John Foti asks: I don’t believe in making expensive free agent signings unless you believe the player is a finishing piece for the offense or defense. Before he lost his way, Jerry Reese did a good job with lower-cost signings like Kawika Mitchell or Antonio Pierce.
Bill Parcells used to bring players that he called “hold the fort guys”. These were vets who still had some good football left in the tank. He brought Pepper Johnson, Jumbo Elliott, William Roberts and Brian Cox to the Jets. The idea was to hold the fort until a younger player was ready or until they found a younger player and all these guys were lower cost additions.
When I look at Joe Schoen’s roster I would say that Eluemunor, Van Roten, and Runyan are hold the fort guys. I just don’t who they’re holding the fort for since I don’t see much younger talent in the pipeline. How do you analyze his approach to free agency?
Ed says: John, I think Schoen is a “supplement the roster in free agency” GM, not a “buy all the fancy new toys” GM. The only really big swing he has taken in three offseasons was to sign Bobby Okereke to a four-year, $40 million deal some saw as excessive. He did not overspend on any of his 2024 offensive line additions.
The thing about “hold the fort” is that those players you talked about were more about helping Parcells establish his culture than anything else. He brought in players he had won with to help get his program in place.
Chris Chianese asks: Ed, I think there are 4 things a team needs to be successful. You need a QB, LT, Edge rusher, No. 1 CB. The Giants have a LT (although he’s been hurt the last two years), With Burns and Thibs, they have a pash rush. The Giants don’t have a No. 1 CB. With the signing of Manuel to be the defensive backs coach to replace Henderson, might the Giants sign D.J. Reed to be that No. 1 corner? Let Banks be the No. 2 and maybe one day be that #1 one day?
What do you think about the Giants signing Reed? Another CB to be that No. 1?
Ed says: Chris, if you read my post on upgrading the defensive backfield you already know that I think cornerback is an area where the Giants are going to have to spend in free agency. Short of drafting Travis Hunter at No. 3 overall, I’m not sure how they get a No. 1 guy. They could, and probably should, add a player in the draft on Day 2 or early Day 3. A potential No. 1, though, probably has to come in free agency.
Reed would have to be on the list of possibilities. Charvarious Ward. Paulson Adebo. I’m not sure the list goes much deeper than that.
David Whitford asks: My question surrounds the Giants not taking a QB at #3 this year and waiting until Round 2 or 3. I believe this all comes down to simple supply and demand. By my take, there are currently around 7 teams that have a great need for a QB right now (Jets, Browns, Steelers, Titans, Raiders. Giants, Saints). If you take away three of those teams by having Ward, Sanders and Darnold become their guy this year, that leaves you with four teams left next year…maybe 5 if one of the Rams/Seahawks/Colts join the list. My thoughts are why not wait to draft a QB like Milroe, Dart, McCord on day 2 or 3 this year, see if you hit on one of them, and if not go all in next year when less teams will be desperate and the supply will be greater (and from all indications more talented)? Obviously they’d need to also sign a bridge vet this year as well, but chances are they’d need to do that anyway if they went QB in Round 1.
Ed says: David, we have already talked about this a lot. We will continue to do so. If the Giants are convicted on Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, they should take the player if he is available. If they aren’t sure, they should wait and take a chance on Dart, Milroe or whoever.
They have to sign a veteran bridge/backup either way.
Daniel Garcia asks: The Giants have a chance to build a solid offensive line group for 2025. What are your thoughts on the Giants selecting a starting right tackle in Round 2. Armand Membou comes to mind. that would potentially give the Giants a starting line of Andrew Thomas, Evan Neal, JMS, Jermaine Eluemunor and Armand Membou. Jon Runyan can be the swing guard for injuries.
Moving Neal to guard would accomplish what Becton provided for the Eagles. I believe a line like that above would take the Giants to above average in the league by the end of 2025. The Giants shouldn’t let Neal go start on a better team and become a 10-year starter at guard.
Ed says: Daniel, yes the Giants still have work to do on their offensive line. That is obvious, and I have acknowledged it.
There are, though, a lot of holes in your proposal.
The first is something I have warned about for as long as I have run this site. Which is a long time. You can never, never, never go into a draft and say ‘no matter what, we’re taking a right tackle in Round 2.’ Or, ‘we’re taking a running back in Round 4.’ You have no clue what other teams are going to be and who will be available when you select.
You go in with an idea of things you would like to accomplish and you have a range of players you hope to choose from in each round. You match up need and value the best you can. What if you don’t get a quarterback in Round 1? What if the best player on your board is a cornerback, safety, defensive tackle, or guard? The Giants can use those, too.
The second regards Evan Neal. Yes, I have advocated for the Giants to — finally — move Neal to guard. No one, though, should think he will automatically become a really good guard. Just because Mekhi Becton has done it, and some others have made the transition, does not make it a fact that Neal will be able to do it.
He might be a quality guard. It needs to be tried. But, you can’t just pencil him in as a starting guard and think “problem solved.” You put him at guard, let him compete and see what happens.
As for Jon Runyan as the “swing guard” that is not happening. He is not a star, but he is a capable starting-caliber NFL guard. The Giants did not sign him to a three-year, $30 million contract to be a backup. He will be a starting guard.
Finally, I have no idea why you are in a hurry to replace Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle. He was having an excellent year at that spot last season, maybe the best of his career, before the Giants were forced to move him to left tackle for the final few games.
The Giants need to continue to add young talent to the line. Unless there are some stunning roster decisions, though, I think we know four of the five starters on that line:
Andrew Thomas (LT), Runyan (LG), John Michael Schmitz (C), Eluemunor (RT).
Mike Winterode asks: I have always been confused about how the Giants have handled Josh Ezeudu. He was drafted as a guard, yet the Giants have tried to make him into a tackle. Why is this? Ever since he has been on the roster we have had a hole at one of the guard positions so why wasn’t the focus on using him as a guard?
Ed says: Mike, let’s not forget that the Giants did focus on playing Ezeudu at guard at the beginning of his career.
When Shane Lemieux was injured in 2022, the Giants let Ezeudu and Ben Bredeson compete at left guard. Bredeson was clearly better, and eventually won the job.
In 2023, Ezeudu, Bredeson and Mark Glowinski competed throughout the spring and summer for the starting guard spots. Ezeudu lost, again.
After that, the Giants tried to take advantage of the fact that Ezeudu had played everywhere except center in college at North Carolina to make him a four-position backup. That didn’t work.
I agree that Ezeudu is better-suited to be a guard. But, it is important not to forget that the Giants gave him two full opportunities to be a starting job and he couldn’t take advantage of either one.
Chris Hynes asks: Honest question, suppose the Giants are not able to draft either Sanders/Ward and select a “developmental quarterback” in a later round. How much practice time is there to coach him up? Get him to work on whatever his shortcomings are?
Ed says: Chris, if the Giants invest a premium draft pick in a quarterback they will make sure to have a plan in place. The reality is that there are some snaps in the spring and summer for backup players, but once the games start there is very little actual practice time for backup players. There might be some extra attention during individual drills and a bit of after practice work, but there are limits imposed on on-field time. The time that is allotted goes to the guys who are expected to play.
All of that development likely happens behind the scenes. Extra meeting time. Extra film study. Some coaches give young quarterbacks weekly assignments in terms of breaking down film of the upcoming opponent.
John Kozel asks: Any chance Giants volunteer for another Offseason Hard Knocks? I think it would be much more intriguing with QB in the mix and build off the decisions and cast that was shown last year. Schoen can double down on his philosophy and clap back at his critics if things work out better. Heard anything?
Ed says: John, I have not heard anything on this. But, I don’t have to. There is zero chance of this happening. As much as the Giants have been made fun of for last offseason why would they do that again? If anything, the Giants’ appearance on ‘Hard Knocks’ proved to the entire NFL that the inner workings of how those decisions are made should not be made available in a public forum.
A question from Bluesky:
Ed for your next mailbag could you please share your thoughts on Kafka allegedly bringing Wink with him if he gets the Saints job and why Giants management does not seem to be bothered by the fact that Daboll does not get along with his coordinators?
— Dogs & Law (@dogsandlaw.bsky.social) 2025-01-26T17:27:35.019Z
Ed says: ‘Dogs’, I selfishly think Mike Kafka bringing Wink Martindale to New Orleans with him would be awesome. It would be fascinating to watch and would give me things to write — ex-Giants coaches succeed/fail spectacularly with Saints.
I don’t know that Daboll doesn’t get along with his coordinators. It’s obvious he did not get along with Martindale. He fired Thomas McGaughey because he didn’t think the performance on special teams was acceptable. If Kafka really disliked Daboll, would he have accepted the assistant head coach title and the contract extension that came with it?
I do think Daboll’s working relationships with assistant coaches has not always been what you want, and I believe it is something the Giants — and Daboll — are well aware of and have discussed internally. It’s an area Daboll needs to grow in.
Bob Brodman asks: I read your “It’s all about the quarterback” news headline. It always seems that NFL fans and media talk about QB 90% of the time. Any QB drafted in the 4th round gets more coverage and hype than the guy that gets picked in the 1st round. So my question is whether you and your staff get more excited about analyzing and writing about QB? Does their enthusiasm drop if you assign someone to write about iOL?
Ed says: Bob, there is a saying around the media room when I’m there — “when in doubt, write about the quarterback.” That moves the needle more than writing about an obscure backup, even if there is a better story to tell about that obscure backup.
That said, I’m fortunate to have people at Big Blue View who like to write about and analyze football — not just quarterbacks. Though, let’s be real. The quarterback stuff is what always gets the attention.
John U. asks: Can we go back to drafting the best available player regardless of position? Then fill holes through free agency as best we can. It seems to have worked well in the past (it may be ancient history, but still) In 1984, with the crunch bunch intact (Taylor, Kelly, Carson and Van Pelt) we selected Carl Banks in the first round. Then in 2006 with Strahan, Tuck and Osi Umenyiora in the fold, we selected Mathias Kiwanuka in the first round. Those worked out pretty well.
With the draft being the crap shoot it is, it seems like you are handicapping yourself reaching for a single position.
Ed says: John, teams ALWAYS tell the media that they drafted the best player available, the highest-ranked one on their board, at every selection. The reality is that is not always the truth — it might be a lie more often than not.
Need ALWAYS impacts value, and how teams rank players. There are occasions where a team will look at a player and take him just because they think he is clearly better than anyone else available, regardless of need. When their grades are close, or equal, need is always a factor.
Teams will reach for quarterbacks for the simple reason that the position is so important. In general, though, I always remind people that you can’t plan to draft Position A in Round 1, Position B in Round 2, Position C in Round 3. It doesn’t work that way.
Robert Goodman asks: Given the offensive line rankings for the teams in the playoffs, does an Oline need to be better than average. How did the Giants Oline end up being ranked by PFF? It seems the only open position on the line is right guard. Will that have much impact on how our line does?
Ed says: Robert, the Giants were 23rd in the PFF offensive line rankings and 27th in the Pro Football Network offensive line rankings. The Giants were middle of the pack in the rankings before losing Andrew Thomas, the team’s best offensive lineman and left tackle, to injury.
Yes, right guard appears to be the primary opening. Greg Van Roten played well in 2024, but there is an opportunity for the Giants to get younger at that spot.
I think health is a big factor. Few teams can adequately replace a left tackle as good as Thomas. Runyan, John Michael Schmitz and Jermaine Eluemunor all missed games. I keep saying it, but undrafted free agent Jake Kubas can’t be the best — and maybe only — young offensive lineman in the pipeline.
Jimmy Siegel asks: I know you’ve touched on this previously, but the general response to the question about Schoen’s ability to identify good quarterbacks is well.. he tried to trade up for Maye and would’ve for Daniels. Fine. But what about him completely ignoring Nix, Penix Jr and JJ. Nix looks like a franchise QB, Penix – albeit in very limited action— looks very talented. And I strongly believe JJ under OConnell has a good chance to thrive in Minnesota. They clearly understood that DJ was likely not the answer— or else they wouldn’t have attempted trading up. They clearly understood that most important position in football is the QB. Yet they opted to go for a WR when we all know you can have Jerry Rice, Lance Alworth and Calvin Johnson starting for you but if the person throwing them the ball is Daniel Jones you’re going 3-14. I know you’ve previously said Nix wouldn’t have done as well here but found the right situation with Payton. Isn’t that a terrible indictment of Daboll then? If one coach can get excellent play out of a rookie QB, shouldn’t another be able to? Or are you simply saying Payton is a good coach and Daboll isn’t?
Somehow Nix, Penix Jr. and J.J .were deemed worthy of high draft picks by Atlanta, Denver and Minnesota but not by the Giants. And all three of those teams seem in far better position than us.
Ed says: I’m not saying Nix’s quality play is an indictment of Daboll. Situation matters. The Giants know that J.J. McCarthy is in a great situation and will probably have success in Minnesota. They had their own reasons for thinking he wasn’t right for them in New York. Same with Penix and Nix.
They decided that adding Malik Nabers, playing out the Daniel Jones contract and addressing quarterback later was better than taking a quarterback they weren’t sold on. Daboll got good play out of Jones in 2022 and they thought maybe he could do it again. It didn’t happen.
Having Nabers when they do get the quarterback they want is not a bad thing.
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