Giants Country

Three Top Things Giants General Manager Joe Schoen Must Do Right Away

Joe Schoen has a lot of work to do this offseason to fix the Giants roster. Here are some of the more pressing tasks.

Patricia Traina

Jul 24, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen talks to media before the start of training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Facility.
Jul 24, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen talks to media before the start of training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Facility. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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In retrospect, saving his job was probably the easiest thing New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen did so far in the new calendar year.

Now, the hard part begins: Schoen must find the right faces to fix a roster that just finished with the franchise’s worst record in its 100-year existence and justify the faith placed in him by Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch.

Schoen’s to-do list is probably a mile-plus long, but here are three things that he and his staff better get right, lest we might be discussing a new general manager this time next year. 

Be Truthful About the State of the Roster

No one, including Schoen, likes to admit that a project they had a direct hand in fell way below expectations. 

With that said, Schoen found out the hard way after the 2022 season that closing his eyes to the roster deficiencies masked by a 9-7-1 record led him away from the rebuild path he probably should have taken.

That can’t happen again. Sure, Schoen can say that the injuries wrecked the team, but a key to teams surviving a rash of injuries is to have quality depth waiting in the wings. 

As the Giants found out the hard way, units such as the offensive line were lacking in depth, particularly at the all-important left tackle position.

An argument can also be made that their quarterback room was worse than the one they battled with last year because they didn’t upgrade it with young talent.

Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll, and everyone involved with the roster evaluation must be honest about what they have and what they need.

Sure, some positions are going to hit them over the head (hello, quarterback), but there are also sneaky needs such as running back, receiver, and safety that are developing. 

Plans must be drawn up to ensure that as many of these needs are honestly identified and addressed as possible.

Get a Quarterback

Not to belabor the point here since the toothpaste can’t be stuffed back into the tube, but how foolish do the Giants look right now for not at least taking a chance on a young quarterback from last year’s historically deep class?

This isn’t to say the Giants should have overdrafted at No. 6, but in retrospect, would it have hurt them to take a flier, even on an undrafted free agent, and see if perhaps there was something that could come from that? 

The best-case scenario is that they have a youngster who could have grown in the system and would have been ready to contribute in 2025. 

The worst-case scenario is if the kid doesn’t work out, you move on and start again. But we’ll never know what would have happened because the Giants didn’t even take an at-bat.

That leaves the Giants in a precarious position regarding the quarterback. They have to get this right. Most people will likely scream for the Giants to draft either Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward, but there are no guarantees that both will be on the board when the Giants pick third. 

There are also no guarantees that Schoen and Daboll will look at one or both with the same kind of love in their eyes as they did for Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye last year.

Schoen will make the final decision, with heavy input from Daboll. Still, it’s certainly possible that their next Eli Manning might not be readily available and that they’ll have to pivot to a Kerry Collins.

Whatever they do, they better get it right, especially after seeing how a lack of solid quarterback play stunted the offense’s development.  

Sort Out the Defense

As we saw on Hard Knocks last year, Schoen cautioned defensive coordinator Shane Bowen that if they traded for outside linebacker Brian Burns, that was all he was likely to get as far as a veteran haul went.

Bowen was fine with that, and certainly, Burns has been a strong addition to the team even though the sack numbers look underwhelming (his 23% pass-rush win rate, however, is quite another story, as that was the fourth-best individual percentage in the league). 

Despite Burns’s contributions, they weren’t enough to help the defense, which finished 24th overall (346.8 yards allowed per game) and allowed 47 touchdowns on the year (tied for sixth most in the year).

Goatns COO John Mara said it best this week. There were far too many times when opponents all too easily moved up and down the field against the Giants' defense in 2024, and not just in the back half of the season when injuries started eating away at the unit, but from Day 1. 

This has called into question whether defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s scheme is a fit for the talent or if he just lacked the personnel he needed to run it.

Whether Bowen stays or goes will be Daboll’s decision, but regardless, the Giants need help on the back end, particularly if they move on from safety Jason Pinnock and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, both pending UFAs. 

Deonte Banks regressed in his second season, and the Giants don’t have a solid shutdown cornerback who can neutralize the top receivers they face weekly.

Up front, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II can’t do it all by himself, so adding some additional depth to the defensive line that can stop the run (a huge problem in 2024) and push the pocket would behoove this team, regardless of who the defensive coordinator is.

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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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