Giants’ latest move shows not even John Harbaugh can teach Joe Schoen new tricks

If someone can tell me what general manager Joe Schoen is doing with the offensive line, I'd love to know. In a relatively surprising move, the New York Giants have re-signed offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu to a one-year deal. The team announced the news on Tuesday afternoon:

Big Blue selected Ezeudu with the 67th pick of the 2022 Draft out of North Carolina. At the time, the idea made sense. He had the ideal size (6-foot-4, 310 pounds), moved well, and could line up at both guard and tackle. The G-Men were in the middle of rebuilding their offensive line, and pairing him with Evan Neal (who they took seventh that same draft) gave them two young pieces they hoped could grow into long-term starters.

The problem is that it’s never really come together. The 26-year-old has struggled to stay consistent when he’s been on the field, and injuries haven’t helped either, leaving him more as a project than a solution four years later.

But instead of pivoting after missing on Alijah Vera-Tucker or going after proven upgrades like Wyatt Teller, the Giants keep circling back to their own draft picks, even bringing Evan Neal back earlier this offseason. And now it’s on new head coach John Harbaugh to try and make it work. At some point, it starts to feel less like patience and more like Schoen refusing to move on from his own mistakes.

Joe Schoen’s loyalty to his draft picks is becoming a real problem

Re-signing Ezeudu and Neal is just the tip of the iceberg. Schoen’s fragile ego and attachment to his own draft picks keep getting in the way of competent roster building, making it harder for him to move on from his mistakes and take any real accountability for them.

In the early stages of free agency, it felt like Harbaugh was getting through to the 46-year-old, bringing in a new era of physical football with new faces and a new energy to the building. But it didn’t take long for the much-maligned GM to fall back into old habits. Change is hard, especially for those unwilling to accept it.

Here are some of Schoen’s early draft misses that are somehow still hanging around:

• Evan Neal, OL: The 25-year-old was brought back on a one-year deal earlier this offseason after not recording a single snap in 2025, despite being on the 53-man roster for the first 10 games of the season, before heading to IR.

• Deonte Banks, CB: The former Maryland standout was drafted with the 24th pick in the 2023 Draft. Schoen traded up with the Jaguars to get him. He's already lost his starting job as a cornerback, and now does return work on special teams.

• Jalin Hyatt, WR: Hyatt was also acquired via a trade-up on draft night. The 2023 third-rounder was supposed to help bolster a weak passing attack, but four years in, and the 2022 Biletnikoff Award winner (best receiver in college football) has 36 receptions for 470 yards, and his next touchdown will be his first.

• John Michael Schmitz, C: Widely regarded as the best center prospect of the 2023 Class, JMS hasn't even looked like a spot-starter through his first three seasons in North Jersey. He has yet to rank in the top 28 at his position for three consecutive seasons.

Tell me Schoen has a problem with moving on without telling me. Seriously. It's like I almost want to get him in a room with Elsa from Frozen so he can learn to let it go. Learn a new trick. See how it feels.

And this is no hate on Ezeudu. But the NFL is a what have you done for me recently league, and he just hasn't done much.

Even after the Ezeudu signing, the G-Men still need real help on the offensive line. They’ve tried the patchwork approach before, and it’s blown up in their face. This was a chance to start fresh and lean into Harbaugh’s track record of building a smash-mouth front. Maybe a coaching change is all Ezeudu needs to finally be unleashed. But the message still stands: Schoen’s ego's gotta go.