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Giants Now: Matt Miller's 2-round mock draft

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ESPN's Matt Miller releases two-round mock draft

With the college all-star games now in the rearview mirror, the first phase of the pre-draft process is complete.

Many of the top players from around the nation put on strong performances in the Shrine Bowl or Senior Bowl. For many of them, their next opportunity to showcase their talent for NFL teams will be at the NFL Combine at the end of the month.

After spending time at both the Shrine and Senior Bowls the last two weeks, ESPN's Matt Miller released a new, two-round mock draft.

With the third overall pick, Miller has the Giants selecting Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

"While (Malik) Nabers was fantastic, he needs a reliable point guard under center," wrote Miller. "Ward has a big-time arm, excels at finding passing windows and can create with his feet. He led the FBS with 39 touchdown passes in 2024 and was second in QBR (88.7).

"The Giants -- who were 28th in QBR this season at 44.9 -- need a quarterback who can move in the pocket and has the arm talent to maximize Nabers' special skills. Ward is that quarterback and can help turn things around for this offense."

After transferring to Miami for the 2024 season, Ward went on to put together a dominant campaign for the Hurricanes, which led to him finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

The 6-foot-2, 223-pound signal-caller completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.

In addition to his production as a passer, the young quarterback also enjoyed plenty of success running the football. Across his final three collegiate seasons between Miami and Washington State, Ward rushed for 17 touchdowns.

Ward earned numerous accolades for his performance, including Consensus All-American, ACC Player of the Year, and the Davey O'Brien Award, just to name a few.

View photos of 2025 NFL Draft prospect Cam Ward, quarterback out of the University of Miami.

Moving on to Day 2 of the draft, the Giants hold the second pick in the second round (No. 34) and the first pick in the third round (No. 65).

When it came to the 34th overall pick, Miller projected Georgia safety Malaki Starks to the Giants.

"After finding a quarterback in Round 1, the Giants could grab a defensive signal-caller in the second round with Starks," Miller wrote. "The 6-foot-1, 205-pound free safety is versatile enough to see reps at slot cornerback, but he fits best working over the top of the defense."

Starks enjoyed three strong seasons at Georgia before forgoing his senior year to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft.

He played in 15 games as a freshman back in 2022 and registered 68 total tackles (44 solo) to go with his two interceptions, seven passes defensed and two tackles for loss in a season that resulted in a CFP National Championship for Georgia.

The following year, Starks was named first-team All-SEC and consensus All-American after registering three interceptions and seven passes defensed across 14 games.

He rounded out his collegiate career with a career-high 77 total tackles (52 solo), one interception, three passes defensed and four tackles for loss this past season. He was once again named first-team All-SEC along with second-team All-American for his performance.

Here is a complete look at the first six picks in Miller's latest mock draft:

  1. Tennessee Titans - Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State
  2. Cleveland Browns - Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
  3. New York Giants - Cam Ward, QB, Miami
  4. New England Patriots - Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars - Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
  6. Las Vegas Raiders - Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado

View photos of every NFL player selected with the third overall pick since the first draft in 1936.

View photos of Dexter Lawrence and Malik Nabers at the 2025 Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, where Eli Manning 3-peated as head coach of the NFC.