Bonus mailbag: The Joe Schoen edition

Giants’ GM is taking fire from the fan base

In the wake of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Big Blue View Mailbag received a number of questions about New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen. To answer those, it’s a bonus edition of the mailbag.

Glen B: Ed, as much as I want to believe in Joe Schoen, I just cannot understand his seemingly inability to recognize glaring holes in his rosters. Last year, he failed to see the need to sign a viable kick returner or O-line depth, including retaining Tyre Phillips. This year, as much as I liked the draft picks and moves to shore up the O-line, we still have a glaring need for a cornerback that is not a slot CB. Why would you instead draft another Flott when you already have one? I know they hope the kid they did draft can play outside corner, but that isn’t his strength. Reminds me of all the slot receivers they’ve had with no No. 1 threat. And along that same line, Schoen passed on Odunze despite the glaring need for a big tall and strong receiver capable of making contested catches. Nabers may turn out to be a great pick, but again he reminds me of someone they already have, Wan’Dale Robinson. I understand you can’t fill every need all the time, but why choose players with skills that you already have on your roster when you have other choices that can help fill glaring needs. At the very least, if Schoen wants to succeed he can’t leave glaring holes like those he left last year that other teams can so easily exploit.

Ed says: Glen, there is a lot of frustration expressed in that question. Or, really, series of questions. Let me say this — there were a lot of decisions made last season that I did not understand. The season didn’t go well, partially because of some of those decisions. That doesn’t mean Schoen is incapable. It means he made some mistakes. I think he knows that. Now to the specific parts of your question.

Inability to recognize glaring holes in the roster — I don’t think that is true at all. After letting Richie James go in free agency, Schoen knew he needed to address the return situation. He admitted Gray was a risk in that role. It didn’t work, Schoen owned it, they moved on.

I didn’t like the way the Giants structured their offensive line depth last year. Schoen admitted the miscalculation by bringing Phillips back during the season. He also added Justin Pugh.

He didn’t “fail to see” anything. The Giants made a couple of poor decisions.

Picking Phillips — I have been among those who have pointed out the duplication with Cor’Dale Flott. That said, I am not going to condemn the pick before the kid has a chance to show if he can play. Plus, the offseason isn’t over yet. Also, maybe the Giants think Nick McCloud is a starting outside cornerback. Let’s see what happens when they actually get on the field.

Malik Nabers over Rome Odunze — Yes, I was on the Odunze bandwagon. No, picking Nabers was not a bad decision. Nabers was thought by some to be the best wide receiver in the class, and most evaluators had him very close to Marvin Harrison Jr.

I pretty much figured all along that Schoen and Brian Daboll would prefer Nabers’ play-making and run-after-catch to Odunze’s 50-50 catch skills.

I don’t see how anyone can look at Nabers and think he duplicates Wan’Dale Robinson, a 5-foot-8, 185-pound slot receiver who has been mostly a possession guy thus far.

Nabers is a 6-foot, 200-pound receiver who can play the slot, but is really an outside guy. He’s a vertical threat, a catch-and-run big play receiver. He complements what Robinson is, he doesn’t duplicate it.

Overall, Schoen made some decisions last year that did not work out. That doesn’t mean he had his head in the sand. He made mistakes. No roster is ever going to be perfect. With a hard cap and limited draft resources there will always be some spots where you have to gamble a little bit.

Gregory Riley asks: Many pundits like Colin Cowherd are raking the Giants for not picking a QB1. What is your opinion of the decision by GM Joe to pick Malik when he could have chosen JJ, Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr.?

Ed says: Gregory, there are also a lot of pundits praising Schoen for passing on those quarterbacks and selecting a game-breaking pass catcher unlike any the Giants have had during the Daniel Jones era.

This is why before the draft I asked Schoen if it was a bigger sin for a GM to swing and miss on a quarterback or to need one, pass on one you loved and then watch that player become great. Part of his answer:

“You [have] got to be comfortable … I’m confident we’re going to get a good player next Thursday, whatever position that is, and we’ll sleep good at night knowing we did all the preparation and, you know, we let the board talk to us.”

Schoen and the Giants were comfortable with what they did. They loved Drake Maye and couldn’t get him. My understanding is they liked J.J. McCarthy, just not that early in the draft. Not when they could land a guy who could be a difference-maker who could instantly elevate their passing offense.

Right now, we don’t know if Schoen was right. What kind of player does McCarthy become? Whether it is with Daniel Jones or someone else, do the Giants ultimately solve their quarterback riddle?

We will know the answers in two or three years.

Alex Kalb: The talking heads and analysts always seem to approve of Joe Schoen’s draft picks and free agency moves, consistently giving him As and Bs. Knowing that other decisions, such as DJ’s contract extension, hiring Daboll, and letting Barkley go are also on his balance sheet and with the caveat that no one really knows how ownership is feeling, do you think he’s made a sufficient argument to stay as GM if the Giants underperform again and decide it’s time to move on from Daboll?

Ed says: Alex, here is my take on the three decisions you seem to have a problem with.

• Daniel Jones — This will, I’m sure, get some people fired up. My take — right decision, thus far not the desired result. Sometimes you make the right call and things don’t work. Sometimes you make a bad decision and the players end up making you right.

What else was Schoen supposed to do after Jones played well in 2022 and led the Giants to their first playoff victory in a decade? How was he going to justify letting Jones walk and blowing things up after the Giants’ best season since their last Super Bowl victory? Especially with an owner who has always been in the quarterback’s corner?

I thought he walked the line and did the best he could, giving him a deal that had only two years of fully-guaranteed money.

• Brian Daboll — Hiring Daboll was what was always going to happen when ownership hired Schoen. That was a pretty good decision in 2022 when the Giants won a playoff game and he was voted Coach of the Year, wasn’t it? The Giants weren’t good last year and Daboll and Wink Martindale had an ego-driven clash, which Martindale lost. So, Daboll has had one good year and one bad one. That makes his hiring a mistake? I think the jury is still out on that.
• Saquon Barkley — Fans who loved Barkley and can’t see past their emotional attachment hate the fact that he left for the Philadelphia Eagles, and can’t get past that. Thing is, in my view Schoen absolutely made the right decision.

As good as he is, Barkley is an expensive 27-year-old running back with a long injury history. He might play really well for Philadelphia in 2024. In reality, though, most of the best football of Barkley’s career has probably already been played.

Schoen reset the Giants’ financial path by not spending big money on Barkley and Xavier McKinney, who play positions not considered premium ones where a big percentage of your cap should generally be allocated. The Giants aren’t at a ‘win-now’ point like the Eagles.

Schoen’s done good things. He has done bad things. He is finally, in my view, fully out from under the rock pile Dave Gettleman left him in. This is his team. His roster. It has begun to reflect his priorities.

I don’t think you can answer the ‘has he done enough to stay’ part of the question, although I think it would take 2024 turning into a complete travesty for him — and probably Daboll — to lose their jobs. I do think Daboll is on shakier ground than Schoen, but the upcoming season is big for both of them. You want to see the Giants win games, and you want to see the majority of the decisions made lead to positive outcomes. We’ll see how it plays out.

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