Shedeur Sanders should be quarterbacking the Giants or the Jets next season
The Jets and Giants are still trying to get it right. The Jets have not made the playoffs in 13 years, the longest active streak in the NFL. It is almost certain to extend another year. The Giants have reached the postseason just twice over the past 11 seasons, and it will be 12 when they complete this season.
University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, 22, could be a force multiplier in helping New York's two NFL teams reverse this negative trend. The leaders of both organizations should be unwaveringly determined to make him the face of their franchise.
Aaron Rodgers will not be back as the Jets QB next season. Daniel Jones is virtually finished as the Giants starting signal caller. Shedeur should be up next for one of the teams even if it requires trading future high draft picks, which might be the price if neither has the NFL draft's No. 1 overall pick at the end of this season. If it takes moving up in the draft, then that's what they should do.
Shedeur has stardom stamped all over him as a son of Deion Sanders, one of the greatest football players and athletes of all-time and the head coach of the 7-2 Colorado Buffaloes. Shedeur's pedigree and resume affirm his talent — he's the reigning Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week after leading the AP's No. 18 ranked team as of Tuesday morning to a 41-27 win over Texas Tech this past Saturday, passing for 293 yards and three touchdowns.
Starting his collegiate career with his father at HBCU Jackson State after being recruited by numerous top programs out of Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas near Dallas, Shedeur was awarded the 2022 Deacon Jones Trophy as HBCU's most outstanding player. He has risen to be the No. 1 draft-eligible pro prospect at his position.
Some evaluators have Texas' redshirt freshman Arch Manning, the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning, who won't be draft eligible until 2026, as the most promising. That's debatable. However, Manning does align with the Giants' historically safe and relatively conservative quarterback personality profile. So does Jones, even though it hasn't led to winning many games.
Shedeur, similar to Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, is built for the immense media spotlight of NewYork City having been raised as an elite athlete of a famous father whose magnetic persona as Prime is iconic.
Contrary to perceptions as a product of Deion's outsized image, Shedeur is not brash or verbose. He has been characterized as a mature grinder by his coaches and those who know him best. This season, under the tutelage of Pat Shurmur, Colorado's offensive coordinator and the Giants' head coach for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, the 6-2, 215 pound prospect has further sharpened his skill set as a lethally accurate passer who can make every throw and cerebrally dissect defensive coverages.
Related: After four straight losses, the 2-7 Giants can't create a winning formula
Securing a transformational head coach and transformative quarterback to lift them from the depths of the NFL's standings and build a sustained playoff contender has been elusive for both the Jets and Giants. The Jets are 3-7 this season heading into this Sunday's home game versus the Indianapolis Colts and the Giants 2-8 entering their bye-week. Both occupy the bottom space in their respective divisions, the Jets are tied with the New England Patriots for last place in the AFC East and the Giants alone in the NFC East basement.
The Jets will have a new head coach next season after team owner Robert "Woody" Johnson fired former head coach Robert Saleh on October 8 in the midst of a 2-3 start. Since, they have regressed even further. The Jets are 1-4 under Jeff Ulbrich, who was elevated from defensive coordinator to interim head coach status.
Several weeks ago when the Giants were 2-5, co-owner John Mara said he wasn't going to terminate third-year head coach Brian Daboll after this season, implying he would bring him back for another year. Now, after losing 20-17 in overtime to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in Munich, Germany, Mara's calculus might change. The 3-7 Panthers were widely considered the worst team in the league before beating the Giants.
The Giants and Jets need a singular figure to do what dynamic rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has done in being central to dramatically changing the culture of the Washington Commanders from a dysfunctional franchise to playoff contender.
Shedeur Sanders can be that guy.
