Pat Lam asks: The New York Giants have drafted well in 2024 and apparently in 2025. Joe Schoen didn’t fare as well in 2022 and 2023. I think 2022 was a tough year for Joe Schoen since he had little time to prepare for the draft. We saw some changes in scouts and the methodology. These last two drafts appear to be stellar. How much do you think this was Joe Schoen getting the scouting department set up the way he wants? How much is it luck (in the way the prospects fall)? The arrow is starting to point up in the roster talent and depth.
Ed says: Pat, I believe there is some of both.
The first draft for any GM is difficult. The GM gets hired in January and has no chance at that point to put his own scouting staff, front office in place. The existing staff has already been working for a year or more on the upcoming draft, probably for a different coaching staff that ran different schemes and looked for a different type of player.
I think that once everyone is on the same page, once the GM has a staff he knows and trusts and everyone knows what the current coaching staff is looking for, things are more cohesive and that often results in better decisions.
There is, though, always luck. Sometimes that luck is in players you didn’t expect to be available falling into your lap. Sometimes that is players outperforming their draft slot.
Joseph Bottiasks: I know everyone likes to follow certain guidelines in football in regards to bring a young QB along. But why don’t the Giants try something different. It appears as though many games this season are going to be losses due to the schedule. If a game is a blow out why not let Dart come in just for two series in the last quarter. Just to help get a feel for the real time game and see what he needs to work one. It make no sense to just sit him and then throw him in at the end of the year. Bring him along slowly, letting him study on the bench and watch for a few games, then if a game is out of hand put him in for a few series. This will help him learn the speed of the NFL and iron out his kinks slowly. I don’t know why more teams don’t do this with young QB’s when their teams aren’t going anywhere. Just makes more sense then sitting him and then at end of season throwing him in. Let him grow and mature slowly. They have the opportunity with the two veteran quarterbacks. And the Giants will be in a better position in offseason to know what Dart has and what they need to surround him with.
Ed says: Joseph, the first fly in the ointment here is the game day roster. Teams generally have 46 active players on game days, 48 if they activate two practice squad players. The No. 3 quarterback, who would be Jaxson Dart, would generally be inactive. By league rule he would be in uniform but could only play if the two active quarterbacks were injured and unable to return to the game.
Now, it is possible to have three active quarterbacks on the game day roster. The problem with that is that you have a limited number of roster spots to begin with, and you leave yourself short of a player who would almost certainly play special teams and would be needed on offense/defense in the case of injury.
The other thing is, a team doesn’t go in planning to lose. You construct your game day roster and your game plan trying to win.
Let’s suppose for the sake of argument the Giants did what you suggest. They are hopelessly behind in a couple of games and they put Dart in for a series or two. Well, the opposing defense knows every play will be a pass. They will be blitzing like crazy and making life miserable for whoever is at quarterback. Is throwing Dart in there when he would probably be running for his life and taking a pounding a good learning experience? Or a detrimental one?
Bob Donnelly asks: Joe Schoen has given Brian Daboll and his staff the maximum number of 90 players to sort through and put together the 2025 version of the NY Giants.
Do you think it’s a good approach to have such a large pool of players to sift through, or is it an unnecessary distraction to have to evaluate so many players?
Also, In your view which are the most intriguing position battles to watch?
Ed says: Bob, I’m not sure why you are wondering about the 90-man limit. Every team starts the offseason with a full 90-man roster.
Let’s start with this. There are 53 players on an active roster in the regular season. There are 16 on a practice, 17 if you carry an international exemption player. So, that is 70. There are a few players who are injured every spring and summer and either get cut or placed on IR. Let’s say that pushes you to around 75.
There is also this. It is a looooong season. Teams use those 90-man rosters not only to have position competitions and to look for players who could be useful roster depth, but to minimize the workload on their key players. There is plenty of work for everybody throughout the spring and summer.
You can’t have Malik Nabers or Dexter Lawrence taking so many reps in August that they are beaten up by the time the season starts. What about preseason games? If you don’t have “extra” players you end up with front-line guys playing too much in games that don’t count.
Those extra players aren’t a distraction. They are a necessity. You can’t start in July with the 70 guys you intend to keep. How do you find diamonds in the rough? How do you create competition How do you practice without burning players out? How do you get through the preseason?
Besides, let’s say you put that roster at 70. That’s at least 640 players who don’t get a chance to go to a camp and try to win a job.
As for position battles, we will cover a lot of that between now and training camp.
Doug Mollin asks: It’s come up often on BBV that NFL teams don’t have a ton of time/resources to devote to development of their players. A lot of that comes from the hard work the players themselves put in .. training on their own, going to special camps, extra film work and even the virtual reality training Jayden Daniels does.
With that in mind, what is the path for Jaxson Dart to develop into a starting caliber NFL QB by September 2026? How do the Giants, how does Dart himself, give himself the best chance at success?
Ed: Doug, you sent this in a while ago. I don’t mean to give a non-answer, but I honestly think the answers are in these two podcasts:
The best thing anyone interested in that topic can do is listen to those two shows.
Dave Propper asks: Would Daboll consider putting a camera (GoPro type) on Wilson’s helmet during practices to make film for Dart to study? While it would not show Wilson’s eye movement, it would give Dart on idea of how an experienced veteran sees the field.
Ed says: Interesting idea, Dave, but one that I don’t think would be necessary. Practice are all filmed from above, an All-22 angle, if you will. So, in watching the film everything can be seen. Plus, if Dart has a question for Wilson about what he saw or why he did something, he can ask it himself. The various position groups meet every day to review what has been or will be going on. I’m not sure a helmet cam with a limited view would add anything.
Christopher White asks: Two questions relating to the position coaches. I know formal group practices are prohibited in the offseason and that most players have disciplined personal physical training programs. My first question is whether there is much communication between the players and their position coaches during their time “off”? Would the offensive linemen, for instance, have regular dialogue and possible video instruction with coaches and linemates concerning particular play recognition, responses or techniques that might guide their development and help overcome certain weaknesses between seasons? Or are the players left to their own individual initiatives to improve until reuniting in camp?
Related question would be how important is the relative quality of position coaching to an individual player’s improvement and development over time or, for instance, would the coach’s primary responsibility just be to oversee the group’s organization (drills, game plans, schedules, etc.)? It may vary by position and how much game action they see, but I would guess most players would be expected to show significant objective improvement (PFF ratings or the like?) over their first 2-3 years, then modest improvement over years 3-6 years before maintaining thereafter, subject to injuries. Agree? The extent to which a great coach (think New England or Philly O-line coaches) might accelerate or expand those trends would be worth a lot. That’s true whether we’re talking top-rung All-Pro’s or those who reached beyond their draft status to become meaningful players. I can think of relatively few Giants over the last ten years whose performances greatly exceeded expectations over those key development periods and many more who stood still or dropped off and away. If that’s a fair view, should we attribute the under-performance to mediocre coaching or poor raw material?
Ed says: Chris, the two questions work together. So, let’s get to answering them.
To the first part of the question, offseason means OFFSEASON. It is the player’s time. There is no coaching. No meetings. No instruction. No film viewing. That is strictly prohibited by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Now, are players blindly left to go off and work with offseason trainers without any guidelines or any idea what work would actually help them? No. There is end of season communication with players, and there needs to be some synchronization between what a player’s team needs from him and how he trains in the offseason. Jordan Palmer talked about that on my podcast recently. When position coaches and offseason trainers are on the same page that leads to the best results.
As for the second part of your question, I am not going to get into timelines for how much improvement players should show at certain stages of their careers. Every player is different. Most often, though, players are largely what they are going to be three or four years into their careers — which does not mean they can’t improve upon certain things.
Good position coaches can be incredibly important. Dexter Lawrence often credits Andre Patterson with challenging him and showing him what it would take to go from good to great.
As for under-performance, I think every case is different. Maybe it is the coach. I remember Dave Deguglielmo, trying to coach a Giants’ offensive line with three rookie starters, telling media he hated rookies and didn’t want to hear from them. So, how was that ever going to work? Maybe it is the player’s willing to work or inability to learn. I think about one-time Giant Damontre Moore. He once admitted to me that everything had been handed to him throughout his career, and that he expected the same in the NFL. He did not really know how to work, how to study, how to do the little things. Even Michael Strahan tried to help him, but he never became what his talent said he should have become. That’s not on coaching.
Nick Volpe asks: I like all the off season moves the Giants made with the exception of Wilson. I’m just not seeing that one. I am very aware that options were limited but Seattle moved on from him. Disaster in Denver. Finished 0-6 in Pittsburgh, which is probably a better team than the Giants. Pittsburgh seemed to have no interest in bringing him back and he’s now a year older. Why not see what Daboll can do with Winston? Daboll is supposed to be a QB guru. Maybe he can get Winston to play at a higher level. If Winston plays the same as last year, I think he has a better chance to steal a game or two than Wilson. Even if he goes 0-6, it would be a more entertaining 0-6 than what Wilson is likely to give us. Please tell me I’m wrong and Wilson will do better than I expect or perhaps an 0-6 start is the price we have to pay to see Dart start game 7.
Ed says: Nick, no one has ever said that Russell Wilson was a perfect option for the Giants, or that he is still the same quarterback he was during his best years with the Seattle Seahawks. Take an honest look at almost every statistical measure, though, and from 2019 forward Wilson has been better than Daniel Jones in every season except 2022. Passer rating. QBR. Touchdown percentage. Expected points added. Basically, that makes him the best starting quarterback the Giants have had since Eli Manning.
Winston over Wilson? Really? Winston has been in the league. He has a lower touchdown percentage, higher interception percentage, lower passer rating, worse QBR and hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2019. Bruce Arians moved on from Winston after a 5,100-yard passing season. Sean Payton couldn’t change him. What makes you think Brian Daboll can in his 11th season? Winston is what he is, and while he’s fun he isn’t as good as Wilson.
Regardless, the important part in all of this is Dart’s development. He is the future. Wilson is a stop-gap.
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