MOBILE, Ala. — There are boxes. Always boxes.
How does he throw it? How does he run? How does he learn? How is his personality?
Check or no check?
Here is a different one: What’s his dad like?
“It’s a little bit cliché, but he checks all the boxes of a dad that’s a football coach and the passion that he approaches the game with,’’ Giants general manager Joe Schoen said Tuesday from the Senior Bowl.
Schoen was referring to the son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and the famous father, Deion.
They are not a package deal, but they are connected far more than most — when it comes to football and projecting what sort of NFL player Shedeur will be, and what sort of player-dad Deion will be.
Shedeur Sanders is not attending this all-star gathering, but he did show up last week in Frisco, Texas, for the Shrine Bowl — though he opted not to participate in practice or play in the East-West Shrine Bowl game.
There was no need for him to step onto the field. His work in college at Colorado vaulted him into the highest stratosphere as far as the NFL draft, as either he or Cam Ward will be the first quarterback selected, and it is likely both are off the board within the first five picks.
They might go first and second, to the Titans and Browns, and the Giants at No. 3 would surely take whichever one of them might be available.
The Giants have been on the trail of these two quarterbacks from start to finish of the recently completed college season, and they will stay on the trail for the entire lead-up to the draft.
There were videos posted of Sanders chatting with Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll last week in Texas.
“He’s a great kid,’’ Schoen said, “Really good personality. Football smart.
“It was good getting the meeting. He’s had a really good career in Colorado, and obviously, look forward to getting to know all those guys the rest of the process.’’
Ward did not attend the Shrine event and he is not at the Senior Bowl. The Giants will meet with him, and all the other top prospects, in late February, at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis
The Giants will almost definitely add a quarterback in this upcoming draft. How much of an investment they make remains to be seen.
They plan to sign a veteran in free agency — which comes before the draft — and, depending on the quality and cost of that veteran, their plans for the draft will come into sharper focus.
There is no doubt the Giants want to find their next potential franchise quarterback in this draft to give them someone to build around with cost certainly for at least the next five years.
This week, the quarterbacks to watch are Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss and Jalen Milroe of Alabama, in that order.
The Giants contingent is here, watching and speaking with players. The group gets about 30 minutes with each quarterback they request to meet, in a quiet room with three other teams. The Giants are matched with the Dolphins, Saints and Bills, and that is not a random foursome.
Schoen previously worked with Jeff Ireland, the Saints assistant GM, and previously worked for the Dolphins. Schoen worked in Buffalo before coming to the Giants, and his closest friend in the industry is Bills GM Brandon Beane.
“So three teams that we’ve got really good relationships with,’’ Schoen said. “Similar process in how we go about things. Thorough in the way we approach the quarterback evaluation. So it was good marriage and the communication amongst the three other teams and how we were going to approach it. Very organized in how we were going to approach the meetings.’’
The Giants brought quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney into the meeting, and he and Daboll threw situations at the players.
“There’s a whiteboard,’’ Schoen said. “You can have them draw stuff. You can watch film with them. So really good opportunity to get an initial baseline of their football intelligence, what they’ve been taught, protection ability.’’
Last week with Sanders, it was what Schoen described as a “soft interview,’’ a few minutes with him before Sanders moved to another team.
Perhaps all this pays off in a big way. Perhaps the Giants do not like what is available at quarterback at No. 3 and select edge rusher Abdul Carter or cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.
“Yeah, we’re gonna be open to anything,’’ Schoen said. “We’re in a good position sitting at 3 with the players that are available. By process of elimination, we know we’re gonna get a good player regardless of what happens in the next couple of months, we know there’s gonna be a really good player there.’’
