That and more takeaways from Schoen’s pre-draft press confernece
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen, in possession of the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is playing a cloak-and-dagger game of trying not to let anyone see his true intentions.
“You try your best to keep your cards close,” Schoen said on Thursday during his pre-draft press conference. “I think at six it’s important to keep things close to the vest. There’s a competitive advantage to that, to people not knowing what you’re thinking.”
To this point, it appears Schoen and the Giants organization have done a good job of that. We have recently seen reports from some NFL Draft insiders certain that the Giants want to move up for a quarterback, whether that be Drake Maye of North Carolina or J.J. McCarthy of Michigan. We have seen reports from other insiders claiming that the Giants are not in on McCarthy at all at the top of the draft.
That variance in opinion is exactly what Schoen and the Giants want as next week’s draft draws closer.
“My job is to do what’s best for the franchise,” Schoen said. “So, if there’s an opportunity to go up, move back, stay, whether it’s in the first round, third round, fifth round, that’s what we’ll do.”
With uncertainty surrounding quarterback Daniel Jones, and the Giants having spent significant time with all of the top quarterbacks in this draft class, Schoen was of course peppered with questions about the possibility of selecting a quarterback.
Despite all of that time and effort spent on the quarterback class, Schoen said he doesn’t feel he must draft a quarterback at any point in the draft.
“I don’t think so,” Schoen said. “I think with Drew’s (Lock’s) experience, he started games and played, and Daniel’s experience and then what Tommy (DeVito) did last year, another year in the system, Tommy’s come a long way.
“So, no, I think we can go into the season with the three that we have and I’d be comfortable with that.”
Whether you want to believe the GM on that is up to you.
Grading the QB class
Here is what Schoen said about the quarterback class:
“The quarterback class, it’s a good quarterback class, and I think it’s deep,” he said. “You look at some of the guys and the amount of games some of these guys have started and played, I mean, it’s impressive. And I really haven’t seen a class like that with some of the quarterbacks that have started and played as many games as they have at a high level. So it’s been really fun getting to know these guys.
“Again, it’s a unique position. There’s only so many people walking planet Earth that can play that position at a high level. So really getting around these guys, we like to do it every year and getting to know them, I think it’s important.”
Schoen did say that scouting quarterbacks is about more than the game film.
“All positions have different critical factors that we focus in on. So, I mean, with the quarterback position, we’ve been through this before with Dabs [head coach Brian Daboll] and I, and it’s not just what you see on film,” Schoen said. “At this particular position, you can take what you see on film, but I think it’s equally as important what you can’t see on film … I think the film is one thing, but also evaluating who they are as people and how they’ll fit into your culture and your franchise is equally important.”
‘Let the board talk to us’
One of the things I mentioned this year in the ‘Big Blue View rules for draft success’ is the idea that when it comes to quarterbacks it might be more forgivable to swing and miss on a guy you love than to have a guy you love within reach, not take the swing and then watch that player succeed elsewhere.
So, on Thursday I asked Schoen which scenario would be harder to live with.
“You [have] got to be comfortable,” Schoen said. “We’re having all those conversations now, and it’s not just the quarterback position. Again, there’s other positions, and I think when they’re on the same level, that’s where a lot of times you’ve got a corner on this line and a defensive tackle on this line. That’s where you take in a team need if you see them equally in terms of how you see the prospect and the grades that you have on them.
“So you let your board talk to you, you go through all these conversations, and, again, we’re going to do what’s best for the franchise and all of our meetings and all of our preparation, and when we set the board, it’s all what’s best for the New York Giants. So I’m confident we’re going to get a good player next Thursday, whatever position that is, and we’ll sleep good at night knowing we did all the preparation and, we let the board talk to us.”
Schoen, incidentally, said the Giants’ draft board is not yet finalized. He said he hopes to have that done on Friday.
A tell when talking wide receivers?
In discussing wide receivers in the class, Schoen wasn’t going to be baited into saying the ones generally considered the top three — Marvin Harrison Jr., Malike Nabers, Rome Odunze — were head and shoulders above the rest of the class.
He talked about the depth of the class, how much adding a play-making receiver would help the offense, and about how due to the new rule many of the receivers in the class could add value as kickoff returners.
If you want to take Schoen’s focus on the depth of the draft as a tell that he would prefer quarterback in Round 1 if he can get one, that’s up to you.
“I do think it’s a deep receiver draft. I do think there are, again, they come in different shapes and sizes and speeds, but I do think it’s a deep wide receiver draft from top to bottom, depending on what you’re looking for,” Schoen said. “There’s some receivers that can wear multiple hats, not just as a receiver, but also as returners. So, yeah, I do think it’s a good draft.
“I think there will be several taken in the first round.”
Schoen did admit that a No. 1 type wide receiver “can really help you out.”
“Especially the way we’re constructed now,” Schoen said. “Jalin Hyatt can take the top off, Wan’Dale [Robinson] working in the slot. I think you can really see what he was able to do late in the season when he was finally healthy and, Darius Slayton has been uber-consistent during his time.
“If you add another wide receiver there, whether it’s in the top 10 or later in the draft, because of the depth of the class, I do think it gives you options. And it’s going to help the offense in general.
We have to score more. At the end of the day, we need to score more points. And adding a, if it’s a number one receiver, whatever you want to call it, just a better receiving weapon is going to help everybody.”
Up or down?
This is what everyone wants to know. Will the Giants go up for a quarterback? Stay put and let the draft come to them? With only six picks in this draft, will they move down and add picks?
“I don’t think anybody’s ready to move right now. I know people are listening, which, we’ll all do that,” Schoen said. “I think those exploratory talks and conversations will happen here shortly. You’re still gathering information. I think those exploratory talks will happen over the next, I would say, 48 to 72 hours. Those will start happening. You’ll get a feel for who’s open to moving and who’s not.”
Schoen certainly wasn’t going to indicate the Giants are frothing at the mouth to move up for a quarterback. He did indicate that he has been getting calls about moving back.
“I haven’t said we’re going to move up or we will or we won’t,” Schoen said. “Surprisingly at six we’ve gotten a lot of calls from people behind us. So I didn’t think it would be, I didn’t think I’d have as much activity at six from people behind me as we’ve gotten. So those are options too as we look at if we go back, how far back do we want to go?
“Where does it make sense for us to move back and what else can we hit with that? So we’re taking all that, whether we go up, back, stay, all that’s being talked about right now as we’re going through it.”
One thing Schoen admitted is that he knows the Giants are “not one player away or two players.”
Faith in Daniel Jones?
We can’t close without a little on the rehabbing Giants’ quarterback. Schoen said reports that he has “buyer’s remorse” over giving Jones a four-year, $160 million contract are “not true.”
“He’s working his tail off. One of the things, you go back and you watch the 2022 season or all of his throws in 2022. He was a 25-year-old player that played at a high level, and we won 10 games and we won a playoff game,” Schoen said. “And I’m still confident in Daniel, the way he’s wired, what he showed us in 2022.”
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