For an article published on Tuesday, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post attempted to pour cold water over stories that previously claimed Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders bombed a predraft visit with Giants head coach Brian Daboll.
It appears Sanders did himself no favors via his chats with the Giants leading up to the draft.
“While the Giants worked out Shedeur Sanders the week before the draft, Sanders sensed much earlier that New York probably wasn’t in the cards for him. Sanders openly acknowledged during the predraft process that he didn’t hit it off with Giants coaches,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Wednesday morning.
Before the Giants traded back into the first round to select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart at pick No. 25, draft analyst and league insider Todd McShay of The Ringer revealed that Sanders allegedly wasn’t prepared for a meeting with Daboll, “got called out on it” and “didn’t like that.” Per McShay, Daboll “didn’t appreciate [Sanders] not liking it.”
That said, Schwartz more recently insisted that any story claiming “Sanders was unprepared for an install test Daboll gave him and then balked at Daboll’s criticism” is “untrue or overhyped.”
It was said before the draft that Daboll “warmed to” Dart during the club’s evaluations of prospects, and general manager Joe Schoen later “shifted his preference to Dart.” According to Fowler, Dart “checked all the boxes” for Daboll and Schoen as of the Monday meetings of draft week.
Meanwhile, Sanders’ reported handling of the predraft process caused him to fall to the fifth round before the Cleveland Browns traded up to grab him at pick No. 144. Dart is expected to spend at least a significant portion of his rookie season sitting behind veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, but Sanders should be given a chance to win the Cleveland starting job.
Regardless of whatever did or didn’t happen between Sanders and unnamed “Giants coaches,” the Big Blue staff is now hoping Dart will look like the better long-term option for the club come January. If such a scenario doesn’t play out, Giants co-owner John Mara could blow things up when the league’s next hiring cycle gets underway.
