What is Giants' best quarterback move amid Shedeur Sanders, Matthew Stafford rumors?

The New York Giants are one of the most fascinating teams in the NFL heading into this offseason, because they're at a critical juncture when it comes to their future.

On one hand, New York is in prime position to take themselves a new franchise quarterback. They draft third overall, and there's likely to be either Colorado's Shedeur Sanders or Miami's Cam Ward on the board. If they want one of them, they'll likely be able to get them.

There's just one problem: scouts aren't particularly sold on Sanders as being worth a high-level pick at this stage. He's widely viewed as the second-best passer on the board, but big questions remain about his skill level and upside in one of the weakest quarterback drafts in a long time.

There are also potential answers in the veteran market. ESPN reports Jameis Winston has thrown his name into the ring for the job, and the Giants have had interest in the Rams' Matthew Stafford for some time now.

But what is their best option? Stick with the young gun as the face of the franchise? Or ride with a veteran and hope that the market for potential elite young quarterbacks improves the next time they're in the market for one? Let's break it down.

Winston is probably the least appealing choice of the three. He's firmly a known quantity in the NFL at this point, and unfortunately for him, that quantity is chaos. He's not a bad quarterback; he can make most of the throws and is good for a few legitimate highlight games a year. But he's also not a good quarterback; he's going to throw some truly abysmal interceptions, and make decisions that leave fans, coaches, and even the other team utterly baffled.

He's a fair bit better than the Giants' options last season, but that bar is so low it's under the floor. That said, if your goal is just to tread water for a couple seasons, and maybe sniff the playoffs without getting so much better that landing a top quarterback is going to be impossible, Winston isn't a terrible option for a year or two. He's going to be fun, and he's going to win you some games you probably wouldn't have won otherwise (while also losing you a couple games you probably would have won).

In the short-term, the best answer is almost undoubtedly Stafford. Even though he's 37, he still has the arm strength and accuracy to be an elite NFL quarterback, and giving him a receiver corps of Malik Nabers, Wan'Dale Robinson, and maybe Cooper Kupp (if Nabers' petitioning on social media has any impact) would be a surefire way to get back to contention quickly.

But how much longer is Stafford going to play? Two years? Three years? And then the Giants will find themselves right back here, without a quarterback, without a real plan to find one.

As for Sanders, it's awfully tempting to go with the youngest option here, the new face of the franchise who has shown just as much interest in coming to you as you've shown in drafting him. But of the three options, Sanders is undoubtedly the riskiest. We have no idea what he'll be at the NFL level, no idea if he can succeed, or if he's another Daniel Jones (although that feels unlikely; Jones was a massive reach at the time, a player no one saw having the potential the Giants seemed to think he had).

If you miss on Sanders (and to be clear there is a definite chance of a miss), it's the latest four-plus year setback for an organization that badly botched their evaluation of a young quarterback the last time they had to make this decision. A wrong answer would surely mean the end of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll's tenure in New York, and would burn what little goodwill ownership has with the fan base to ashes.

The best (but likely most difficult) option would be a combination of Sanders and Stafford, to address short-term worries while giving you a chance to evaluate Sanders' ability to be an NFL quarterback without risking the team's future. Getting Stafford without sacrificing that number three overall pick would be incredibly tricky, but if Schoen can pull it off, that's your best bet.

Otherwise, it's going to come down to what this team actually wants. Do they want to win now while recognizing they could end up in the exact same spot in a couple years? Or do they want to take the shot at the future?

Given this organization's history, that answer is virtually impossible to know for sure.

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