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Joe Schoen has made 24 draft picks for the Giants in three years. He has not used any of them on a quarterback.
And at Wednesday’s pre-NFL Draft press conference, Schoen was adamant that “I’m not going to be backed into a corner” to “force” a QB if the value doesn’t match up with the Giants’ board.
One reason? Schoen implied that the consequences for swinging and missing on that player with a premium pick are dire.
“You would like to have a young, franchise quarterback,” Schoen said at the Giants’ training facility in East Rutherford, N.J. “I think every general manager would. Everybody wants that. But the value has to be right, or it doesn’t matter.”
“I mean, you get that one wrong…,” Schoen said. Then he stopped for a pregnant pause, shrugging. “You just gotta get that right. So when you’re in the position to get the right one at the right time, that’s when you pull the trigger.”
Schoen is clearly and understandably feeling pressure to draft a quarterback next week, though, as he prepares to fly to Boulder for Thursday’s private workout with Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. As Schoen spoke, it was easy to imagine the GM’s pushback as a window into the debates happening on this very topic internally between ownership, Schoen and Brian Daboll.
Co-owner John Mara said on Jan. 6 that “obviously the number one issue for us going into this offseason is to find our quarterback of the future. Whether that be via the draft or acquiring a veteran, it’s going to be up to them to decide, ultimately.”
Schoen shut down and released Daniel Jones halfway through a four-year, $160 million contract. Mara wants to see the GM’s solution to the vacancy he created. That’s not just a reasonable expectation; it’s a mandatory one.
Using that as Schoen’s rubric for the offseason, he still has not addressed the team’s No. 1 issue.
The GM’s failed pursuit of Matthew Stafford and the Titans’ imminent selection of Miami QB Cam Ward at No. 1 overall have left the Giants with short-term placeholders Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and no future promise at the position going into next week.
So there was a slight difference between Schoen’s strong tone on quarterbacks Wednesday compared to his comments at the NFL Owners Meetings in late March.
Down in Florida, Schoen seemed to reject the premise that the Giants had to draft a quarterback at all if the value didn’t match their board. Wednesday in New Jersey, Schoen sounded like he is feeling the pressure to pick a QB somewhere in this draft; he’s just pushing back against reaching for one.
Schoen actually went as far on Wednesday to admit he could hypothetically see value in drafting a backup quarterback in the middle rounds because it would create cost control on a rookie contract while offering upside.
“Backup quarterbacks are between $4 and $10 million,” Schoen said. “So yeah, if you can get a quarterback in the third, fourth, fifth and he can be your backup quarterback, now you’re opening up financial resources … And he can be a cost-controlled player for four years that’s not expensive compared to what’s on the open market.”
“So it doesn’t have to be, ‘Hey, this guy’s gotta be a starter,” the GM continued. “It’d be nice to have a young, backup quarterback on a rookie contract, too. Because when you look at what we’ve paid for backup quarterbacks — whether it was Tyrod [Taylor], Drew [Lock], to where we are now — now that’s money you can spend elsewhere. To [draft] a guy with upside at that position that can develop and maybe win you games or maybe they develop into a No. 1.”
Who is Schoen kidding, though? A fourth-round pick on a QB with a backup ceiling isn’t doing anything for him or the Giants at this point.
That’s one reason the Giants are sending a contingent back to Colorado for Thursday’s private workout with Sanders: Schoen and the Giants need to have serious conviction on that player and person either way — whether they pick him or they pass on him.
They’ll have to be able explain why they didn’t want him if they pass on him at No. 3 overall, which seems likely. Or they’ll need to be just as decisive about his ability, potential and traits if they stake their careers on him by picking him.
Sanders is a sensitive topic in the Giants building, which reflects the organization’s indecision and ongoing deliberation about him.
Schoen spent two minutes and eight seconds explaining the reason for the Giants’ late private workout with Sanders, continuing the organization’s extensive public relations response to clarify a narrative that became public on Monday.
But there is no need for the Giants to react to the news cycle. They just need to get the pick right.
The truth is that Thursday’s trip is as much about the Giants further vetting Sanders’ makeup, leadership and coachability as it is about putting him through the Giants’ own drills.
“To me, probably the best [leaders at quarterback] I’ve been around [have] the ability to motivate and get people to follow, to bring the team up when things are down and motivate the rest of the group,” Schoen said. “We talk about it a lot: you’re the face of the franchise, so people are watching you, all eyes are on you. Your work ethic, how you approach the game, your ability to interact and connect teammates across both sides of the ball — offense, defense. That’s all really important at that position specifically.”
Schoen also admitted that the Giants during their draft process are “wrestling with” certain prospects’ compatibility with “what we want to bring in our locker room.” He was not speaking about Sanders, just players in general, but a future franchise quarterback obviously would need to pass that test with flying colors for the Giants to feel comfortable picking him.
Then again, as Schoen pointed out, if there are discrepancies internally about a quarterback prospect, “ultimately the decision falls on me,” the GM.
“If there’s a discrepancy and at the end of the day I’m convicted, the decision has to be made,” Schoen said. “So that’s how we do it.”
The GM clearly does not want to be held hostage by his quarterback need in the draft. His lukewarm description of this QB class began with the phrase: “There’s some depth to it.”
He reiterated his belief that signing Wilson and Winston put the Giants “in a position where I don’t think that [drafting a quarterback] is mandatory or something with our feet to the fire that we have to do.” And he claimed if a quarterback isn’t available when the Giants pick at the right value “that’s out of your control.”
It is completely in Schoen’s control, however. He is holding the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. And he is running a franchise without a plan in place for the quarterback position’s future. So it’s on him to take one.
Continue reading...
And at Wednesday’s pre-NFL Draft press conference, Schoen was adamant that “I’m not going to be backed into a corner” to “force” a QB if the value doesn’t match up with the Giants’ board.
One reason? Schoen implied that the consequences for swinging and missing on that player with a premium pick are dire.
“You would like to have a young, franchise quarterback,” Schoen said at the Giants’ training facility in East Rutherford, N.J. “I think every general manager would. Everybody wants that. But the value has to be right, or it doesn’t matter.”
“I mean, you get that one wrong…,” Schoen said. Then he stopped for a pregnant pause, shrugging. “You just gotta get that right. So when you’re in the position to get the right one at the right time, that’s when you pull the trigger.”
Schoen is clearly and understandably feeling pressure to draft a quarterback next week, though, as he prepares to fly to Boulder for Thursday’s private workout with Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. As Schoen spoke, it was easy to imagine the GM’s pushback as a window into the debates happening on this very topic internally between ownership, Schoen and Brian Daboll.
Co-owner John Mara said on Jan. 6 that “obviously the number one issue for us going into this offseason is to find our quarterback of the future. Whether that be via the draft or acquiring a veteran, it’s going to be up to them to decide, ultimately.”
Schoen shut down and released Daniel Jones halfway through a four-year, $160 million contract. Mara wants to see the GM’s solution to the vacancy he created. That’s not just a reasonable expectation; it’s a mandatory one.
Using that as Schoen’s rubric for the offseason, he still has not addressed the team’s No. 1 issue.
The GM’s failed pursuit of Matthew Stafford and the Titans’ imminent selection of Miami QB Cam Ward at No. 1 overall have left the Giants with short-term placeholders Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and no future promise at the position going into next week.
So there was a slight difference between Schoen’s strong tone on quarterbacks Wednesday compared to his comments at the NFL Owners Meetings in late March.
Down in Florida, Schoen seemed to reject the premise that the Giants had to draft a quarterback at all if the value didn’t match their board. Wednesday in New Jersey, Schoen sounded like he is feeling the pressure to pick a QB somewhere in this draft; he’s just pushing back against reaching for one.
Schoen actually went as far on Wednesday to admit he could hypothetically see value in drafting a backup quarterback in the middle rounds because it would create cost control on a rookie contract while offering upside.
“Backup quarterbacks are between $4 and $10 million,” Schoen said. “So yeah, if you can get a quarterback in the third, fourth, fifth and he can be your backup quarterback, now you’re opening up financial resources … And he can be a cost-controlled player for four years that’s not expensive compared to what’s on the open market.”
“So it doesn’t have to be, ‘Hey, this guy’s gotta be a starter,” the GM continued. “It’d be nice to have a young, backup quarterback on a rookie contract, too. Because when you look at what we’ve paid for backup quarterbacks — whether it was Tyrod [Taylor], Drew [Lock], to where we are now — now that’s money you can spend elsewhere. To [draft] a guy with upside at that position that can develop and maybe win you games or maybe they develop into a No. 1.”
Who is Schoen kidding, though? A fourth-round pick on a QB with a backup ceiling isn’t doing anything for him or the Giants at this point.
That’s one reason the Giants are sending a contingent back to Colorado for Thursday’s private workout with Sanders: Schoen and the Giants need to have serious conviction on that player and person either way — whether they pick him or they pass on him.
They’ll have to be able explain why they didn’t want him if they pass on him at No. 3 overall, which seems likely. Or they’ll need to be just as decisive about his ability, potential and traits if they stake their careers on him by picking him.
Sanders is a sensitive topic in the Giants building, which reflects the organization’s indecision and ongoing deliberation about him.
Schoen spent two minutes and eight seconds explaining the reason for the Giants’ late private workout with Sanders, continuing the organization’s extensive public relations response to clarify a narrative that became public on Monday.
But there is no need for the Giants to react to the news cycle. They just need to get the pick right.
The truth is that Thursday’s trip is as much about the Giants further vetting Sanders’ makeup, leadership and coachability as it is about putting him through the Giants’ own drills.
“To me, probably the best [leaders at quarterback] I’ve been around [have] the ability to motivate and get people to follow, to bring the team up when things are down and motivate the rest of the group,” Schoen said. “We talk about it a lot: you’re the face of the franchise, so people are watching you, all eyes are on you. Your work ethic, how you approach the game, your ability to interact and connect teammates across both sides of the ball — offense, defense. That’s all really important at that position specifically.”
Schoen also admitted that the Giants during their draft process are “wrestling with” certain prospects’ compatibility with “what we want to bring in our locker room.” He was not speaking about Sanders, just players in general, but a future franchise quarterback obviously would need to pass that test with flying colors for the Giants to feel comfortable picking him.
Then again, as Schoen pointed out, if there are discrepancies internally about a quarterback prospect, “ultimately the decision falls on me,” the GM.
“If there’s a discrepancy and at the end of the day I’m convicted, the decision has to be made,” Schoen said. “So that’s how we do it.”
The GM clearly does not want to be held hostage by his quarterback need in the draft. His lukewarm description of this QB class began with the phrase: “There’s some depth to it.”
He reiterated his belief that signing Wilson and Winston put the Giants “in a position where I don’t think that [drafting a quarterback] is mandatory or something with our feet to the fire that we have to do.” And he claimed if a quarterback isn’t available when the Giants pick at the right value “that’s out of your control.”
It is completely in Schoen’s control, however. He is holding the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. And he is running a franchise without a plan in place for the quarterback position’s future. So it’s on him to take one.
Continue reading...
