Do the Giants Trust Joe Schoen to Build a Contending Team? Pt. I
GM Joe Schoen is nearing the end of his third year at the helm of the NY Football Giants.
When Schoen took over, this team was a mess.
Is the team better than what Dave Gettleman left him? Can he deliver a playoff team in 2025?
Will he even get the chance to do that?
Former Giants Head Coach Bill Parcells always stated, “You are what your record is.” Overall, the record in the Schoen era is 17-29-1, with one playoff appearance.
Looking at his performance so far, we can see mixed results at best. Owner John Mara has already endorsed both Schoen and HC Brian Daboll.
But those were just a few losses in an ugly 2-11 season. Two pillars of measuring a front office stand out: drafting and free agency.
Let’s take a closer look at the Joe Schoen’s drafts.
Building Through The Draft
PHOTO: Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
One thing we have seen in Joe Schoen’s tenure is he is a road warrior. Every weekend, he is at anywhere from 1-3 college games, scouting talent at every position around the country. He cut his teeth as a scout. It’s hard for him to step too far away from it. He views it as integral to his draft planning.
If it’s not him on a college campus, it’s Assistant GM Brandon Brown or Tim McDonnell, Director of Player Personnel.
2022
Schoen and Assistant GM Brandon Brown have overseen three drafts for the Giants. In total, they’ve drafted 24 players; 21 are still part of the Giants family. Schoen’s first draft, his largest with 11 picks, was done using mostly Gettleman’s scouting staff with the processes put in place by Gettleman’s front office. Schoen did bring in some key contributors and relied heavily on the coaching staff to do player evaluations and workouts before the draft.
For Schoen, 2022 was about introducing his scouting and player evaluation methods, introducing upgraded technology, and evaluating the scouting staff.
The 2022 draft has yielded 5 starters from 11 picks. The biggest plus pick has been ILB Micah McFadden, who was picked #147 in the 5th round. McFadden was the only player in this draft to never miss a game in 2022. More importantly, he has fought to a starting ILB role side-by-side with standout ILB Bobby Okereke for the last two years. The biggest bust from the 2022 draft class has to be the #7 pick, RT Evan Neal. Neal has struggled with injuries and technique for three years. If not for LT Andrew Thomas’ season-ending injury, Neal would not be starting this year. Overall, 9 of 11 picks are still with the team.
2023
It wasn’t until 2023 that Schoen could call the draft his own. As a result of the surprisingly winning 2022 record (9-7-1) and a playoff win, the Giants’ first of seven picks was #24 in the first round. Here, they chose CB Deonte Banks to shore up a glaring weakness in the secondary. They later chose another CB, Trey Hawkins, while also picking their starting center, John Michael-Schmitz, and speedy WR Jalin Hyatt. Banks contributed right away and was viewed as the Giants’ CB1 going into this year.
In 2024, he struggled and, at times, played lazy football, which resulted in a brief benching from the coaches. Overall, 6 of 7 picks are still with the team with 3 starters. While the team regressed with a porous offensive line and injuries to several key players, the team fell to 6-11 in 2023 and back to a high (but not high enough) draft pick.
2024
With his scouting system firmly in place, Schoen had a very good, if not excellent, 2024 draft. 5 of 6 draft picks, led by WR Malik Nabers, are starters for the Giants this season. DBs Tyler Nubin and Andru Phillips are both aggressive players with good instincts, hard hitters who are not afraid to tackle. Tyrone Tracy has been the RB1, supplanting free agent RB Devin Singletary. TE Theo Johnson is starting over Daniel Bellinger and reminds me of Mark Bavaro. And it looks like ILB Darius Muasau will get a start this weekend instead of the injured Bobby Okereke, making it 6 for 6.
So far, Joe Schoen has drafted very well. Fourteen of his 24 picks are regular starters, with another 7 providing solid depth in the 53-man roster. There have been injuries that have derailed or delayed some draft picks from being consistent contributors.
The Giants’ talent and depth have improved via the draft each year since Schoen arrived in 2022. This is why I believe Joe Schoen and the staff need at least another year to continue building this team through the draft.
We’ll discuss Schoen’s handling of free agency in our next article.
PHOTO: Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
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