Giants have best chances for No. 1 selection entering Ravens game

In last week’s loss, the Giants ended the longest streak of games without an interception in recorded NFL history. They posted their first sack since Week 10 and, if not for an impressive feat of athleticism from Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, nearly registered their first win since Oct. 6.

And as New York (2-11) prepares for Baltimore (8-5) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS), the Giants are the most likely club to enter the 2025 draft with the No. 1 overall selection. According to Pro Football Network, New England (3-10) is second on that list and it’s not close (18.0 percent). While the Raiders (2-11) would have the No. 1 pick if the season ended today, the Giants currently have a 38.9-percent chance to have it at the end of Week 18.

Following the Ravens, New York has to visit a team battling for an NFC South title, Atlanta (6-7). Then, the Giants get another team in the playoff hunt, Indianapolis (6-7). They close the season on the road against the first-place Eagles (11-2).

A contingent of Giants personnel led by general manager Joe Schoen visited Boulder, Colo., last month to meet with Colorado head coach Deion Sanders with regard to his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Wherever and whoever the Giants select, whether Schoen is in the team’s draft room on April 24 isn’t set in stone. And the graduate-level question isn’t whether the team can convince the Sanders family that the Giants are the best fit. It’s whether keeping Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll creates the risk of falling into a Chicago Bears pattern of firing a regime less than a year after drafting a first-round quarterback — something the Giants risk by keeping the current leadership.

In the common-draft era (1967-present), New York has never held the No. 1 overall selection. The Giants drafted Saquon Barkley (2018) and Lawrence Taylor (1981) with second-overall selections but the last time New York picked first overall was prior to the merger with the AFL, when the club chose running back Tucker Frederickson in 1965.

Strength of schedule serves as the NFL’s draft-order tiebreaker and, among the eight teams currently with three-or-fewer wins, the Giants have played the hardest slate. New York’s opponents so far have combined for a .543 winning percentage. The Giants’ remaining four opponents are a combined 31-21 (.596).

New England is fresh off a Week 14 bye. The Patriots, whose opponents so far have a combined .462 winning percentage, are scheduled to visit Arizona (6-7) and Buffalo (10-3) before finishing the year with consecutive home games, against the Chargers (8-5) and a rematch with the Bills (10-3).

Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson has lost only twice to an NFC team, two weeks ago against Philadelphia and Oct. 16, 2022, at MetLife Stadium to Daniel Jones and the Giants. Jackson is 23-2 with a 103.5 passer rating (454 of 695, 43 touchdown passes, nine interceptions) against the conference.

For more information on the Giants and Ravens, visit the N.Y. Giants and Baltimore team pages at ProFootballPost.com.