Early 2025 mock draft has Giants, Cowboys hitting reset at QB

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

While the Philadelphia Eagles have their franchise quarterback firmly in place, and the Washington Commanders just drafted theirs, two other teams in the NFC East likely don’t feel as comfortable with where they stand at the position.

Though the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys have signal-callers set to make $47.8M and $55.4M, respectively, in 2024, neither team is set at QB beyond next season, which is why Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports believes both will address the position in the 2025 NFL Draft.

In his way-too-early 2025 mock draft, which he dubs as more of a watch list than an actual team-by-team projection, Trapasso has the Giants taking Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders with the No. 5 overall pick and the Cowboys grabbing Houston QB Donovan Smith with the No. 25 overall pick.

“Shedeur and Co. would be thrilled to land in the New York City media market, and Brian Daboll's work with Josh Allen — if the Giants coach can keep his job if 2024 is disappointing,” Trapasso wrote.

If Daniel Jones doesn’t deliver in 2024, or if he’s still plagued by injuries (he’s missed 20 games over the last four seasons), it would make sense for New York to address QB in next year’s draft, especially when the team can release him as a post-June 1 designation and clear $30.5M in cap space while only taking an $11.1M dead cap hit, per Over the Cap.

Sanders is considered one of the top two passers in the 2025 class, and he seems like a natural fit in a media market as dominating as New York, but the Giants may not be a team his father Deion signs off on after stating in March he doesn’t want his son playing in a cold-weather city.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, are in an intriguing position.

Dallas has a playoff-ready team built around Dak Prescott, and re-signing him makes a lot of sense in terms of keeping its potential Super Bowl window open. The problem is Prescott has struggled to lead the Cowboys past the first round of the playoffs, and any contract extension he signs will likely cost in excess of $50M or more per year, according to Spotrac.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t seem keen on paying that kind of money for a passer who can’t win in the postseason, especially when it could hinder his ability to re-sign other key players like receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge-rusher Micah Parsons, so drafting Prescott’s replacement actually makes a lot of sense.

Smith had a solid first year as the Cougars’ starter after transferring from Texas Tech, passing for 2,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while rushing for another 428 yards and six touchdowns.

If he makes a Jayden Daniels-like leap in Year 2 with his new team, he could shoot up draft boards and be a hot commodity next April.

“There's always one surprise quarterback who catapults himself into the Round 1 discussion,” Trapasso wrote. “Smith is my pick right now. At 6-foot-5 and listed at 240 pounds, he looks the part. Plus, he has mobility and a reasonable arm.”

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