Sports
Giants 2025: A rookie QB needs a stable ecosystem to thrive. Can NY provide one?
This is the fourth entry in a five-part series about the state of the New York Giants. Within “Giants 2025,” we will examine the talent on the roster, the team’s positions of need, their pathways to improvement, the players they could target in the offseason and finally, the people charged with restoring this franchise to its former glory.
As the New York Giants pondered taking a quarterback in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft, the team’s brass reviewed the spotty recent history of top picks at the position in a “Hard Knocks” scene. As coach Brian Daboll rattled through the list of first-round busts over the past 10 years, general manager Joe Schoen asked for the takeaway from the review.
“Take a (C.J.) Stroud,” Daboll replied dryly about the Texans quarterback named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after being the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft.
If only it was that simple. As the Giants prepare to dive into the quarterback pool of the 2025 NFL Draft, they’ll do so fully aware there are no assurances whoever they pick will have a Stroud-like effect on their franchise. Recent history shows it’s rare for a rookie quarterback to engineer a turnaround like Stroud in Houston or 2024 No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels this season in Washington.
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The reason for that is obvious: Top picks generally go to bad teams. So, no matter the rookie quarterback’s talent, it’s a tall task to single-handedly transform a doormat into a contender overnight.
That point is further emphasized by the top picks, like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, who were dumped by their first team only to find success elsewhere later in their careers. Those cases reinforce the importance of the external factors around a young quarterback.
The Giants are on track to land the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft. That will allow them to choose between Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and
Part I: How many building blocks can one of the league’s worst rosters actually have?
Part II: Salary cap shouldn’t stand in way of improvement; NY has money to spend
Part III: Free-agent targets include bridge QB, help for Dexter Lawrence, true No. 1 CB
Coaching staff
No one formula guarantees success for a rookie quarterback. But some important ingredients typically help a young QB thrive.
The offensive coaching staff might be the most important element. Daniels has excelled under offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who was the Cardinals’ head coach when 2019 No. 1 pick Kyler Murray won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“It always looks like Jayden has an answer no matter what you do,” NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger told The Athletic. “If you go blitz-zero on him, he knows where he wants to go with the ball. He’s an elite athlete. He can escape, and he can rescue some plays. But I feel like built into the offense, they always have a check-down some place where he can just get the ball out of his hands and get the ball to a receiver — maybe break a tackle, maybe pick up a first down — but at least get a completion where you can build confidence in your player.”
Meanwhile, dysfunctional coaching situations and suspect schemes have derailed elite prospects like 2021 No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville and 2024 No. 1 pick Caleb Williams in Chicago as rookies.
“(The Bears) fired the offensive coordinator first, then they elevated the quarterbacks coach to be the offensive coordinator, so now he has that,” Baldinger said. “Then they fired the head coach and elevated the offensive coordinator now to head coach. Now he’s splitting his duties between coaching Caleb, which he was doing full time, to now he’s got to coach the whole team. So that’s a disaster.”
It’s tricky to forecast the Giants’ coaching situation. Daboll oversaw the development of Josh Allen from a raw prospect to an MVP-caliber quarterback after getting picked No. 7 by the Bills in 2018.
Daboll’s track record with Allen was a major selling point when he was hired by the Giants in 2022. But the Giants haven’t drafted a quarterback in Daboll’s three years on the job. Some initial success with 2019 first-round pick Daniel Jones deteriorated rapidly. Now, Daboll may not be around to mentor Sanders or Ward because of how catastrophically the Giants have failed in the past two seasons.
“I feel like Brian has concepts that are good that can work,” Baldinger said. “I feel like if you gave him really good pieces, I think he could be a good game planner and build a good offense around (a rookie QB).”
Moving on from Daboll and Schoen would provide a complete reset, allowing the three most important individuals in the organization to be on the same timeline as they are in Washington. That would avoid the current mess in Chicago, where Williams will have a third head coach and a GM on the hot seat to start his second season.
If the Giants fire Daboll, they need to prioritize hiring the best head coach to lead the entire team. But there’s an obvious appeal to landing a coach with an offensive background as they prepare to shepherd in a new quarterback. Because if a defensive-minded coach hires an offensive coordinator, that assistant will become a coveted head-coaching candidate if he has success developing the Giants’ quarterback. Washington could face that problem as Kingsbury rebuilds his profile through Daniels’ success.
“If he’s proven to be good, you’re going to lose him,” Baldinger said. “Now you’re changing coordinators, and you’re changing the offense for that guy. I feel like a young quarterback needs an offensive coordinator head coach.”
Supporting cast
The supporting cast is another key component to helping a young quarterback succeed. Drake Maye has flashed the potential that made him the third pick in this year’s draft, but the results have been lackluster due to the Patriots’ dearth of offensive talent.
A new Giants quarterback will inherit some talent at the skill positions, headlined by Malik Nabers, who looks like a No. 1 wide receiver after an impressive rookie season. Rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. has also shown promise. But the playmakers could use an upgrade to better support a rookie quarterback.
“I like Tyrone Tracy a lot. I think he’s good,” Baldinger said. “It doesn’t look like (Darius) Slayton will come back. I don’t know what they’re doing with Jalin Hyatt. I thought Hyatt had some ability. But you’re basically looking at a decent slot receiver (Wan’Dale Robinson) and then Malik. I think (tight end) Theo Johnson can be OK.”
Perhaps more important to a young quarterback’s success than his weapons is his protection. Armed with the most cap space in the NFL, the Commanders overhauled their offensive line this offseason. They signed center Tyler Biadasz and left guard Nick Allegretti while adding left tackle Brandon Coleman in the third round of the draft.
The Giants’ offensive line progressed from historically bad to functional this season. That’s a step in the right direction, but only left tackle Andrew Thomas, who has an increasingly concerning injury history, is a top-tier lineman.
The Giants figure to run it back with veterans Jon Runyan at left guard and Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle, with 2023 second-round pick John Michael Schmitz at center. That’s a serviceable core, but there aren’t any Pro Bowlers in that group. Right guard is a weakness that needs to be addressed this offseason.
“I would invest, maybe not a first-round pick, in getting a really good player on the offensive line. Maybe you look in free agency,” Baldinger said. “They’ve had injuries every year. I would make sure I’m at least seven-deep with veteran players.”
There are other factors, like having strong leadership and a quality defense, that are valuable complements to a young quarterback. The Giants’ leadership void has been exposed this season after losing some of their most respected voices in the locker room. Adding a veteran like the Commanders did with future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner would be beneficial.
The Giants’ defense hasn’t been a disaster this season, but it’s not a formidable unit. More upgrades will be needed on that side of the ball to relieve some pressure from a young quarterback.
Schoen’s sales pitch to ownership undoubtedly will be that the team is a quarterback away from contending. And that if the right quarterback is plugged in, they can take off like the Commanders did with Daniels this season.
But that type of success is rare. A review of first-round quarterbacks picked by teams with four or fewer wins in the past 10 drafts shows it’s uncommon to see immediate team success.
No quick fix
| QB | Year | Pick No. | Team | Previous record | Rookie record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2024 |
2 |
Commanders |
4-13 |
10-5 |
|
|
2024 |
3 |
Patriots |
4-13 |
2-8 (3-12) |
|
|
2023 |
2 |
Texans |
3-13 |
9-6 (10-7) |
|
|
2023 |
4 |
Colts |
4-12 |
2-2 (9-8) |
|
|
2021 |
1 |
Jaguars |
1-15 |
3-14 |
|
|
2021 |
2 |
Jets |
2-14 |
3-10 (4-13) |
|
|
2020 |
1 |
Bengals |
2-14 |
2-7-1 (4-11-1) |
|
|
2019 |
1 |
Cardinals |
3-13 |
5-10-1 |
|
|
2018 |
1 |
Browns |
0-16 |
6-7 (7-8-1) |
|
|
2017 |
2 |
Bears |
3-13 |
4-8 (5-11) |
|
|
2015 |
1 |
Buccaneers |
2-14 |
6-10 |
|
|
2015 |
2 |
Titans |
2-14 |
3-9 (3-13) |
(This table doesn’t include teams that traded up to the top of the draft since they weren’t in the same situation as the Giants in the previous season. The team’s overall season record is in parenthesis when a quarterback didn’t start every game as a rookie.)
The Giants can only dream about drafting a quarterback as good as Joe Burrow. But not even the NFL’s current passing leader was able to turn around the moribund Bengals immediately. Burrow went 2-7-1 in 10 starts before tearing his ACL during his rookie season in 2020. He led the Bengals to a 10-6 record and a trip to the Super Bowl in his second season after the team added All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in the first round of the 2021 draft and star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson in free agency during the 2021 offseason.
Obviously, the goal is to land a quarterback who can perform at the level of Burrow for the next decade. But this exercise is designed to examine how well the Giants are positioned to facilitate an instant turnaround with a rookie quarterback.
It’s impossible to project how NFL-ready Sanders or Ward are at this point, so we can only evaluate the situation they’ll be joining. The Giants have some pieces in place to facilitate a rookie quarterback’s success, but there are some big questions — most notably with the coaching staff — that need to be addressed.
(Photo illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; photos of Andrew Thomas, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Malik Nabers and Joe Schoen: Cooper Neill, Luke Hales, Todd Kirkland and Bryan Bennett / Getty Images)
Sports
Trump admin says SJSU now faces ‘impending enforcement’ for transgender volleyball scandal conflict
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FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s Department of Education said it has notified San Jose State University (SJSU) that it faces “impending enforcement action” for its “refusal to comply with Title IX.”
SJSU and the California State University (CSU) system filed a lawsuit earlier in March to challenge an Education Department investigation that determined the university violated Title IX in its handling of a biological male transgender volleyball player on a women’s team from 2022-24.
Now, the administration is cracking down against that resistance.
“We have provided SJSU with multiple opportunities to resolve its Title IX violations with common sense actions: separating male and female athletes based on their biological sex, keeping men out of women’s locker rooms and bathrooms, restoring rightfully-earned titles and accolades to female athletes, and apologizing to the women forced to forfeit competitions to protect themselves,” Kimberly Richey, the department’s assistant secretary for civil rights, said in an announcement.
“Yet, SJSU remains obstinate, choosing a radical ideology over safety, dignity, and fairness for its own students. With today’s action, the Department is putting the university on notice: comply with the law or risk losing its federal funding.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to SJSU and CSU for a response.
Brooke Slusser and Blaire Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans call a play against the Air Force Falcons on Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
The conflict between Trump’s administration and the school stems back to the 2024 season, when a national controversy involving transgender player Blaire Fleming triggered an election-cycle media firestorm, all during Trump’s third White House campaign.
The Education Department’s investigation has claimed, “SJSU actively recruited and allowed a male to compete on the women’s indoor and beach volleyball teams and reportedly instructed members of the coaching staff not to tell the female players that the athlete was a male.”
The investigation added that “on multiple occasions, the male athlete spiked the ball so forcefully that it knocked females on the opposing team to the ground.”
One of the standout details of the investigation’s findings was that a female SJSU player “discovered that the male student had conspired to have a member of the opposing team spike her in the face during an upcoming match. SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected this female athlete to a Title IX complaint for reportedly ‘misgendering’ the male athlete when discussing this incident in online videos and interviews.”
Former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser has included those allegations in her ongoing lawsuit against representatives of SJSU and CSU.
UNIVERSITY LEADER ADMITS SCHOOLS ARE ‘NOT A POLITICAL PARTY’ IN WARNING TO ELITE CAMPUSES
After SJSU and CSU announced they were suing the Trump administration to challenge the findings, Slusser, and other former NCAA players, came forward about their alleged experience during the scandal, and how it affected them, in recent interviews with Fox News Digital.
Slusser, who shared an apartment with Fleming at SJSU without knowing the athlete’s birth sex, became the subject of viral debate after her interview reflecting on the experience sharing spaces with Fleming.
“You find out you’re just chilling in a bed with a man that you have no idea about… I [was] unknowingly sharing a bed at that time with a man,” Slusser said, also alleging SJSU volleyball coach Todd Kress encouraged her to live in the same apartment as the trans teammate when another group of players was also looking for a final tenant.
Former Utah State volleyball star Kaylie Ray told Fox News Digital that during matches against SJSU and Fleming in 2022 and ’23, before Fleming’s birth sex was known, she had teammates suffer finger injuries from the trans athlete’s spikes.
“I had teammates who had seriously jammed their fingers, luckily not broken, but a handful of girls who had sustained minor injuries from the male player,” Ray said, adding, “We knew that if the male athlete had a phenomenal game, there was nothing we could do to stop that person.”
Ray’s Utah State team became one of five teams to forfeit at least one game to SJSU in 2024, seemingly in protest of Fleming. She says the forfeit impacted her team’s hopes of winning their fourth straight Mountain West championship.
Meanwhile, the University of Wyoming forfeited two matches to SJSU in 2024. Former Cowgirls player Macey Boggs told Fox News Digital that the decisions to forfeit the games “permanently ruined” friendships among her teammates.
“There were some of the girls who I really enjoyed, and we got along great, and then this situation came up, some conflict came up, and ultimately we went in separate directions because of that… as soon as we played in our last game, we all went in separate directions… it was hard to maintain those relationships,” Boggs said.
SJSU was plagued by a separate Title IX violation in sports that it had to resolve with the Biden administration in 2021. The university ultimately came to a $1.6 million resolution with the Department of Justice in 2021.
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The DOJ found that SJSU failed for more than a decade to respond adequately to reports of sexual harassment, including sexual assault, of female student-athletes by an athletic trainer then working at SJSU, beginning in 2009 when female student-athletes reported that the trainer subjected them to repeated, unwelcome sexual touching.
The department and SJSU entered into a comprehensive agreement to address the findings of the investigation, which began in June 2020 during Trump’s first term.
Now, Trump’s current administration is giving the school 10 more days to comply with a series of resolution agreements to resolve the volleyball situation, or face enforcement action, including referral to the DOJ and termination of SJSU’s federal funding.
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Sports
‘I’m back’: Tiger Woods to play in TGL championship match with Masters status still unclear
Some major Tiger Woods news broke Monday night.
It had nothing to do with the Masters — not directly anyway.
The 50-year-old golfing legend will be playing competitively for the first time in more than a year as his Jupiter Links team competes against Los Angeles in the second match of the best-of-three TGL finals Tuesday night in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
TGL is a high-tech, indoor golf league that uses simulators and real surfaces, founded by Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley in 2022. While a TGL match doesn’t present the same physical challenge as a PGA Tour event, the team event could serve as Woods’ first step toward playing at Augusta National on April 9-12.
Woods last played competitively March 4, 2025, in Jupiter’s final TGL match of that season. He missed all of the PGA season last year as he recovered from a 2024 back surgery and surgery in March 2025 for a ruptured Achilles tendon. Last fall, he underwent disk replacement surgery in his lower back.
A five-time Masters winner, most recently in 2019, Woods is listed as a 2026 invitee on the tournament website but has yet to confirm his participation.
Last month at the Genesis Invitational, a reporter asked Woods if the Masters was “off the table” for him this year. Woods answered simply, “No.”
In the opening match of the TGL finals Monday night, Jupiter lost 6-5, with Kevin Kisner narrowly missing a birdie chip from 20 feet that would have won the match. Woods was on hand as a team captain and supporter, roles he has served all season.
After the match, Woods told reporters he felt bad for his players — Tom Kim, Max Homa and Kisner — but expressed optimism that Jupiter could still come back and claim the title. If Jupiter wins Match 2, a third match will take place immediately afterward to determine the TGL champion.
“We have possibly two more matches,” Woods said. “We’re not out of this.”
Woods didn’t mention the possibility of placing himself in the next day’s lineup. After the news conference, however, TGL posted a graphic on X that showed what appears to be Woods’ torso and the words “He’s back,” along with the viewing information for Tuesday’s match.
Moments later, Jupiter Links posted a graphic on X that featured a photo of Woods and the quote, “I’m back.”
Woods will be replacing Kisner in the lineup for at least Match 2. It is unclear if Woods would take part in a possible third match.
Last week, after Jupiter clinched a spot in the finals, Woods told reporters he has been trying to play all season “but it just hasn’t worked out that way.” He added that the players had done well without him and implied that he didn’t foresee any changes ahead of the finals.
“I really don’t want to screw up the lineup,” Woods added. “I just want these guys to keep playing.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sports
John Daly calls himself a ‘jacka–‘ after falling down desert hill during tournament
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Golf great John Daly shared a hilarious moment that may have been more serious after watching a video he posted on social media, calling himself a “jacka–” in the process.
Daly was in desert terrain at the La Paloma Country Club for the Cologuard Classic, when he was trying to hit a shot onto a green when he lost his footing.
As he tried to gain traction in the sand, Daly’s feet fell from under him, and he slid down a long desert hill. Multiple people got involved, voluntarily jumping down the hill to see if Daly was all right.
John Daly of the United States plays a tee shot on the first hole during the second round of the Cologuard Classic 2026 at La Paloma Country Club on March 21, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Daly left unscathed, but he did enjoy putting the theme music to the “Jackass” franchise over the video to share to the masses.
“Bellyfloppin’ in the desert,” Daly captioned the video, while shouting out his caddie, Joel Cooley, who sprang to action to see if his partner was doing fine at the bottom of the hill.
“On today’s episode of ‘jacka**’” was also seen on top of the video.
BROOKS KOEPKA RUNS TO COMFORT YOUNG GILR HIT BY GOLF CART DURING HIS VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
While he doesn’t usually show off his bellyflopping, Daly remains a key figure in golf.
John Daly of the United States plays his second shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Cologuard Classic 2026 at La Paloma Country Club on March 20, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
He spends most of his time on the course for the Champions Tour, which is former PGA Tour players 50 years and older. His most recent round came on Sunday, where he finished tied for 29th with a 6-under tournament in the Cologuard Classic.
Daly was just named the 2026 Ambassador of Golf Award honoree ahead of the Kaulig Companies Championship at the signature Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. The award recognizes those making an impact on the course as well as in their communities off the course.
“I’ve always loved this game and what it’s given me,” he said in a press release for the award. “Golf has taken me places I never imagined and introduced me to incredible people along the way. To be recognized with the Ambassador of Golf Award is truly an honor, and I’m proud to support the meaningful work being done here in Northeast Ohio.”
John Daly hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the PNC Championship 2025 at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Dec. 21, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Daly’s impact on the sport is quite iconic, whether it’s his monstrous drives from the tee box, winning the 1991 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate in the field, or taking home The Open Championship in 1995 at St. Andrews, forever marking himself as a multi-time major winner.
His larger-than-life personality has always been on display, even today in silly moments like these on and off the course.
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