By the time the Giants wrapped their private workout with Shedeur Sanders last week, the evaluation had already fractured the room. It’s not that the Colorado quarterback lacks talent—his poise under pressure, accuracy in the middle of the field, and command of the offense stood out all season. But front offices don’t draft traits in isolation; they draft projection. And while he thrived in chaos, behind an offensive line that led the Big 12 in sacks, scouts remain unsure how much of his play style is survival instinct versus baked-in tendency. The longer he holds the b-ll, the harder it becomes to trust him. The longer teams study him, the less consensus there is on where he belongs, which was further confirmed by an incriminating revelation just yesterday.

You see, for a long time, experts and analysts have been divided on Sanders’ prospects. That has led him to be called the biggest mystery of the draft. First, there was ESPN Jeremy Fowler who reported just last month that “four of those people [NFL executives] said no” when asked if the signal caller was a first-round talent. Then there was CBS Sports’ Josh Pate who opined earlier this month: “[T]here is no way [Shedeur] should have been able to do what he did behind that offensive line, with very little running game.” And yet, Sanders finished his college career with a whopping 4,134 yards, a 74% pass completion percentage, and 37 TDs. However, there are flaws in him too. There’s his athleticism, unnecessary risk-taking, and the way he holds on to the ball for too long.

There are projections of him going at No. 8, 9, or even as far back as No. 21. The rumors of him going No. 3 were weak, but still present. However, intel from Todd McShay on April 20 is adding fuel to this idea. “I told you I had that conversation last Sunday…don’t close the book on Shedeur with the Giants. Something’s going on there. Something’s going on and it was and it still is. Maybe,” he said, before diving into what’s been going wrong lately. “I’m not sure [what happened] in the last 24 hours. But, as of 48 hours ago, there’s still a little push from the personnel department [of the Giants],” he revealed. That would involve key figures like Giants’ senior vice president and GM Joe Schoen and scouting personnel. However, there’s a twist in this development (read: resistance), too.

“The coaching staff, obviously headed by Brian Daboll, the coach, is anti-taking Shedeur at three.” McShay added, “It’s not a large handful of people in the league that I truly trust [who] can understand offense…and can develop quarterbacks the way I respect Brian Daboll. I’ve said that to you from the beginning, it has not panned out in wins and losses.” As HC, Daboll is in desperate need of an improvement, failing to meet the mark in his 3 seasons. McShay is of the opinion that Daboll has an agenda behind not pursuing Sanders.

“Maybe he’s got foresight to know it’s not this year,” said McShay. “I can definitively count on this guy this man’s expertise on offense and the quarterback position,” he reaffirmed. Daboll has been behind the development of QBs like Josh Allen, Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens, and Brett Favre. Shedeur has had a great season as Colorado’s QB, but the hesitations from his prospects continue to exist. Moreover, Daboll is coming off an extremely poor season, and there’s not much of a need for a QB either.

This truly is a weird situation for Shedeur, because he was also recently hosted by the Giants for a private workout, which reportedly “went well.” While the team and the head coach have been quiet about what went down, here’s what Fowler had to say about the workout: “I’m told it did go well. I’m told that head coach Brian Daboll likes to put those quarterbacks in private workouts in adverse situations, different situations, get them out of their comfort zone of a normal pro day setting. So, all of that was good. Otherwise, the Giants are not saying a thing about these workouts.” 

Unfortunately, there have also been some more signs about the Giants’ reluctance, especially from team president John Mara…

There’s no energy from John Mara about Shedeur Sanders

A definitive takeaway is that John Mara is staying away from this whole revisit at Shedeur Sanders, according to McShay. And his chances with the Giants have always been slim. With Sanders still participating in the workout, many thought there was hope for him. “I think there’s a lot of smoke,” theorized insider Dianna Russini. “The owner is not even going to the private workout. So, that tells you what you need to know,” she said. If the head of the team remains unenthusiastic about having you in his team, that should end the story once and for all.

The Giants would not be leaning towards picking a QB for No. 3. However, they could go for other positions. There’s the dire TE room, and also the offensive and defensive tackles. Moreover, John Mara has reportedly sparked an interest in having Kyle McCord on board. And we know, Shedeur Sanders has some serious competition to fight in the QB class in the draft. There’s no way he can fight Cam Ward. And, amidst names like McCord or Jaxson Dart, Sanders doesn’t really have a steady ground for himself.

Is Shedeur Sanders a great QB? Absolutely. Are his strengths enough to instill confidence in teams for drafting him? Probably not. Maybe the personnel team will report back to Mara and Daboll for one last time about Shedeur. But if the team’s boss was never really up for the QB, it says a lot about how the Giants view Shedeur Sanders.