Giants Country

Giants' "Hard Knocks" Trailer Teases Background on Several Big off-season Storylines

The most intriguing? The Saquon Barkley free-agency storyline.

Michael Lee

New York Giants
New York Giants / courtesy of Giatns.com
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The official New York Giants Hard Knocks trailer has dropped, and the brief clips in the minute-long video seem to promise some intrigue and clarification into some of the team's biggest off-season storylines.

The opening seconds offer a look into the first night of the draft. Per multiple reports, the Giants were seeking to trade up to select quarterback Drake Maye, who went to the New England Patriots at No. 3.

While that's not shown in the trailer, what is shown is general manager Joe Schoen reaching for his cell phone and asking someone off camera, "We should stay and pick, right? This is Atlanta?"

Schoen then asks someone on his phone, "What are you thinking?" This would confirm that the Giants did have an offer to move down a few spots and that the Falcons might have been the team looking to move up in the draft order.

Another clip shows Schoen discussing the possible addition of edge rusher Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers. In the clip, Schoen tells head coach Brian Daboll that they'd probably have to trade two second-round picks and pay the defender $28-$29 million.

That trade, of course, came to fruition, though not at the price Schoen initially thought. The Giants ended up trading their original second-round pick, leaving the one that they acquired in the Leonard Williams trade with Seattle, which was a few spots later in the round, plus a 2025 fifth-rounder for Burns, whose five-year, $14 million contract comes to just over $28 million APY, as Schoen predicted.

A clip centers on quarterback Daniel Jones's recovery from a torn ACL, including shots of him running some sprints during the team's off-season program. He is also heard talking about his recovery five months out (at the time) from his surgery.

The most intriguing tease on the clip involves former running back Saquon Barkley, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency and claimed the Giants never made him an offer to return.

The clip seems to contradict that claim. Schoen is on his phone speaking with Barkley, to whom he asks, "Saquon, can you give me your word on that, or are you not going to give us a chance?" But it's unclear exactly what they were talking about in the clip.

The last clip in the trailer zooms in on a whiteboard, and a headshot of Jones is shown. Schoen, who presumably in that clip is contemplating whether to run it back with Jones or move on, can be heard saying, "My job is to do what's best for the franchise."

Trailers are often cleverly edited to create intrigue. But it appears that the series, the first off-season version in the Hard Knocks franchise and the first time the Giants are a part of the franchise, promises to shed more light on topics that dominated different parts of the off-season this year.

Hard Knocks: Off Season with the New York Giants debuts on HB and Max on July 2 at 9 PM ET. The five-part series will air every Tuesday, leading right into the start of training camp. It is expected to cover the start of the Giants' off-season through the conclusion of their mandatory minicamp held earlier this month.

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Michael Lee
MICHAEL LEE

Michael Lee is an aspiring sports writer currently studying journalism and communications.

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