Ranking 5 of the best moves made by Joe Schoen so far as NY Giants GM

With the NFL season at its midway point, we have begun to really see how some of the moves made by new general manager Joe Schoen has panned out. This was a tremendous offseason for Schoen, as not only did he address many of the positional needs of the NY Giants, but he did it with little-to-no cap space. In addition to this, Schoen has also done a great job at acquiring future draft picks.

Not every decision has been perfect, but considering the circumstances, we think there are no doubts that Schoen did a tremendous job at building a team that is not only ready to succeed now, but in the future as well. Here’s a look at the five best calls the GM has made thus far whil leading Big Blue:

5. Keeping Dexter Lawrence in Big Blue

Prior to this season, Dexter Lawrence was always one of the most solid players on the NY Giants defensive line, however, he was not yet at a star level. With that in mind, Schoen had the difficult decision on whether or not to pick up the fifth-year option on Lawrence in an attempt to lock him down for the future.

Schoen made the right move and decided to accept this option to keep Lawrence, keeping the 24-year-old standout around for the 2023 season and potentially longer if Schoen decides to sign him to an extension.

Halfway through the season, Schoen looks like a genius, as not only do we have Lawrence for a guaranteed extra season, but Lawrence is also in the midst of his best year yet. Through eight games, Lawrence has racked up 28 combined tackles, four sacks, three tackles for loss, 11 QB hits, and one forced fumble. Lawrence has looked like one of the best defensive linemen in the entire NFL thus far.

Schoen also faced a similar scenario with QB Daniel Jones, however, this move was obvious as in no world was Jones deserving of $25 million prior to this season. This was one of the earliest moves that Schoen had to make during his tenure as Giants GM, and so far, it has really panned out, making for quite the great way to start your career with a new team. Sexy Dexy has been a boss.

4. Signing Fabian Moreau

One of the biggest issues on the Giants defense heading into the season was the lack of depth at the cornerback position. Obviously it is hard to make notable improvements when you have little-to-no cap space and other pressing matters on the team, however, one of Schoen’s best moves so far as GM was signing former Atlanta Falcons DB Fabian Moreau to the team.

During his time with NY, Moreau has been nothing short of great, allowing only 19 receptions on 35 targets for 241 yards and one TD. Moreau has also only allowed 50+ yards in one game this season, that being against the Jaguars where he essentially won the day for the NY Giants with his late game heroics.

With the injury to Aaron Robinson, and Darnay Holmes disappointing play, the Giants needed someone to step up in the secondary this season. Moreau has done that and more.

It has been clear that Schoen has a very keen eye for talent. To bring in Moreau, a player that had very little interest during the offseason, and watch him turn into a great player is a testament of Schoen’s abilities.

3. Drafting Daniel Bellinger in the fourth round

With the loss of Evan Engram, Kyle Rudolph, and Kaden Smith in the offseason, it was extremely clear that the Giants needed to find a new TE for Jones and the offense. With that in mind, Schoen decided to select San Diego State TE Daniel Bellinger in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

This was an intriguing pick at the time, as while Bellinger was known for being a great blocker, his ability as a receiver was questioned. However, through seven games, Bellinger has put that conversation to rest, catching 16 passes for 152 yards and posting three total TDs.

In addition to this, Bellinger’s ability as a blocker has still remained as good as it was in college, with Bellinger receiving a run blocking grade of 62.3, which ranks 12th amongst TEs.

To select such an impactful player so late in the draft is amazing. Schoen already did an amazing job with his selections in the first two rounds of the draft, so to take a player like Bellinger in the fourth is just icing on the cake.

The Giants have been without a consistent TE for quite some time now. If Bellinger can come back strong from his eye injury and continue his great level of play, the team could have their star TE of the future.

2. Fixing the NY Giants broken offensive line

Over the last five or so seasons, one of the biggest issues with the Giants has been their dreaded offensive line, which made it nearly impossible for the offense to function. However, in one offseason with almost no cap space, Schoen managed to bring in some very solid offensive linemen to help solve this issue.

We’re not saying these players have been perfect, as all of Evan Neal, Mark Glowinski, and Jon Feliciano have had their fair share of issues. However, considering how awful the offensive line was last season, we’ll take the improvement.

Regardless, all three of these players have been very solid in the run game – where they have struggled has been in pass blocking situations. While it may be too late for Glowinski and Feliciano to show major improvement, Neal is an extremely promising player who we think will be a star in this league.

The good run blocking we have seen from this Giants offensive line has been one of the key reasons for Saquon Barkley’s resurgence this season. In addition to the starters, Schoen has done a tremendous job finding great depth for the offensive line. Players like Josh Ezeudu, Devery Hamilton, and Tyre Phillips have done solid jobs when they have needed to step up.

Schoen did an all-around fantastic job at rebuilding the NY Giants offensive line. Without these players, we would likely be seeing a similar win/loss ratio to that of last season.

1. Hiring Brian Daboll to be the head coach of the NY Giants

Following a disastrous head coaching tenure with Joe Judge, the NY Giants were in need of a new head coach, and almost as soon as Schoen was hired, he decided to bring his coworker in Buffalo along with him in Brian Daboll.

Eight games into the season and it seems like Schoen could not have made a better pick, as not only did Daboll hire an amazing coaching staff to surround him, but he is also the clear front runner for Coach of the Year.

Daboll has already completely turned the NY Giants and their culture around in only half of his first season. Who knows where this team would be without him. Bringing in both Wink Martindale and Mike Kafka were genius moves by Daboll, as while they may not be perfect, they have both done a great job at leading the Giants to their 6-2 start.

To put the offensive coordinator for Josh Allen, and the QB coach for Patrick Mahomes behind Jones has done wonders for the young QB, who is in the midst of his best season yet. Without Schoen hiring Daboll, we likely would not see this leap from Jones and the rest of the team.

Schoen has done an incredible job at turning this NY Giants team around. While fans may still have nightmares from the Dave Gettleman era, they can feel safe and reassured knowing that Schoen is now in the front office for the foreseeable future.

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