The real in-person phase of scouting draft prospects is just getting started
With two months to go before the 2025 NFL Draft, mock drafters, NFL analysts and New York Giants fans are pretty much dug in on their viewpoints of the quarterbacks in this year’s class.
For Giants GM Joe Schoen, though, the courtship phase of the top quarterback prospects is just beginning.
Sure, Schoen, Brian Daboll and the rest of the Giants’ decision-makers have attended games and watched the film. Though maybe not until their eyes bled, but they have watched it all.
The best analogy might be that what has gone on between teams and quarterback prospects until now is mostly like online dating. Few, if any, personal touch points or interactions.
With the Combine here, that changes. There will be meetings with all the quarterbacks in Indianapolis, Pro Days, private workouts, dinners with a number of the quarterbacks and in-person visits to the Giants’ headquarters in East Rutherford, N.J.
It is time for the action to get hot and heavy on the quarterback dating scene as the Giants try to identify one who could be the right fit to perhaps lead the franchise for the next decade.
“This is a great opportunity for us obviously in Indy. First time to get around some of the prospects and have conversations with them. First time meeting them,” Schoen said.
“So, we’ve got a lot of work to do on the number three pick. We’ve done a lot of work throughout the fall on the college prospects. But this phase of the calendar is getting to know who they are as people. What the fit’s going to be.”
Schoen and Daboll met Shedeur Sanders of Colorado in person at the East-West Shrine Game. Some of the videos from their interactions went viral.
Cam Ward of Miami did not participate in either the East-West Shrine Game or Senior Bowl. This week will be the Giants’ first face-to-face interaction with Ward, considered by many to be the top quarterback in this class.
Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe were among those who participated in the Senior Bowl.
Schoen often speaks about the quarterback evaluation process he and Daboll have used since their days together with the Buffalo Bills. Much of that involves going far beyond the film to figure out the person. It is a process Daboll first began using as offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins in 2011.
“When we get around these kids, they may or may not be a fit for us,” Schoen said. “There’s a lot that goes into the quarterback position. And this time of year is where we can find that out.
“We’ve seen the film evaluation. We’ve seen how these guys perform under pressure. We’ve seen how they do on third down, how they do on fourth down in money situations. Now we need to figure out who they are as people. And it’s a unique media market. Everybody knows that that’s standing here. So can they handle the pressure? Can they handle adversity? Can they handle people talking negatively about them over an extended period of time? How can they handle all those things? And that’s what we need to try to find out this time of year.”
The Giants tried to trade up a year ago for Drake Maye, who went No. 3 to the New England Patriots. They passed on the opportunity to select J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix.
Schoen, in fact, has not selected a quarterback in his first three drafts.
“There’s a lot of talented quarterbacks that have had the physical talent to be it, but just mentally or for whatever reason, the mental makeup isn’t there. You’ve seen a bunch fail up there, so it’s for various reasons.
“A lot of times it’s not because it’s physical.”
If Schoen is going to select a quarterback with a high draft pick, he wants to be sure he does it with “confirmation and conviction” that he is taking the right guy.
“To take one, just to say we checked the box, you want it to be the right one because you don’t want to be in this position again,” Schoen said. “If there’s not one of those guys, then you look at the other options.”
As much as the Giants have studied the quarterback class, Schoen said “there’s still a lot” that can be learned from the personal interactions.
“I still think the mental part, the ability to process information, the ability to retain information, can you get everybody lined up? I mean, there’s a lot that goes into that position,” Schoen said. “And then the leadership component, you have to be a leader in that position because that guy can elevate the entire roster.”
Schoen admitted there have been quarterbacks the team passed on largely because of those personal interactions.
“Can they handle the pressure of playing in the New York market and adversity and, again, what comes with being the quarterback of the New York Giants, and that’s important. And we’ve had a couple of prospects over the last couple of years that we didn’t think mentally could handle it, and even though they were physically talented, just didn’t think it would be a great fit.”
Schoen guards the process, divulging little of it. He did, though, talk about the importance of how a prospect handles his visit to the team’s facility.
“That’s important when you get them in the building, and we’ve got several different touch points in the building,” Schoen said. “There’s a lot of people that will be around the kids, and sometimes they let their guards down when it’s not the GM and not the head coach and you find out a little bit about them or how they treat the people that are in the car with them or picking them up and are they on time, not on time. We’ve had guys be late and miss things.
“Just a little bit of a look into who they are.”
The Giants also like to have prospects arrange tasks.
“We put certain markers in place that they need to take care of just to see if they’re able to take care of simple things, set things up for our staff, and those are just some character traits that you look for,” Schoen said. “If you’re going to be the quarterback of the team, can you handle simple things such as setting up a dinner or making sure the video guy is there or whatever it is.
That will allow you to look into who the person is. Can they be the quarterback of the Giants?All those touch points are important. You start to gain information, and then it starts to stack up. If it’s good, you see it. If there’s some red flags, then you dig a little bit more on what those red flags may be. At the end of the day, try to have confirmation and conviction on what you’re going to do.”
Who will pass the Giants’ tests? We will know in a couple of months.
