The quarterback-needy New York Giants entered their Week 17 contest with the league’s worst record. After the Giants released former first-round pick Daniel Jones on Nov. 22, New York was in the best position possible to find their next signal-caller in the 2025 NFL Draft.
One potential selection for the Giants, Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders, teased the possibility of joining New York when he wore blue and red cleats during the Buffaloes’ 36-14 loss to BYU in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Saturday night.
That idea could be in jeopardy.
Drew Lock Led the New York Giants to a Win on Sunday
Quarterback Drew Lock, who signed with the Giants on a one-year deal worth $5 million in March, put up some good tape before the 2025 offseason with his play on Sunday. Lock went 17 of 23 passing for 309 yards and four touchdowns in the Giants’ 45-33 win over the Indianapolis Colts in front of fans at MetLife Stadium.
Here at Pro Football Network, we have created our own QB+ metric, which weighs statistics we value highly and then uses them to evaluate a quarterback across the current season.
Lock posted the first A grade by a Giants QB in a game since QB+ began in 2019. It’s the fourth-best game this season behind two Jared Goff games and Lamar Jackson
When kept in a clean pocket on Sunday, Lock was 14-17 for 283 yards, 3 TDs, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. He is the second QB this season to post a perfect passer rating when kept clean with 15+ attempts. The other was Jared Goff in Week 11 vs. the Jaguars.
With the win, the Giants improved to 3-13 on the season, which moved New York to No. 3 in the draft order.
As PFN’s model notes, the Giants need a few things to go their way in order to reclaim the No. 1 pick after Week 18.
“There is still a chance the Giants could find themselves atop the NFL draft order,” Rolfe wrote. “The Patriots and Titans are almost guaranteed to be playing backups for the most part, while the Eagles may still be competing for the NFC No. 1 seed. If that were to be the case, then the Giants could end up as one of just two teams on three wins, and then it comes down to SOS.”
Lock, the No. 42 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, spoke about the Giants moving the pecking order following the team’s win on Sunday. Per Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, Lock made it clear he didn’t care about the Giants’ draft position in 2025.
“Who cares about the No. 1 pick,” Lock said.
Drew Lock just said: “Who cares about the No. 1 pick!” 👀
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 29, 2024
Giants Fans React to Lock’s Comment
Many Giants fans on social media disagreed with Lock’s opinion, wanting New York to lose out for a better draft pick.
“I’m done as a Giants fan,” wrote a fan.
I’m done as a Giants fan
— Luke Garrison (@SHCBackupAcc) December 29, 2024
The Giants haven’t had the No. 1 pick since 1965 when they selected running back Tucker Frederickson. One can understand why the fan base would like to see the team draft at No. 1 overall after two disappointing seasons.
“Bro just set the Giants franchise back 5 more years,” posted another.
Bro just set the Giants franchise back 5 more years
— Jake Goetz (@broncosnews303) December 29, 2024
Many fans understand that Lock doesn’t have an incentive to lose, as he will head into free agency after the season. But fans will have lasting memories of his heroics hurting the Giants’ odds of selecting their ideal quarterback.
“Brotha just made himself enemy number 1 in NY lol,” wrote a fan.
The Giants will finish their regular season by traveling to play the 13-3 Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles blew out the Giants 28-3 in their first matchup of the season on Oct. 20.