PALM BEACH — They might. 

Of course they might. 

But they do not have to. 

That is the undercurrent that came up to the surface on Monday when Giants general manager Joe Schoen for the first time discussed veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and how those signings might affect the plan to take or pᴀss on a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. 

“Going into it we can go any which direction and we can go play a game right now,” Schoen said. “It doesn’t force you into a corner or force you to have to take something based on need. It gives us optionality to go in many different directions.” 

That is a strongly nuanced word there.

With Wilson and Winston as the starter and backup, in that order, Schoen knows there will be quarterbacks available to be selected, but he will not be obligated to take one of them.

He set the bar high — extremely high — for the prerequisites a quarterback must have to be selected at No. 3. Figure that Cam Ward will go No. 1 to the тιтans and that the Browns at No. 2 might pᴀss on Shedeur Sanders in favor of pᴀss rusher Abdul Carter or cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.

That would leave Sanders on the board for the Giants and they would be inclined to go in another direction unless they view him as a truly elite prospect. 

“If you’re talking about where we’re picking, you’d like that guy to be able to be a franchise quarterback that you can win — you’re winning the NFC East every year, you’re trying, the ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl if you’re taking a guy that high,” Schoen said. “They got to be able to check those boxes.” 

At this point, the Giants are not yet finished with their draft evaluations.

They were on Sanders’ trail throughout his college season at Colorado, but they have yet to see him at his Pro Day — that comes on Friday in Boulder — and have yet to bring Sanders into their team facility for a top 30 visit.

Will all those boxes eventually be able to get checked off with Sanders? Even his greatest NFL advocates might not consider him worthy of such a lofty pick. 

If the Giants conclude that Sanders cannot meet those requirements, they will be ᴀssured that Carter or Hunter pᴀss the test with unanimous approval. Those two defenders would be top 5 picks in every draft. 

The Giants would like to get a quarterback in this draft. They believe they are not desperate to make it happen. 

“We set it up where we don’t have to,” Schoen said. “We can go several different directions. Yeah, I get it, you want to put him in there and say, ‘Hey, here’s our franchise quarterback for the next 15 years.’ But there’s got to be one available and they got to check a lot of boxes.” 

Wilson, 36, visited with the Giants on March 14 and Schoen said a contract offer was made at that time.

That means the Giants were out of the Aaron Rodgers waiting game at that point. Wilson did not agree to terms until March 25. Before that, it took five days after the offer to Winston for the deal to get done. 

“I know it seems like it was dragging on, but there were conversations behind the scenes that were being had,” Schoen said of the quarterback additions. He added that head coach Brian Daboll “had a really good rapport” with both Wilson and Winston when they visited. 

Schoen all but admitted that Wilson, 36, is not the player he once was, while expressing confidence that he should be better than what the Giants had in Daniel Jones.

Wilson threw only 16 touchdown pᴀsses in 11 starts last season for the Steelers. Schoen pointed out that the Giants have not had a quarterback throw that many touchdown pᴀsses in a season since 2019 — Jones’ rookie year. 

“There’s this pool of players that you can choose from,” Schoen said. “You’re trying to look at what they can do and accentuate the positives.” 

When the players arrive on April 21 for the offseason workout program, it will be Wilson taking the first-team reps, Schoen said. 

“Excited to get him,” Schoen said. “Leadership. He played well in stretches last year.” 

There were no ᴀssurances to Wilson that the Giants will not take a quarterback in the first round. 

“I said we’re open to everything,” Schoen said. “You can’t give a promise you’re not going to take a certain position or something like that, it’s not fair.” 

They might go for a quarterback, but they might not. 

“We’re in a position,” Schoen said, “where we can take who we think is the best football player at that time.”