The entire league continues to guess on what the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants will do next, and their fates are intertwined with the NFL Draft now three weeks out.
Both teams are doing their best to not be completely transparent, despite what so many think they know.
The same three players have been mentioned for both teams for months, but in speaking with numerous league sources over a span of 72 hours at the NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., still nobody knows for certain.
That's what makes this time of year so fun, yet equally mind-numbing and, for the fans, most certainly frustrating.
If the Giants are doing things well, the circle of those who know what general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll and their respective staffs are thinking is very, very small. So few have that intel.
Even then, the Giants have just started finalizing their board Wednesday morning upon returning back to their training facility in East Rutherford. Team brass was set to convene inside their draft room to begin post-Combine meetings geared toward sharing all intel gathered in the last month. The building of their draft board is underway, the Giants' local Pro Day is Thursday in East Rutherford and a significant contingent - minus Daboll, and here's why - is expected to head to Boulder for the Colorado Pro Day featuring headliners Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter on Friday.
What we are hearing about the Giants
The Giants have been tied to the same four players for months: quarterbacks Cam Ward, who is expected to go No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans, and Sanders; Hunter, the two-way Heisman Trophy winner; and Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter.
Here's a reality: the Giants better really like Sanders if they draft him and bypass Hunter. Seriously. They better really, REALLY like Sanders. Because if they pull the trigger and select him at No. 3, they'd likely be doing so while passing on two players who could end up being the most-talked about prospects in this entire class, not to mention the most impactful.
Consider what Titans coach Brian Callahan said about Sanders during the AFC coaches breakfast on Monday: “I liked the way he comes across. He's confident without being over the top, which is a good thing.”
Heard in Palm Beach:If Schoen wants to save his job, he must draft a quarterback at No. 3.
Reality: If the Giants have Sanders and he spends the first month of the season while Hunter - provided they pass on him - is doing well, that's a lot to put on ownership to accept.
Also heard in Palm Beach:If Schoen ...
