Jason McCourty, the CBS and ESPN analyst who played 13 NFL seasons and won a Super Bowl with the Patriots, can see both Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter being the Giants’ selection at the No. 3 overall pick in this month’s NFL Draft.
It simply hinges on whether they view Sanders as a class above the rest of the available quarterbacks coming out of Friday’s Colorado pro day. Because that’s a position where the Giants desperately need a gamechanger for the long-term.
“If the Giants leave out of there and they feel as though Shedeur Sanders is a franchise quarterback and is somebody who can lead them for the future, to me I don’t care where it is, you draft him even with that third pick,” McCourty said recently on Talkin’ Ball with Pat Leonard and Bennie Fowler. “If my evaluation is telling me he can be the starter for the next decade, yes.
“If you look at Shedeur and you don’t think he’s far away from [prospects like] Jaxson Dart or Tyler Shough or Quinn Ewers — whoever you want to throw into that — you could draft Travis Hunter at the third pick, try to trade back up into the first round or use your second-round pick on the quarterback if you still believe they’re there.”
Sanders’ pro day performance on the indoor turf field in Boulder, Colo., on Friday was underwhelming, outside of some nice deep throws downfield.
The quarterback position is a complicated evaluation, though, because of its heightened level of importance, the Giants’ desperate need for one on their roster and the politics that can come into play while scouting and selecting one.
McCourty said “the great thing” about signing Russell Wilson on top of Jameis Winston is that the Giants “now have the optionality to choose and look at the board objectively of who the best match is” rather than forcing a QB.
But that doesn’t rule out Sanders because the evaluation and the internal draft meetings are not complete. A lot can happen between now and the NFL Draft’s first round on April 24.
“This is a fascinating question, because when you hear John Mara say my patience is running thin — that this is a team that I need to see wins from moving in the right direction from Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen — it’s kind of twofold,” McCourty said. “Because if I’m Joe Schoen and I’m looking at the board and I feel like a guy like Travis Hunter is there at No. 3 — and he’s a guy that can completely change our organization, possibly be a gold jacket type of player — you want to get him.
“But if you’re John Mara as ownership,” McCourty added, “you may be looking and talking to people around the league. And if the talk is Shedeur Sanders could be a quarterback for the next 10-15 years, I’m telling management, ‘Get me a quarterback here for the future.’ Because I don’t care if we have Russ, Jameis [or] if we bring back Eli Manning. If they’re going to be quarterbacks that are old and only playing here for a year, I still want answers for the next five to six years to know we’re set up in the right position.”
Fowler, a retired six-year NFL receiver, played with Winston in New Orleans and won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, who employed Wilson as their starting quarterback in 2022-23.
He said one plus of the Giants picking Sanders would be his ability to learn from two established professionals how to develop the appropriate habits and approach at this level.
“Regardless of Russ or Jameis, what Shedeur will learn is how to be a pro really quickly, because both of those guys are very process-oriented in how they approach the game,” Fowler said. “They do not disrespect the game. They’re both the first person in the building. They both have their own routines in terms of how they take care of their body, the way they eat.
“Jameis has led the league in touchdowns, yards and interceptions, but he’s somebody who will take the risk [with aggressive throws] — [he can] teach Shedeur that,” he added. “Then you have Russell Wilson, not turnover prone, won a Super Bowl early in his career. It would be great for somebody like Shedeur to come into a situation like that, where he could learn the process and learn how to be a pro really quickly.”
Malik Nabers’ 109 catches as the Giants’ rookie No. 6 overall pick last season is another reason, in McCourty’s and Fowler’s minds, that going quarterback this year makes sense.
“You have somebody who caught [109] balls last year, is an elite route runner, all hands, hands catcher, can do everything with the ball at the receiver position,” Fowler said. “It makes sense to draft Shedeur.”
Then again, why not draft Hunter to add another offensive weapon while also getting high-level corner play out of the two-way, Heisman Trophy winner?
Many teams view Hunter as a corner first, and McCourty, a longtime NFL corner himself, raved about Hunter’s ability on defense.
“Specifically at corner, his ball skills are a separator,” McCourty said on Talkin’ Ball. “The age-old adage we always say is ‘DBs are wide receivers who can’t catch.’ Travis Hunter, he can catch. And when you can turn the ball over, that completely impacts the game when you start to talk about the turnover margin.
“Athleticism you see that,” he continued, “his ability to change direction, his ability in zone to read the quarterbacks and how fast he gets in and out of his breaks.”
Depending on the team that’s drafting Hunter, however, McCourty believes Hunter actually could end up playing more wide receiver than corner as a rookie.
The Giants are one possibility for that scenario, in his mind. The Patriots at No. 4 are another.
“You talk to GMs and different people and they say, ‘Hey, I see him as a corner majority-wise and maybe 10-15 plays on offense. But if I’m the Giants — and [corner] Deonte Banks starts to play better, Paulson Adebo is playing well and you’ve found your slot in Dru Phillips — alright we have Malik Nabers on one side [on offense], I may just say, ‘Hey, you’re gonna be a full-time receiver.’
“If he goes to the New England Patriots, 100 percent I’m playing him at receiver, because you’re paying Carlton Davis from the Lions and you have Christian Gonzalez at the other corner,” he said. “You have a guy that can play two positions and plug on any side — whichever one is more of a need — and go from there.”
For more about the Giants’ fascinating decision, playing-day stories about Tom Brady and Mike Tomlin, McCourty’s CBS call of Saquon Barkley’s backwards hurdle and discussion of strong and weak NFL cultures, go to the @PLonNFL YouTube channel to watch McCourty’s full interview.
