The New York Giants have a big decision to make on Thursday night—and right now, their front office is caught in a bit of a tug-of-war over it. With the No. 3 overall pick in hand, some are vouching for Shedeur Sanders—yep, Coach Prime’s kid—thinking he could finally give the franchise a long-term answer at quarterback. But others in the building suggest picking a defensive player.

And just when you thought the debate couldn’t get any messier, the Giants went ahead and hosted private workouts with Sanders, Jalen Milroe, and Tyler Shough last week—all quarterbacks. That’s not something teams usually do this close to the draft, but as The Athletic’s Dianna Russini pointed out, New York’s front office wants to be ready for every possible scenario. Why?

Because they’re still haunted by past draft misfires—(hello, Daniel Jones at No. 6 in 2019)—and they’re trying to avoid another one. But here’s when it gets pretty interesting: despite all this QB talk, the latest mock drafts are pointing in a different direction. The buzz is that the Giants might pass on Shedeur and instead go all-in on defense by selecting Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Peter Schrager released the latest mock, predicting the first-round picks by the teams on Thursday. Schrager believes that despite the ongoing QB talks, Carter seems to be the favorite to land with the Giants. Undoubtedly, it makes sense. The reason? Well, if the Big Blue drafts Sanders, then no wonder he’s going to be their long-term option.

I mean, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston are your veteran QBs, but they’re not going to lead the offense forever, right? BUT!

If they draft Carter at No. 3, he would bolster the Giants’ defensive line that includes Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux. If we give it a closer look, this move becomes even more interesting, especially since they have to face star quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, and Dak Prescott twice a year.

Plus, Carter is entering the NFL draft after the best season of his collegiate career, where he had 68 combined tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 12.0 sacks. To make it more obvious, the Giants have already missed out on a star pass rusher back in the 2021 NFL draft. And the way things are shaping up, they’re probably not going to pass on another star pass rusher this year.

The Giants would want to avoid Micah Parsons’ mistake

Back in 2020, the Giants’ defense actually had some serious bite. Like, they weren’t just showing up—they were holding teams to just 22 points a game, ranking in the top 10 for points allowed. Blake Martinez was everywhere—he had 151 total tackles, the man was a machine. Leonard Williams popped off with 11.5 sacks, and James Bradberry snagged 3 picks and 18 pass breakups. Like, the offense was mid, but the defense? Lowkey keeping things respectable every week.

Now, imagine Micah Parsons on their roster the very next season. Sure, Parsons has been one of the best pass rushers in the league currently, but the Giants had an option to pick him in the 2021 NFL draft. See, the New York team had the No. 11 overall pick, and they’re initially targeting DeVonta Smith. But nah, the Eagles jumped in and snagged him first at 10th overall.

Right after that went down, Parsons was still available at 11, but did the Giants pick him? Absolutely not. In fact, they opted to trade down, struck a deal with the Chicago Bears, and moved from the 11th to the 20th pick. And just like that, the Giants ditched Micah Parsons to select the wide receiver Kadarius Toney at No. 20. The result?

Toney was traded to the Chiefs in the next season, and Parsons? Well, the guy went on to become one of the best pass rushers in the league after the Cowboys selected him at 12th overall. Cut to the present, and he’s now eyeing a massive contract extension that could make him the highest-paid non-QB. As for the Giants… let’s just say they got another option to pick a generational talent by drafting Abdul Carter.

After all, they’ve already signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in their QB room. Long story short: when Peter Schrager predicted that the Giants could draft Abdul Carter at No. 3, he wasn’t talking the talk. Let’s see what they choose on Thursday!