It is appearing more and more likely that with the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, the Giants will select one of two players: Edge rusher Abdul Carter or cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.
Both are impeccable prospects, but there are at least some “concerns’’ attached to both of them.
For Carter, it is his physical health.
He showed up at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in late February, and his medical checkup revealed a stress reaction in his right foot.
He did not participate in any drills at the combine and opted against having surgery.
Teams thought Carter might work out March 28 at the Penn State pro day, but a lingering shoulder injury kept him off the field.
It was an injury that first cropped up on New Year’s Eve, when Carter played against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl playoff game.
Carter last Friday was in the Giants team facility, and medical updates were part of the visit.
“He feels good,” Giants GM Joe Schoen said. “He’s working out. He’s running. I don’t think there’s going to be much room for pause there.”
For Hunter, teams need to figure out what they want to do with him, as the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner is considered the top cornerback and top wide receiver in this draft.
He is adamant about playing both ways in the NFL, stating that he did it at a high level at Colorado.
How adamant? He recently told CBS Sports, “I’ll never play football again” if the team that selects him determines he must focus on playing on offense or defense.
At the start of the evaluation process, the Giants viewed Hunter as a cornerback who could also get snaps at wide receiver.
They did not see him as two players in one.
Those priorities might have changed the more the Giants studied one of the most gifted and versatile players to enter any draft.
“He’s fun to watch,” Schoen said. “It’s unique — the ball skills, the route ability, and also the ability to go to the other side and play corner. You don’t see that very often. A lot of times, if these guys can’t catch or can’t play receiver, then they get moved to DB. This guy can do it all. Also, he’s a great kid. It would be hard to keep him off the field. He’s motivated to play both ways.”
With the signing of Paulson Adebo added to Deonte Banks, Dru Phillips and Cor’Dale Flott, Schoen feels good about his cornerbacks. With the re-signing of Darius Slayton, Schoen sees Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson and Slayton as a strong receiver trio.
“We’re in a unique position, that we have three good receivers and we like our secondary right now,” Schoen said. “So our situation will be unique. I would not be afraid to play [Hunter] on both sides of the ball.”
The physical demands of playing upward of 100 snaps in a game would be enormous.
Schoen is cognizant of that but sounds more wary of how Hunter could learn to excel at cornerback and wide receiver at the next level.
“To me, what will have to be settled is the mental part of it, because the offense is very hard to learn,” Schoen said. “And then the defense on a weekly basis, it’s not college anymore where, hey, these are our basic plays, this is our basic defense.
“There’s a lot more week-to-week matchup type stuff that our coaches are doing. Just how much can you handle mentally where you can go out there and execute and they can trust you to do your job? Physically, I wouldn’t doubt the kid.”
Figuring out what is best with Hunter could be a moot point when it comes to the Giants. The Browns are likely to select Hunter with the No. 2 pick.
