Did Hard Knocks catch Joe Schoen scouting quarterbacks?

Schoen says it must “be nice” to not have to worry about the quarterback position

The New York Giants may be getting ready for the regular season, but GM Joe Schoen is already hot on the scouting trail.

HBO’s “Hard Knocks” cameras caught Bears GM Ryan Poles chatting with Giants GM Joe Schoen before kickoff of the game between the University of Georgia and Clemson. Their chat gave us this exchange,

Schoen: “Gotta be nice. Not to be looking at the, uh …”

Poles: “Quarterbacks?”

Poles: “Hopefully it stays that way for a long time.”

Schoen came up through the NFL’s executive ranks as a scout and we already know he spends as much time away from the Giants’ facilities as in them during the season. So it isn’t a surprise to see him at a college game in person.

While the the Giants expressed a willingness to trade up for Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels, their plan for 2024 is to give quarterback Daniel Jones one last chance to prove beyond a doubt that he’s their franchise quarterback. Ideally his play behind an (hopefully) improved offensive line and a with a receiving corps in which the Giants are heavily invested will prove worthy of John Mara’s faith.

But, in the inimitable words of Mike Tyson “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

The Giants don’t know if that punch is going to come, or what form it’ll take if (or when) it does. But they also can’t assume that everything will just work out. And to that end, Schoen has already personally attended three games in the first week of the 2024 College Football Season.

He attended the game between Colorado and North Dakota State last Thursday. He then pulled a double-header on Saturday and attended the game between Georgia and Clemson referenced above and the Saturday evening showdown between Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Schoen made a point of watching these teams first. Georgia might be the most talented team in college football, while Notre Dame and Clemson have players who will be drafted highly as well. But while each of those games features players who could help the Giants’ young secondary, Schoen’s hint that the Giants may still be in the market for a quarterback casts the visits in a different light.

Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) and Carson Beck (Georgia) are projected to be among the top passers in the 2025 draft class. Conner Weigman (Texas A&M), meanwhile, is regarded as a high-upside prospect some believe could be a first round prospect.

Sanders had a great showing against FCS titan North Dakota State, going 36 of 44 (81.8 percent) for 445 yards (13.1 per attempt), 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Beck was efficient as well, going 23 of 33 (69.7 percent) for 278 yards (8.4 per attempt), and 2 touchdowns.

Scouting the upcoming quarterback class is prudent for several reasons. And we know that Schoen scouted last year’s class very heavily, watching each of the top prospects in person at least once. But we also should be careful not to read too much into this. Just because Schoen is scouting quarterbacks doesn’t mean the team will draft a quarterback. Jones could thrive in his renovated surroundings, or the team could decide that an imperfect Jones is still better than their options in 2025.

But for now, and for our purposes, this could give us a clue as to where Schoen will be each week. For instance, we should probably expect to see him in attendance when Texas takes on Michigan this week.