Daily Report – 4/24/25

Here is today’s report, including your New York Knicks Game 3 PREVIEW:

Giants – 2025 NFL Draft PREVIEW

We finally made it! It’s draft day! Tonight at 8 PM (7 PM CDT), the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft will begin in Green Bay, and the New York Giants hold the third overall pick (ESPN, ABC).

When the Giants beat Indianapolis on December 29, all hopes of securing the first overall pick were lost. The only star quarterback available in this draft is Cam Ward, and Tennessee will likely draft him first overall. With the third overall pick, the Giants have several options, and their best bet is to draft Abdul Carter tonight.

Currently, the Giants hold the third, 34th, 65th, 99th, 105th, 154th, 219th, and 246th picks in this draft. They will attempt to trade for the first and 18th overall picks, since they like Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart.

Abdul Carter is one of the best edge rushers in college football history. With Penn State last season, he recorded 12 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. Despite measuring just 6-foot-3 and weighing 259 pounds, he is one of the most promising edge rushers the NFL has ever seen in a draft. Assuming Indianapolis drafts Cam Ward and Cleveland drafts Travis Hunter, the Giants will likely draft Abdul Carter. When asked yesterday about where he’d want to play next season, given the available options, Carter said, “Definitely New York right now, but we’ll see what happens. I definitely think [the meetings] went well. Definitely got a good feeling with them, we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

But Abdul Carter isn’t perfect. First, he’s an Eagles fan (although I’ll let that one slide). Second, he enters this draft with a potential foot injury that would almost definitely worsen on the MetLife Stadium turf. Furthermore – and most importantly – he was arrested last April for a misdemeanor assault for confronting a tow truck driver. The driver towed Carter’s due to a violation of permit laws. Carter reportedly pulled the driver out of the truck and pushed him to the ground, breaking one of his ribs. Because Carter’s charges were ultimately dismissed, the Giants have reportedly prevented this from affecting their draft decision.

Several reports suggest the Giants initially wanted to draft quarterback Sheduer Sanders out of the University of Colorado. Deion Sanders’s son was initially predicted to be drafted second or third overall, until some meetings went poorly with teams, including the Giants. Sanders now might find himself drafted outside of the top 10, perhaps even outside the first round. There is a decent chance he’ll get drafted 21st overall by Pittsburgh, though.

The biggest issue with Sanders might be his personality. His father is a former NFL star, and while Sanders has inherited some of his natural talent, it is worth pointing out that he thrived in a collegiate program coached and managed by his father. This makes it especially difficult to predict how he’ll perform in the NFL. If, somehow, Sanders is available 34th overall, the Giants should draft him. However, some reports suggest Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen have differing views on Sanders, while others claim this is false information.

I also don’t expect the Giants to draft Travis Hunter. I predict he’ll get drafted second overall by Cleveland, and he probably doesn’t want to come to the Giants anyway because they don’t view him as the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL, like other clubs do. The Giants view Hunter as a cornerback who can play wide receiver if needed. Meanwhile, Hunter believes he can be the best in the NFL at both positions simultaneously, just like he did to win the Heisman Trophy in college. But Hunter will quickly learn the NFL is not the Big 12, and that he is not Shohei Ohtani.

There is a world in which the Giants trade for a later first-round pick in addition to their third overall draft position. With that pick, they would try to draft Jaxson Dart, their “Quarterback of the Future.” Seattle currently holds the 18th overall pick, but reports suggest there is interest across the league in linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux. If the Giants draft Abdul Carter third overall, their pass rushing depth will improve, and Carter can pair with Brian Burns as one of the best one-two punch edge rushing combinations in the NFL. Therefore, the Giants no longer require Thibodeaux’s services, but he could help Seattle – and many other NFL teams – improve their pass rushing unit. Therefore, it would be reasonable for the Giants to trade Kayvon Thibodeaux to Seattle.

With the 18th overall pick, the Giants should draft quarterback Jaxson Dart out of Ole Miss. At Ole Miss, Dart broke Eli Manning’s records in passing and rushing yards. If the Giants don’t secure an additional first-round pick, they will have to wait until the second round and hope to draft Dart or quarterback Jalen Milroe 34th overall. Dart is the better quarterback, though, and reports suggest the Giants are doing all they can to draft him. However, if the Giants are unable to trade for another first-round pick, then I expect them to draft Milroe 34th overall, unless Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart are still available.

Joe Schoen has announced he intends to draft a quarterback somewhere in this draft. It probably won’t be a star arm, though. Luckily, with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston on the roster, the Giants can afford to take time to develop their “Quarterback of the Future.” “If there’s a blue chip or generational-type talent or something you just can’t pass on, even if you maybe already have starters at that position, you don’t pass on that type of player,” said Schoen. “If you go need-based, that’s when you can make mistakes at times.”

“That’s obviously the number one issue for us going into this offseason is to find our Quarterback of the Future,” said John Mara after last season ended. “Whether that be via the draft or acquiring a veteran, it’s going to be up to [Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll] to decide, ultimately.”

But here’s the thing: I do not believe that Joe Schoen is capable of trading for another first-round draft pick. I understand that, given the players available in this year’s draft, the “Quarterback of the Future” doesn’t have to be drafted third overall. He doesn’t even have to be drafted in the first round. Granted, it isn’t easy to parse through a handful of mediocre college quarterbacks and decide which of them will best fit your bill for your franchise arm, but Schoen must pick the right one. I am not convinced, however, that Joe Schoen is a good general manager. I don’t think he’s creative, and although he hasn’t had much talent to work with during his time in New York, he has failed to develop many draft picks. He may have drafted well last year, but I refuse to give a general manager any credit until his team posts a consistent winning record.

As a Giants fan, it has been miserable to pray for my team to lose games each season. What’s worse is that when the Giants made the playoffs in 2022-23, it set the franchise back instead of moving it forward. I doubt the Giants will trade down in this draft – that would be particularly disastrous – but my gut tells me they’ll exit this entire draft without a quarterback.

In my mind, it will be a disaster if the Giants don’t draft a quarterback this year. I’m prepared for disappointment, but I’m excited too, because in the NFL draft, things can change in a heartbeat. A star player can fall off the board. A team can shock the world. That’s what’s beautiful about the NFL Draft.

The script writes itself.

Knicks GAME NIGHT: 2025 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 3 – 7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): NYK (1-1) at DET (1-1); MSG, TNT, MAX

Tonight, at 7 PM (6 PM CDT), the New York Knicks will travel to Detroit, Michigan, to play the Pistons in Game 3 of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs (MSG, TNT, MAX).

The Knicks fell to Detroit 100-94 in Game 2 as the Pistons won their first playoff game since 2008. Tonight, the series heads to Detroit knotted 1-1, and the Knicks need to make adjustments. The Knicks cannot let the atmosphere in Detroit suffocate them, and they must block out the noise. Tom Thibodeau needs to rally his troops and prepare them to combat Detroit’s omnipresent defense. If the Knicks lose Game 3, this series will quickly escape their grasp.

The scores of the games in this series have been too close, and the Knicks haven’t found their offensive rhythm. They had three chances to tie Game 2 in the fourth quarter, but they missed their shots each time. Missed shots are part of basketball, but the Knicks have been unable to create consistent offense throughout this series. Many players, like Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges – so every starter except Jalen Brunson – have been shells of themselves on the court. Still, Brunson hasn’t done enough to help his teammates either.

Tom Thibodeau hasn’t revealed any specific changes the Knicks will make tonight, but he has at least mentioned that changes will be made. The biggest change that Detroit made in Game 2 was having Tobias Harris guard Karl-Anthony Towns. Not only did Harris limit Towns to 10 points, but this matchup had ripple effects through the Pistons’ lineup. Jalen Duren was able to protect the rim and create screens while Harris monitored the perimeter, resulting in double-teams against Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns that boxed them in and prevented them from passing the rock.

“I let the defense tell me [what to do],” said Towns. “Obviously, I’m always trying to get involved as much as possible. Whether it’s post up, I feel like I’ve worked tremendously hard on my game to have an outside-inside game, I think I’ve proved that to the world year in and year out.” If Towns wants to be productive in this series, he will have to work inside, not just out. In Game 2, he chose to stand around the perimeter instead of working through screens. If he can’t move through the court, then he must move the ball to his teammates, even if they miss their shots.

A report came out today that Tobias Harris, who played against the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs last year and now plays for Detroit, said, “It’s a different dynamic, for sure,” when asked about the personality of this Knicks team compared to last year. “That’s all I’m gonna say… It’s part of our game plan.” Did Harris just call the Knicks “soft”?

“We have the utmost trust in everyone on this team,” said Jalen Brunson. “It doesn’t matter the situations people are put in. We’re gonna sit there, we’re gonna have each other’s backs, and we’re gonna go forward. We’re gonna win together, we’re gonna lose together, and we’re gonna learn together.” Brunson understands that part of the formula to win Game 3 will be the pass the ball around the court more often, even when he gets mismatched defensively.

If the Knicks begin to struggle from behind the line, then they should try to drive the ball through lanes tonight. This will help them score and approach the boards faster, which is important because rebounds have been hard to come by for the Knicks in this series. The Knicks should also play Mitchell Robinson more to generate more rebounds and screens.

For the Knicks to play a better interior game, they must also match Detroit’s physicality. They must break out of their shells and plow through Detroit’s screens. It doesn’t matter how many moving screens Detroit commits, how many fouls the Knicks garner, or how many calls the Pistons get away with. The Knicks must persevere.

They must adapt.

They must win Game 3.

Schedule

7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): 2025 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 3 – NYK (1-1) at DET (1-1); MSG, TNT, MAX

8:00 PM (7:00 PM CDT): 2025 NFL Draft, Round 1; ESPN, ABC

That will conclude this report. Have a good night.