We as NY Giants fans are about to enter our third season in the Joe Schoen Era. So far, Schoen has done a great job of taking this team from an absolute laughing stock to a respectable on-field product.
Whether it was through the draft with picks like Kayvon Thobodeaux or Deonte Banks, finding gems in free agency like Bobby Okereke or building through trades with players like Brian Burns, Schoen is working his magic. However, there is no such thing as a perfect general manager. As good as Schoen has been for Big Blue, even he doesn't come without his faults, including these five moves:
5. Signing Parris Campbell
Schoen signed Parris Campbell to a one-year, $4.7 million deal before the 2023 season. What seemed to be a low risk/high reward, team friendly deal somehow turned out to be $4.7 million too much. In his lone year with the Giants, Campbell was terrible to say the least.
Admittedly, it isn't like he was brought in to be the franchise star or anything like that, but he couldn't even live up to being the complementary piece he was supposed to be. Campbell only had 20 catches for 104 yards in 12 games for the Giants.
From the training camp videos, it looked like Campbell was going to be a Mike Wallace-type guy to stretch the field and be the deep threat for Daniel Jones. Unfortunately, the Giants didn't get anywhere close to that from Campbell. For an offense that was stagnant at times, a guy who seemingly only caught the ball on screens was not going to be the answer. Thankfully, Campbell wasn't a big money deal like Kenny Golladay (thanks Dave Gettleman), but Schoen probably wishes he spent that $4.7 million elsewhere.
4. Trading for Darren Waller
The Darren Waller trade had so much promise, but now it's looking like his time with the team will come to an end. It was another move Schoen made to put more weapons around Jones that didn't seem to pan out the way we all wanted. Schoen traded for Waller at the beginning of the 2023 offseason for a third-round pick.
When all the dust was settled, Schoen essentially traded Kadarius Toney for Waller. A trade Giants fans would have taken 10 times out of 10. However, all the hype turned out to be just that, hype. Waller showed flashes of the Pro Bowler the Giants hoped they were getting in his 12 games, but thanks to a nagging hamstring injury, the consistency was never really there.
He ended his 2023 season with 52 catches for 552 yards and one touchdown. Any Giants optimists out there would have told you it was just a down year and he'll be back stronger in 2024, but with personal issues and a looming retirement, we can add this to the list of misses for Schoen.
3. Extending Daniel Jones
Schoen's first huge test as GM came when he had to decide who to franchise tag and who to sign long term in regards to Jones and Saquon Barkley. As we all know, Barkley was tagged and Jones became the $40 million man. To put it bluntly, Jones isn't that good of a quarterback to make that much money per year.
His inconsistencies as a passer combined with a highlight reel of "C'mon Man" type turnovers made opposing fanbases cackle when they saw the four-year, $160 million price tag for Jones. Quarterback is the most important position on the field and I can see Schoen's vision wanting to pay a guy who just led the team to a playoff win for the first time in years, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know Jones isn't the long-term solution.
Now, Schoen did save the franchise a ton by not paying a running back $17 million a year, but picking up that fifth-year option on Jones is looking like it would have been the way to handle him. Thankfully, the team can get out of this massive contract after this season.
2. Drafting Evan Neal
All Giants fans have wanted for a decade is quality, consistent offensive line play. We have suffered through the likes of Ereck Flowers and Will Hernandez, and we finally thought our luck was changing when Andrew Thomas became an All Pro. Trying to build off that momentum of hitting on a lineman in the draft, Schoen selected Evan Neal out of Alabama in his first draft at the helm of the Giants.
One of the most highly-ranked players in all of the 2022 draft, Neal was poised to be the force opposite of Thomas. But, life is cruel. Neal has come nowhere close to being the guy the Giants need to help anchor this offensive line. He often looks lost on certain protections and his ability to handle the edge-rushers in pass protection is seemingly nonexistent.
He has prototypical size for the position, but his ability just hasn't been there. His play got so bad, fans let him hear it and he didn't hesitate calling them out. Not exactly the way to go if your play isn’t backing up the talk. Building the line through the draft is what teams like the Giants need to do, but Neal wasn't the answer. He's facing a make-or-break year in 2024.
1. Letting Julian Love walk in free agency
Julian Love leaving the Giants after the 2022 season is a part of Schoen's tenure that isn't talked about nearly enough. Sure, in his first offseason, he had bigger fish to fry than retaining a safety, but it's a decision that really aged poorly for Schoen. Love had the best season of his career in 2023 with four interceptions and 10 passes defended. All for the price tag of $6 million a year with Seattle.
Had Schoen met that price tag, he would have had an elite safety duo in Love and Xavier McKinney. McKinney was in a contract year in 2023 and his play netted him a huge deal with the Green Bay Packers.
The $14 million per year McKinney is set to receive was never going to happen in New York, but they could have had a Pro Bowler for less than half of that if Schoen kept Love. Had Schoen kept Love, NY would enter 2024 with Love and highly-praised rookie Tyler Nubin. It could have been another great safety duo in New Jersey for fans to enjoy.