NEW Giants QB option at NFL Draft 2025?

On By Littum

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EAST RUTHERFORD – If only there was a third quarterback New York Giants to consider in the 2025 NFL Draft, given that they currently have the third pick in what has been determined to be a two-QB race with the possibility that Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders could be off the board before Big Blue walks the clock.

Here’s the question NFL heads are pondering, and the Giants are certainly among them: what if Penn State quarterback Drew Allar changes his mind?

The 20-year-old quarterback for the Nittany Lions has taken his game to another level, lifting his team to within two wins of the national championship in a chase that continues Thursday night at the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame.

And prior to the College Football Playoffs, Allar announced his decision to return to Happy Valley for the 2025 season. But as with everything else, there is time for that to change. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the April draft is next Wednesday (Jan. 15).

If Allar and Penn State are able to defeat Notre Dame and reach the CFP Championship, where they would play the Texas-Ohio State winner, the deadline for players to declare is Jan. 24, four days after the title is decided.

“All it takes is a team looking at Allar, winning a couple of playoff games and saying, ‘We love the development, we like where he’s going, this is the guy for us.’ ,” draft analyst Dane Brugler of The Athletic told NorthJersey.com “So while the work is what matters for a lot of this, sometimes subconsciously the way these guys play in big games takes precedence.”

The Giants made no secret that finding their next quarterback is a priority this offseason, and that came straight from the mouth of the man who signs the checks earlier this week.

“That’s obviously the No. 1 issue for us going into this offseason: finding our quarterback of the future,” Giants co-owner and team president John Mara said Monday shortly after declaring that general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll would flip back for a fourth season. “Whether it’s via the draft or acquiring a veteran, that will ultimately be up to (Schoen and Daboll) to decide.”

The Giants have done extensive homework on Sanders and Ward, and the class of 2025 overall. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart by Miss Ole are popular mentions for Big Blue, if these two are selected by the Titans and Browns, the two teams must pick 1-2.

There’s no question the Giants have a familiarity with Allar, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior whose growth and maturation has been remarkable. They drafted tight end Theo Johnson out of Penn State in the fourth round last year, and they have plenty of eyes on and within James Franklin’s program.

“I have a lot of confidence in our process,” Schoen said. “We’ve done these quarterback deep dives the last two or three years, and I’d say the players that we were high on went on to have solid rookie years or sophomore years, whatever. So again , a lot of faith in my staff, a lot of faith in the coaching staff, whether it’s the draft or free agency or who we sign, that they would be able to develop them.”

Now that the Giants’ season is over, Daboll said he would begin his work scouting draft-eligible quarterbacks this week.

“I’m extremely competitive in everything I do and I want to win and I want to be perfect in everything I do,” Allar told reporters. “So (his emotion) kind of stems from that, but I also had to be conscious about it because there are good times to show emotion like that, but there are also bad times to show it. When you play quarterback , you definitely have to be cool, calm, collected.”

Allar is 23-5 as a starter at Penn State and has thrown for more than 6,000 yards in three seasons with just nine career picks in 820 attempts. All five of those losses came against ranked opponents, including two to Ohio State.

This year, Allar has thrown for 3,021 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions while leading Penn State to a 13-2 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff semifinals against Notre Dame.

A win Thursday would give Penn State a chance to win its first national championship since 1986.

“Allar is going to go up,” ESPN analyst Jordan Reid said of the Penn State quarterback, who turns 21 in March. “I don’t know if he’s going to declare … but if you just look at the attributes of Allar — he’s 6-5, 240, very strong arm, he’s mobile enough, not a statue by any stretch of the imagination — that is hard not to see him as a guy up there if he does.”

Allar remains a polarizing prospect despite these attributes. His accuracy, though improved this season to 68%, is something that will draw criticism from scouts. Like Franklin, his coach, the pressure to perform in big games will be a grind until he wins one — which is why Thursday night is such a potential narrative-changing opportunity.

“The narrative may change on Drew Allar because of the expansion of the college playoffs,” Brugler added. “If Michael Penix doesn’t have that performance against Texas last year, does he still go Top 10? Maybe. We’ll never know. With Drew Allar, this is a chance to really write the narrative. His opportunity to help himself and that way , he’s looked at in this quarterback class, is there.”

The stage is set Thursday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., and the Giants and the rest of the NFL will certainly be watching — and waiting — to see if Allar calls it audibly on his future.