As you ponder whether the Giants will sign Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson or somebody else in free agency, don’t forget what this offseason is all about for John Mara’s bottomed-out franchise.

Finding the quarterback of the future.

And to that end, the Giants are in a difficult position in the 2025 NFL Draft, because they won in Week 17 last year against the Colts and botched their shot at the No. 1 overall pick.

They wound up at No. 3, behind two quarterback-needy teams (Titans and Browns) who could grab Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, which would be awful news for the desperate Giants.

Then again, they could always trade up to No. 1, in a deal with the Titans — if, that is, Tennessee is willing to do the deal.

On Tuesday, the NFL released its compensatory draft picks. And as it turns out, the Giants got a third-round selection (not a fourth-rounder, as initially projected) for losing safety Xavier McKinney in free agency last offseason to Green Bay.

So that pick will be No. 99 (at the end of Round 3), not No. 134 (at the end of Round 4). This gives the Giants a bit more ammo if they want to trade up to No. 1 and pick Ward.

Of course, the biggest hurdle here remains the quarterback-needy Titans being willing to actually pass on Ward and trade down to No. 3.

What will it take to get a deal done (other than the Titans being OK with passing on Ward, who tops a weak quarterback draft)?

Well, the Giants might have to give up next year’s first-round pick, along with this year’s second-rounder and third-rounder.

In addition to picking third in Round 1, the Giants are at No. 34 in Round 2 and (now) at Nos. 65 and 99 in Round 3. So they can ship off the 34th and 65th picks (plus next year’s first-rounder), move up to No. 1 — and still retain a third-rounder (No. 99).

Or perhaps they could somehow retain No. 65 and package No. 99 with No. 34 (and next year’s first-rounder, plus another mid-round pick) to get the trade done with the Titans.

Again, the Titans need a quarterback — and would have to be OK with not selecting Ward atop this year’s draft. If the Titans really want Ward, they’re not going to trade down.

That was the case before the Giants learned they’d have the 99th pick (instead of the 134th pick) as compensation for letting McKinney walk. And it remains true now. Nothing has changed in that regard.

But when you’re a rebuilding (to put it politely) team like the Giants, you need as many premium draft picks as you can get — whether you actually make those picks or use them to trade up to No. 1 for a quarterback.

Hot-seat Giants general manager Joe Schoen will have five picks in the top 105. That’s because he selects third in Round 4 (No. 105) after having those four picks in the first three rounds.

Now that the dust has settled on comp picks, the Giants possess the NFL’s sixth-best haul of picks, according to Tankathon’s power rankings. They trail the Browns, Jaguars, Titans, Patriots and 49ers.

But ultimately, when it comes to the Giants’ search for a long-term quarterback answer, the bottom-line question remains the same: Will the Titans be agreeable to passing on Ward and trading down to No. 3?

If the Giants hadn’t beaten the Colts in Week 17, they wouldn’t have had to worry about being at the mercy of the Titans’ decisions.

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Darryl Slater may be reached at [email protected].