The times they have a’changed at 1925 Giants Drive. New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen is no longer atop the power structure beneath ownership. New head coach John Harbaugh and Schoen now report directly to ownership. Furthermore, newly hired Dawn Aponte will now handle the financial side of things that were formerly Schoen’s purview, and she will report to Harbaugh.
The big practical questions will begin to be answered in the next month, when we learn how much contract restructuring the Giants have done and of what kind, which free agents the Giants have signed and for how much, and how Aponte handles the contracts to comply with the salary cap – specifically, whether she and Harbaugh make use of void years to acquire the players they want, a practice that Schoen tried to avoid except in his first year when he inherited a cap mess from Dave Gettleman.
Then in April more questions will be answered when we see who the Giants draft, especially on Day 1. It’s not always clear how the dynamic between the head coach and general manager determines who they pick. On some teams, while the GM is nominally in charge, the head coach is really the power behind the throne (think Brett Veach and Andy Reid in Kansas City or Les Snead and Sean McVay in Los Angeles). Last year it seemed that Schoen’s trade-up to get Jaxson Dart was something that former head coach Brian Daboll wanted. This year, you have to think that the No. 5 pick will be the player that Harbaugh wants, regardless of what Schoen’s big board looks like.
This brings us to the eternal need vs. value argument for draft selection. As Nick Falato reported, Harbaugh is looking for a “gold jacket” player with the No. 5 pick. (Where have we heard that before?) If that’s what the Giants are going to do, it behooves them to fill as many needs as possible in free agency so they are free to take the best player when the draft comes around to them.
But who is the best player available in any given year? Has Schoen tried to do that as Giants GM, and if so, how has it worked out? Let’s take a look at Round 1 of his first four drafts. We’ll use the consensus big board, plus some commentary from Dane Brugler’s rankings from The Athletic, for context.
2022
Picks: Kayvon Thibodeaux (5), Evan Neal (7)
Schoen receives a lot of criticism for these picks. Thibodeaux has been a good player, but not an elite one, at No. 5 and Neal was an unmitigated disaster at No. 7. That’s revisionist history, though. Giants fans were ecstatic when their team walked away with both players on Day 1 – and with good reason. Here is the 2022 NFL Draft Consensus Big Board:
Courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database
Based on this you might have concluded at the time that the Giants got good value with those two picks, who were ranked Nos. 3 and 4 on the consensus board. Brugler had Neal at No. 3 and Thibodeaux at No. 8. Of Thibodeaux, Brugler said:
Overall, Thibodeaux isn’t a fluid mover, and his impact runs hot-and-cold, but he understands how to create leverage as a pass rusher with his length, flexibility and hand strength. He draws comparisons to Jadeveon Clowney with NFL teams and has the talent to develop into a high-end starter if he stays committed.
That seems like a good take on the player Thibodeaux has become. He disappeaers in some games and then shows out in others, as Clowney does. Overall he’s had less high quality play than Clowney, though.
He had this to say about Neal:
Overall, Neal lacks elite lateral agility and needs to clean up his leaning, but he is an effective blocker thanks to his rare mix of size, athleticism and flexibility. He projects as an immediate NFL starter with Pro Bowl potential and multi-position versatility.
Brugler hits the nail on the head in the first point he makes. He assumed, though (as I remember him saying on a pod with Ed), that these were issues he should have been able to clean up as a pro. As we now know, he couldn’t.
Pro Football Reference can give us a perspective on how these picks have turned out. Their Approximate Value metric (wAV) tries to assess the impact of a player’s career, via quality of play and volume, so players who lose time to injury or benching grade lower. Their wAV for Thibodeaux only places him No. 35 in that draft class, though that is partly because of time lost to injuries; if Thibodeaux had played every game at the same skill level, his wAV would be more like No. 15 in that class. That’s pretty good but not as much as you hope for from the No. 5 pick. Actually, only Derek Stingley, Sauce Gardner, and Drake London from the top 10 players drafted make the top 10 in wAV. (Ezxcellent players like Aidan Hutchinson and Garrett Wilson don’t quite make the top 10 because of time missed to injury.) Neal’s wAV of 11 is way down the list; it is only that high because he was indeed the starting right tackle for quite a while.
What Schoen should have done: It’s easy now to say that he should have taken Charles Cross, No. 8 on the consensus big board and a good pass blocker in college. Cross, though, has only played left tackle and was thought to be weaker in run than pass blocking. In principle, Schoen did the right thing at the time, not only drafting Neal, but later on when he tried to get offensive line depth with Joshua Ezeudu in Round 3 and Marcus McKethan in Round 5. He just picked the wrong players. What stings is that the Seahawks also found their starting right tackle, Abraham Lucas, in that draft in Round 4, and the Packers found theirs as well, Zach Tom, in the same draft. Schoen found nada.
2023
Pick: Deonte Banks (24)
This draft is harder to evaluate, because for a change the Giants didn’t draft in the top 10. Will Levis (No. 6 on the consensus big board) and Joey Porter Jr. (No. 18 on the big board), both ranked higher than the Giants’ actual pick at No. 24 after a small trade-up, Deonte Banks, but there were question marks about both of those other players. Here is the consensus big board landscape around the Giants’ part of the draft:
Courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database
Schoen was justified in using the No. 24 pick on Banks, who was the consensus No. 20 on the big board. The Giants had been rumored to be looking for either a cornerback or a wide receiver, and unfortunately there was a run on both positions in Round 1. The run on CBs was spread out, with Devon Witherspoon going No. 5, Emanuel Forbes (who was overdrafted at No. 16), and Christian Gonzalez No. 17. The WR run was more painful, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, and Jordan Addison going Nos. 20-23 just before the Giants picked.
Brugler had Banks No. 27 on his big board, CB4 behind Gonzalez, Witherspoon, and Porter. He said this about Banks:
A cover-and-clobber corner, Banks has the competitive makeup and smooth hips/feet to become a receiver’s shadow in man coverage. His read-react ability to sort routes from zone needs work to create more breakup opportunities, but he is an above average high-to-low tackler. Overall, Banks needs to add more discipline to his play style, but when he trusts his technique, he has the size, athleticism and physicality of an NFL starter. He projects best as an outside, press-man cornerback with upside in zone looks.
His summary of Porter was:
Porter parks himself in front of receivers and smothers them in press to reroute and disrupt receiver timing up and down the field. However, he plays on his heels, loses momentum in his hip-flip and hangs on receivers to slow their routes, collecting 11 coverage penalties (nine pass interference, two defensive holding) in the past two seasons with several others that should have been called. Overall, Porter has clear bust potential with his undisciplined play style and unbalanced change of direction, but he has intriguing matchup potential in the NFL because of his aggressive length and body quickness. He projects as a classic bump-and-run cornerback and won’t be a slam-dunk fit for every scheme.
Obviously, Schoen liked Banks better, at least in the context of Wink’s scheme, since Porter lasted until the top of Round 2. Banks looked promising at times in his rookie year but it’s been downhill ever since. Porter also got off to a slow start as a rookie but became a starter in mid-season and has not relinquished it since. His PFF coverage grade in 2025 was 76.6. One thing that hasn’t changed is his tendency to draw penalties: 12, 17, and 9 in his three seasons. Still, for his NFL career he’s only yielded catches on 55% of his targets. This seems to have been an example of Schoen not drafting the best player available.
What Schoen should have done: For the record, Banks’ wAV through three seasons (12) is far down the rankings and only a little less than Porter’s 14. It’s easy to say now, with Wink gone and Porter having improved over three seasons, that he would have been the better choice. Porter’s proclivity for penalties would surely drive Giants’ fans crazy, though.
2024
Pick: Malik Nabers (6)
This one is pretty cut-and-dried. It’s well established that Schoen tried to trade up, at least to No. 3 with New England, to take Drake Maye, but the Patriots were not interested – for good reasons, as it turns out. This was a year in which the consensus big board was as predictive as any we’ve seen in recent years:
Courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database
Joe Alt went No. 5 instead of J.J. McCarthy, who had rocketed up the charts in the weeks and months leading up to the draft, somewhat similar to what had happened with Anthony Richardson the previous year. Something to beware of as the 2026 draft gets closer. The five players taken before the Giants drafted made things easy for Schoen (not that I necessarily felt that way at the time), and Schoen did the right thing. Nabers’ wAV of 12 is far down the list for that class, but only because of his early season injury. The only players with more than twice Nabers’ wAV from that class are the two QBs taken ahead of him plus Bo Nix, who went at No. 12. The only other player with a wAV above 20 from that class is Jared Verse of the Rams.
Dane Brugler was high on Nabers, ranking him No. 3 in his top 100 behind only Williams and Harrison. (He had Maye No. 4 and Jayden Daniels No. 8.) Of Nabers, he said:
Nabers uses his gliding speed to consistently win on slot fades or one-on-one vertical routes. His favorite play in the playbook is the jet sweep (his 7-on-7 highlights from high school are legendary). He also can win underneath as a snatch-and-run target and will continue to ascend as he develops his finishing skills and route discipline. Overall, Nabers has only average size/strength, but he offers dynamic potential, because of his ability to accelerate/decelerate on command and always make himself available with his athletic catch-point skills. He projects as a playmaking receiver in the NFL.
What Schoen should have done: You might have said at the time that he should have taken one of the three QBs left on the board, but Nabers was the BPA at that point, and a year later, no one is questioning Schoen passing on a QB in 2024.
2025
Picks: Abdul Carter (3), Jaxson Dart (25)
The top of this draft went exactly the way draftniks predicted it would, with the Giants at No. 3 taking the consensus No.3 player on the big board, Abdul Carter:
Courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database
Taking Abdul Carter despite already having Brian Burns and Thibodeaux is the essence of the best player available philosophy. It gives the Giants the luxury of at least contemplating trading Thibodeaux, or if not, having a deep 3-man edge rushing rotation.
Carter was Brugler’s No. 2 prospect behind only Hunter, saying about him:
With only one season under his belt as a true edge rusher, Carter needs continued polish in his attack. His arrow is pointing sky high, though, because of his get-off burst, body twitch and competitive intensity. Despite having average size for run-game responsibilities, he regains his balance quickly after taking a jolt from blockers and plays with tremendous range to slip blocks and close in a flash. Overall, Carter is a disruptive presence, because of his explosive nature and how he mixes up his rushes to win with speed, force and a budding arsenal of moves. He projects as a 1A pass rusher, with a gift for consistently making the quarterback move his feet and making plays in the run game.
One negative Brugler noted about Carter was his five offside penalties in his final season at Penn State, which reminded me in retrospect of the Jevon Holland pick-6 vs. Minnesota that was called back by a Carter offside. Brugler did not mention any clubhouse issues like those that led to Carter spending some early game time on the sideline as a rookie.
What Schoen should have done: You could argue that Tet McMillan, taken No. 9, would have been a better pick given the hindsight of his great rookie year and the fallout from the Nabers injury. No one was touting McMillan at No. 3, though, and after a slow start, Carter had four sacks and 28 total pressures in his final five games. At this point the pick looks like the right one.
The more controversial move that Schoen made was trading up to take Jaxson Dart late in Round 1. Dart was No. 33 on the consensus big board, so it might be considered a reach that Schoen gave up a third round pick to get him rather than being patient and letting Dart fall to him. Furthermore, the Saints sat tight and got Tyler Shough at No. 40 without giving up anything, and some of the NFL intelligentsia felt that Shough had the better rookie season.
What Schoen should have done: Exactly what he did. Time will tell whether Dart or Shough has the better NFL career, but Dart put an immediate jolt into the Giants’ offense when he became the starter. He is also almost four years younger than Shough. Furthermore, it’s largely forgotten now, but Shedeur Sanders was No. 12 on the consensus big board last year and Jalen Milroe was No. 40:
Courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database
Sanders, who admittedly was drafted into an almost impossible situation in Cleveland, had a rough rookie year, and Milroe played only three snaps all season for Seattle, all of them runs. Will Howard did not play a single snap for Pittsburgh.
An interesting tidbit: Dart led all rookies at all positions last season in wAV:
Courtesy of Pro Football Reference
The wAV metric is somewhat biased toward QBs…because they like everyone else see QB as the most valuable position on a football team. Even just among QBs, though, Dart led the pack, with Shough as well as No. 1 pick Cam Ward having a wAV of 7. The cumulative two-year wAV for last year’s rookie class is led by Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye, all with 26, and Bo Nix with 25, so if Dart has a successful sophomore season – and is able to stay on the field – he will be on a pace comparable to them.
Who will be the best available player at No. 5 in 2026?
It’s too early to tell, because a lot happens between now and the draft. Some of it out in the open (i.e., the NFL Combine), and some behind the scenes (e.g., top 30 visits and rumors from NFL insiders). At the moment, though, here is the consensus big board:
Courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database
Other than Fernando Mendoza not being the Giants’ pick, that list is pretty fluid. For example, Brugler’s list is somewhat different:
- Arvell Reese
- Fernando Mendoza
- Jeremiyah Love
- Caleb Downs
- Sonny Styles
- David Bailey
- Mansoor Delane
- Spencer Fano
What makes this list so intriguing is that it’s just about perceived player quality and does not make much of a nod, if any, to “positional value”: Two linebackers, a running back, and a safety in the top eight. My guess is that Schoen, on his own, would not draft any player at those positions that high. He’s not on his own this year, though – Harbaugh’s opinion will matter a lot. We don’t know how much influence Harbaugh had over the Ravens’ first-round picks, but in all his years as head coach there the Ravens drafted in the top 10 only once (2016, when they took OT Ronnie Stanley with the No. 6 pick).
The bottom line on Schoen is that he really can’t be blamed for any of the first round picks he’s made. The ones that were busts were not seen in that light at the time of the draft. Schoen has largely gone with the best player available, but at perceived high-value positions. It’s some of his missteps in later rounds, combined with a checkered at best record of free agent signings, that make the current Giants an enigma to those trying to predict their future. This is a team with quite a bit of talent acquired by Schoen, but also quite a few glaring holes where he’s struck out. Couple that with questions about the extent to which the coaching staff limited the team’s success, and the organization at the moment is a bit of a Rorschach test.
For that matter, Harbaugh himself is a Rorschach test of sorts. Do you see the head coach who made the Ravens a playoff team 12 times and won a Super Bowl? Or do you see the head coach who wasn’t able to reach the Super Bowl with Lamar Jackson and a lot of other talent over the past eight seasons? If Schoen hits on enough draft picks and free agents, we’re about to find out.
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