Giants end 10-game skid and lose control of No. 1 pick in NFL Draft

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Even when the New York Giants win these days, it comes at a price.

With a 45-33 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the Giants fell out of pole position for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

With a week of games left to play, the No. 1 pick in the draft currently belongs to the New England Patriots (3-13), with the Giants dropping their third win to No. 4 in the draft order. The Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns are the only other teams with three wins.

Strength of schedule serves as the decision point for the draft, and the Patriots currently have the easiest strength of schedule; The quarterback-needy Giants have the toughest schedule of the group.

“That’s why you have a (general manager), all these assistants and scouts,” offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said.

According to ESPN Analytics, the Giants entered Sunday with a 57% chance of picking the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. In the event of a loss, the odds would have risen to 86%. Instead, it has fallen to 5%. The Patriots are now the clear favorite for first place with over 78%.

The Giants would have been in the best position to sign a quarterback if they had lost their last two games to the Colts and at the Philadelphia Eagles.

Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are expected to be the top quarterbacks selected and have been linked to the Giants all season. New York general manager Joe Schoen has been to Colorado and Miami several times this year.

“I can’t say anything about that,” said wide receiver Malik Nabers, who added to the hype in recent weeks by playing catch with Sanders on the streets of New York. “The draft will be the draft.”

Nabers, the No. 6 overall pick in this year’s draft, rushed for a career-best 171 yards and two long touchdowns on seven catches Sunday against the Colts. He helped New York win a franchise-record 10 games and prevented the team from becoming the first team ever to go 0-9 at home in a single season.

The Giants’ offensive explosion included quarterback Drew Lock accounting for five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) as they reached 30 points for the first time this season.

“It was a lot of fun. Very fun. “It clicked,” Lock said. “We knew we had it in us. It was just time to go out and show it and do it and make plays when they were there. Of course today we went out and did that. So it was a fun time. Really good time.”

For Giants fans, draft position has been the main topic of conversation in recent weeks. That wasn’t the case for the players before and after a win that ultimately eliminated the Colts from playoff contention.

“Not one bit. We don’t talk about that,” Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said. “Guys are out here playing for a living. That’s her job. A lot of guys might not be on this team next year.”

The Giants are now in a more difficult situation after benching and eliminating starting quarterback Daniel Jones last month. Lock and backup Tommy DeVito will also be free agents, just months after the Giants were featured on “Hard Knocks” looking for a quarterback in the draft.