The New York Giants must avoid making this crazy decision before the 2026 NFL Draft.
As the buzz surrounding the 2026 NFL Draft continues to heat up, the New York Giants’ draft strategy ahead of April remains a huge question mark. However, there is a new idea that is floating around the media as to what general manager Joe Scheon should do this offseason.
Earlier this week, Colin Cowherd suggested that the Giants should trade rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart prior to the 2026 NFL Draft and select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
As of now, Mendoza is projected to be the first quarterback taken in the upcoming draft after his incredible 2026 campaign with the Hoosiers that landed him the Heisman Trophy Award. In his 13 games played this season, the prolific passer has thrown for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns while completing 71.5 percent of his attempts in 2025.
While many teams are searching for their future franchise quarterback, the Giants are one of two teams that will likely land a top-five pick in this year’s draft, putting them in a spot to potentially select Mendoza in round one.
However, as talented a player as Mendoza is in the upcoming draft, moving off of Dart would be a risky move for the Giants.
For starters, it is very rare for a team to draft a starting-caliber quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft. Out of the 24 quarterbacks selected in round one since 2019, only 17 of 24 currently remain as starters on the team that selected them, while nine of the 17 players are projected to be backup quarterbacks in 2026.
The quarterback position is one of the hardest evaluations for NFL scouts, and since Dart has shown plenty of promise in his rookie season, it would not make sense for the franchise to move off him and try their luck with another quarterback.
The last time we saw a team trade their first-round quarterback after one season was back in 2019, when the Arizona Cardinals traded Josh Rosen to the Miami Dolphins and selected Kyler Murray with the first overall pick. That season, Dart has proven to be more of a franchise quarterback than Rosen in his first season.
Instead of selecting Mendoza round one, it’s clear that New York should focus on building around Dart.
With multiple teams being hungry for a starting quarterback in the upcoming draft, the Giants are better off trading out of their top pick and using the rest of the organization’s draft capital to help Dart reach his max potential in the NFL.