The North Carolina Tarheels and Pittsburgh Panthers squared off on Thursday night with the 21st-ranked Panthers coming away with the 30-23 victory.

For their fans, that was the big story. But for NFL teams, it was more about scouting the talent in early preparation for the 2022 NFL draft.

The New York Giants were among 21 organizations who had scouts in attendance, joining the likes of the Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals and many others.

The primary focus for many scouts were the quarterbacks — North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett. Both are considered potential first-round picks, but Howell’s stock appears to be dropping (significantly) while Pickett’s is rising.

In some recent mock drafts, Howell is still going in Round 1. In others, he has fallen all the way to Day 3.

On Thursday night, Howell completed 22 of this 33 passes for 296 yards, two touchdowns and one game-sealing overtime interception. He added another 28 yards and one score on the ground, although he averaged just 1.6 yards per carry.

Pickett, meanwhile, completed 25 of his 43 passes for 346 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. But his 65.0 QBR was actually lower than that of Howell (67.9).

Whether or not the Giants are even in the market for a quarterback come April remains to be seen, but they were clearly doing their due diligence anyway. And it’s not as if the gunslingers were the only prospects worth keeping an eye on — they were just the biggest story.