants publicly grew more and more needy for a QB — whiffing on, but showing strong interest in, Matthew Stafford and linking themselves to every free agent QB under the sun. If they enter the draft with a QB room of Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito, you can bank on Tennessee and Cleveland, who holds the No. 2 pick, calling them and demanding a crazy haul.
Schoen cannot do this.
The 2026 first-round pick — which teams will surely demand — should be as untouchable as Malik Nabers. Dealing it would be the proverbial “Hail Mary to end the Giants rebuild” that Schoen swore to avoid at his year-end presser.
Ward is solid, but he’d be a Round 2 prospect in any other draft class, according to multiple draft experts. The Giants have far too difficult of a 2025 schedule and far too many needs to enter the 2026 draft without a first. Unless Ward becomes a Jayden Daniels or CJ Stroud-like prospect (extremely unlikely), then this hypothetical trade would be an asset management failure.
Fans might not want to hear it, but the Giants’ best bet is playing it safe at QB this year: Sign Russell Wilson to pair with Winston, use the No. 3 pick on Hunter or Carter, take a Day 2 QB like Jaxson Dart or Tyler Shough, then make strides in 2025 before finding your QB-of-the-future in 2026 (which is widely considered a better QB class).
This plan is boring. It’s safe. It’s not sexy. But it’s exactly what the Giants need to do if they want to avoid staying in quarterback hell for another decade.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Ryan Novozinsky may be reached at rnovozinsky@njadvancemedia.com. You can follow him on X@ryannovoNFL