NY Giants fans can’t sleep on new QB Joe Schoen just added

Following the conclusion of the 2024 NFL Draft, a lot of NY Giants fans were angry that the team didn’t add a single quarterback to the current room that already had Daniel Jones, Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito. Two weeks later, the Giants decided to make a move to add to it.

It wasn’t quite the move many expected, especially when they were in Detroit and were trying to trade up to the No. 3 overall pick and get Drake Maye, who wound up getting selected by the New England Patriots. It wasn’t even for one of the lower-tiered quarterbacks like Spencer Rattler or Jordan Travis who went on the third day. Instead, the Giants claimed quarterback Nathan Rourke off waivers from the Patriots.

Given the fact that the Patriots not only selected Maye, but also selected Joe Milton III in the draft as well, the Patriots didn’t need Rourke. At the same time, given the situation the Giants quarterback depth chart and quarterbacks room is in and the amount of uncertainty that it has, adding someone like Rourke made sense.

For the fans who are saying, “why even bother?” - let’s take a look at why. Rourke is not your typical undrafted free agent signing or the typical rookie minicamp invitee who hasn’t stepped foot on a pro field and taken a snap besides college. Rourke has experience playing in the Canadian Football League for two seasons.

The Giants adding Nathan Rourke to the QBs room makes sense

His second season with the BC Lions saw Rourke set the CFL record for completion percentage with 78.7 to go with 25 touchdown passes and over 3,300 yards in the air. On top of throwing the football, Rourke can use his legs very well, which was shown last preseason against the Dallas Cowboys and had the football world buzzing.

Rourke also had this ability when he was at college playing for the University of Ohio as well. In his three seasons there, Rourke had 49 total rushing touchdowns, which you’d expect from a running back, but not from a quarterback. Yet, Rourke has some scrambling ability, clearly knows how to avoid getting hit and has found ways to make plays.

Think about it, once upon a time ago, a failed NFL quarterback named Kurt Warner had to go to the arena league before getting a second chance to play again in the NFL, which led him to a Super Bowl championship, a couple of NFL MVP awards and a place in the Hall of Fame. Another example similar to Rourke would be another quarterback named Jeff Garcia, who went undrafted and also played in the CFL for several seasons before getting a second chance to play again in the NFL. Garcia would go on to lead several teams to the playoffs in a career that spanned from 1999 until 2011.

If Garcia’s career isn’t convincing enough, how about another former player who once started their career playing several seasons in the CFL before heading to the NFL for the next 16 years. That man was Warren Moon, and he, just like Warner, also has a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So much for Canadian Football League players not having any impact. Now, is Rourke guaranteed to be Warner, Garcia or Moon? There is no guarantee, but how do you know what Rourke is unless he gets a chance to play. The Jaguars had him, but Trevor Lawrence was clearly their present and future guy. The Patriots also had him, but they were clearly in the direction of going to the top of the draft board for their next guy to replace Mac Jones, which happened with Maye.

So before anyone ever writes off Rourke as another camp body just there, go back a year ago to when DeVito was an undrafted free agent who nobody thought had a chance in the world of making the 53-man roster. Two months after taking his last preseason snap, DeVito found himself not only on the roster, but as the Giants starting quarterback who won three regular season games. A year later, it could very well be Rourke who is competing with DeVito for at least his spot.

Remember, Jones isn’t guaranteed to be healthy, much less, effective in 2024. Lock could very well be the starter in 2024. Lock could also be the same disaster he was with the Denver Broncos and the Giants might want to evaluate what Rourke is at this stage of his career. For Rourke’s sake, he already has more experience under his belt than DeVito did coming in. He also has more experience playing against professionals than the rookie class you saw being selected in Detroit, even if it is against Canadian teams.

If those aren’t enough examples of why you can never count out the unknown player looking for a chance in preseason and training camp, you can go through many other examples of players who were either undrafted or walk-on tryouts who wanted a chance. Do we dare say Victor Cruz, who was one of the greatest underdog stories ever for the Giants. Players like that can come out of nowhere, impress the right coach and suddenly, they are playing an important part of a team’s success and future,

Could the next one be Rourke? While the early odds say probably not, you truly never know before a season ever starts and nobody really knows until he’s given a chance with the football in his hands.