Giants’ Brian Daboll emerges from dark place well-versed on QBs, draft

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has spent a lot of time in a dark place — the film room — since the end of the regular season, and he’s already reaping the benefits.

Daboll emerged from the film room on Tuesday morning at the NFL annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., one of the first times this offseason anyone spotted him without a clicker in his hand.

Daboll said he personally watched every snap in 13-year veteran Russell Wilson’s career — over 10,000 and more than 7,400 pass plays — to become familiar with exactly where he excels and what the Giants’ playcaller might need to avoid as Wilson gets to work with his fourth NFL team.

“Did a lot of work on him,” Daboll said. “He makes good decisions with the football. He’s athletic. He’s a little bit older — so maybe not as athletic as ’13 and ’14 — but certainly has ability to use his legs, extend plays, create explosive plays.”

The Giants brought back Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen with a stern directive to fix the QB position. It’s a hard reset that began last November, where Daniel Jones’ six-year run with the franchise ended with his outright release. Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito didn’t fare well behind a line besieged by injuries and weren’t fully healthy themselves.

The Giants are still addressing the QB depth chart, even after Wilson and Jameis Winston signed, and Daboll doesn’t rule out the possibility of selecting a prospect with the No. 3 pick in the draft. He doesn’t expect the Giants to trade out of the No. 3 slot, even to move up for Miami’s Cam Ward, but with three more weeks to go, Daboll also said there are numerous questions left to answer.

“The face of a franchise is a quarterback, and it’s not an easy position to evaluate. It’s not an easy position to coach. It’s not an easy position to play,” Daboll said. “You do the best job you can to try to find the right one for your team.”

Daboll won’t be on the road — Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders is among the top prospects in the draft and has a pro day Friday — but said he’s hosted a number of private workouts with quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class. And he’s been seeing plenty of Ward and Sanders in the film room, scratching notes and creating reports that could be useful if the Giants opt to add to the QB room.

“We’ve got three weeks to keep grinding on them. They’re good players. They’re good people,” Daboll said.

His film study of Sanders includes throws to a player Daboll can’t hide his affinity for: Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. A wide receiver and cornerback at Colorado, Hunter has piqued the Giants’ interest and is the No. 1 prospect in the draft, according to ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.

Hunter had 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns as a receiver to go with four interceptions and 11 passes defensed at cornerback.

But would New York dare to double up on top-10 picks at wide receiver with 2024 sixth overall pick Malik Nabers on the roster?

Well, the answer to that question lies at the end of a few thousand more plays, Daboll said.

“There’s a lot of tape. It’s really remarkable what he has done and the ability to perform at that level not really getting a rest,” Daboll said. “He’s been a fun player to evaluate and to meet and talk with. He’s a heck of a player.”

–Field Level Media