Giants Country

Burning Questions Giants GM Joe Schoen Needs to Answer for Ownership

Giants GM Joe Schoen is likely safe as far as his job goes. But that doesn't mean he won't have some explaining to do to tea ownership.

Patricia Traina

Nov 24, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants owner John Mara, left, and New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen on the field before the game between the Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium.
Nov 24, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants owner John Mara, left, and New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen on the field before the game between the Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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For what it’s worth, there is strong sentiment around the Giants organization that general manager Joe Schoen will be retained despite the organization's decline since its 9-7-1 season in 2022.

Team co-owner John Mara, who has always craved stability for the family business, is said not to be keen on ripping everything down and starting from scratch.

But that doesn’t mean that Schoen is off the hook as far as sitting before Mara and team co-owner Steve Tisch to answer a few questions about what happened this year and the plan to fix it moving forward.

These topics could be on the agenda when the three men sit down for their meeting (assuming it hasn’t already happened).

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley
Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball past Dallas Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas (30) at Lincoln Financial Field. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

So about Saquon…

The clip from Hard Knocks in which Mara spoke of not being able to sleep at night if running back Saquon Barkley went to the Eagles in free agency will probably long haunt Schoen, whose intentions were good in terms of wanting to prioritize what had been a historically bad offensive line the year before.

That said, if there is one thing Schoen has done poorly since becoming general manager, it’s been letting the leadership that preceded him walk out the door–Barkley, Julian Love, Xavier McKinney, etc.

And not for nothing, but there is something to be said for keeping some of that leadership around to ensure a smooth transition in building a new culture.

Regarding Barkley, the Eagles ended up signing him for just $1 million more in guaranteed money. There were also times, as revealed in Hard Knocks when Schoen sounded almost bitter and insulted that Barkley didn’t take any of the offers he had made the year prior. 

Schoen, meanwhile, was also trying to convince himself that running backs lost their juice once they hit age 27. So, if there is a lesson for the general manager to learn, there is no one-size-fits-all in assessing who’s worth keeping and who isn’t, especially when it comes to leaders and good players.

New York Giants OT Evan Neal
Evan Neal of the Giants before the game. The New York Giants and New York Jets meet at MetLife Stadium in the final preseason game of the 2024 season for both teams. / Chris Pedota / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What changes will you make in evaluating college prospects? 

Schoen might have hit a home run in the 2024 draft, but overall, it’s probably fair to say that his three draft classes have been underwhelming. Not a single member of his classes was voted first-team Pro Bowl–the closest was receiver Malik Nabers, named as an alternate. 

While some might argue that the Pro Bowl is not a good measure of a draft class, that opinion fails to hold up when one considers that players and coaches do two-thirds of the voting.

Regarding the draft, Schoen’s record in the first round has left something to be desired. Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux looks like a solid add, but offensive tackle Evan Neal looks like a bust at tackle.

Nabers looks promising, but the same can’t be said of cornerback Deonte Banks, who badly regressed in his second season. It also took three tries before the Giants finally hit on a third-round pick under Schoen, that being slot cornerback Dru Phillips. Otherwise, other third-round picks under his watch, like receiver Jain Hyatt and offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu, can’t seem to buy their way on the field.

The draft, as everyone knows, is the lifeline of a team’s lifeline.  Simply put, the Giants need more classes to look like the 2024 version instead of the 2022 and 2023 versions.

RELATED: . Daboll Questions. Four Burning Questions Giants HC Brian Daboll Needs to Answer for Ownership. dark

How do you plan to improve the quarterback situation?

I get it that the Giants weren’t about to give up the farm last year for a quarterback in the draft, but what is still a head-scratcher is why the team, if it was looking to move on from Daniel Jones–and it was based on what we learned from Hard Knocks–didn’t assure Russell Wilson that he’d be allowed to compete for the job.

Instead, Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll both insisted the job was Jones’s once he was healthy, even though Jones didn’t play well enough before his season-ending ACL the year prior. And again, if the team was ready to trade up in the draft, it wasn’t to simply “protect” themselves in case Jones wasn’t ready.

Then, to further compound matters, Schoen didn’t add a quarterback from last year’s rich class, even as a flier. He didn’t necessarily have to draft one, but would it have been that hard to add an undrafted free agent just to see if something was there? 

The worst-case scenario is that they could have moved on from the guy had he not worked out. But if he did, they would have had a guy who, if they continued to develop, might have been someone they could have traded down the line once they had their long-term quarterback in place.

New York Giants linebacker Azeez Ojulari
New York Giants linebacker Azeez Ojulari / Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How do you plan on improving how you value player worth?

It’s not as though Schoen has wildly spent on free agents, as his predecessor Dave Gettleman was guilty of sometimes doing. But his tendency to hold onto veterans with expiring contracts that have trade value probably needs to be re-evaluated.

For instance, the Giants had a chance to trade outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, reportedly for a fifth-round pick. Schoen, reportedly, wanted at least a fourth. So what happened? No deal was made, and three weeks later, Ojulari landed on IR.

And with the Giants unlikely to re-sign Ojulari this offseason, they’re not only unlikely to get a comp pick for him to use in 2026 (though that remains to be seen), but they could have had an extra fifth-round pick to use this year if they needed to move up.

This is not to say Schoen should give guys away for nothing, but when you have as many needs as the Giants, and you rest on your principles, are you really helping the team in the long run?

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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