The New York Giants hold the third pick in the 2025 NFL draft and will have an opportunity to add a foundational player that can help them turn their fortunes around.
They could choose a quarterback (Miami's Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders of Colorado), grab an edge rusher in Penn State's Abdul Carter, or take the most interesting player in this year's class in Colorado wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter.
Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, would fit nicely into the Giants' roster. He would have a coach in offensive assistant Troy Brown, one of the few players in recent NFL history to play both offense and defense, on their staff.
On Tuesday at the league meeting in Palm Beach, head coach Brian Daboll touched on how Brown can be a valuable asset to the coaching staff in several roles.
"It's good to have Troy on board with us," Daboll said. "I would say when I started out coaching as a position coach, as a receiver coach, I was very young. I was inexperienced and I was very young. Fortunately, he was in the receiver room along with a guy by the name of (former NFL wide receiver) David Patten, God rest his soul, two veteran receivers that helped me grow as a young coach. I learned more from them than a lot of people.
"It's good to have him here, and he's been a very productive player for the 15 years he's played. He's also played DB. One year I think he was second on the team in interceptions. Again, he was maybe at a different stage where he was more of a veteran. He knew the offense inside and out. Put him over there, he was playing nickel, has a few interceptions the year that he played. But he was smart, tough, he loved the game of football. He was competitive. He had great traits to be able to do that. Again, when he was playing it later in his career, he didn't need to meet with receivers as much because he knew the offense inside and out. So probably a little bit of a different dynamic."
Hunter would essentially have a coach in Brown who has excelled in all three phases of the game. And a three-time Super Bowl champion who has been enshrined in the New England Patriots' Hall of Fame.
Brown began his playing career with the Pats as a wide receiver and returner in 1993 but was asked to take on cornerback duties by head coach Bill Belichick in 2004 and 2005.
Hunter will get a chance to display his talents this Friday when Colorado holds their pro day. The Giants will be there to get an up-close look at Shedeur Sanders, but don't be surprised if it is Hunter that blows them away.
"It's really remarkable what he has done and the ability to perform at that level not really getting a rest," Daboll told reporters on Tuesday. "He’s been a fun player to evaluate, to meet, to talk with. He's a heckuva player."
Hunter may be too tough for the Giants to pass up. General manager Joe Schoen said on Monday that the team "can go in any direction" with the third overall pick and might simply just take the best available player in front of them.
It's hard to think that the player won't be Hunter come April 24.
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