In what has been a sensational offseason for the NY Giants, there's no question that general manager Joe Schoen deserves a ton of praise for his strong work. Recently, Schoen has improved the defense by trading for former first-round pick Isaiah Simmons, plus pass-rusher Boogie Basham.
That's not the whole story, though. Schoen has put on a masterclass since taking the GM role In January of 2022. Everything he touches is turning to gold and his early track record shows he is well on his way to becoming the best GM in all of football. Here are four reasons why:
4. Youth movement for the NY Giants
For the first time in a long time, you won't hear many Giants fans complaining about the past two drafts. Why is that? A competent front office is actually addressing team needs. Kayvon Thibodeaux headlined the 2022 draft class and he did so in a big way.
Thibodeaux finished his rookie season tallying 49 total tackles, six tackles for loss, four sacks and a fourth place finish in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. The other rookie standout was Daniel Bellinger who accounted for 30 catches and two touchdowns in just 12 games.
Not to mention the likes of Cor’Dale Flott and Evan Neal who showed flashes throughout the season and a to-be-determined in Wan'Dale Robinson who spent most of the season injured.
Then we get to the 2023 draft. A basically perfect showcase from Schoen. He traded up to get his guy Deonte Banks in the first round, who should add some real play-making ability to the secondary. The best center in the draft in John Michael Schmitz was brought in via the second round and the guy who is being regarded as the steal of the draft in the third round in Jaylin Hyatt was also selected. Solidifying the secondary, offensive line and giving Daniel Jones a needed weapon seems to be brilliant business.
3. Brilliant trades this offseason
Let's start off with the Simmons trade. Schoen and the NY front office only had to give up a seventh-round pick to land the former first-rounder. Goodness, that's a total steal and it's a move that has Big Blue Nation fired up. Simmons figures to step in and push for a starting job at middle linebacker next to Bobby Okereke.
The best part: this wasn't even the best trade of the offseason. Back in March, we all got the alert "The Giants have traded for Darren Waller." As always, it's "what did we give up?" A third-round draft pick, and it was the pick the G-Men landed as part of the Kadarius Toney trade. Another sensational move from Schoen.
Waller really turned heads in the preseason game vs. the Panthers, hauling in three-of-four targets for 30 yards. He has the potential to be a stud in this offense. Let's not forget about the Basham deal, as it has brought in pass-rush depth - exactly what fans had been calling for. Schoen knows what he's doing here.
2. Getting things done with key playmakers
The big question for the Giants this offseason was centered around the plan for Daniel Jones. On March 7, that question was answered. Jones signed a four-year, $160 million extension. Yup, Danny Dimes landed his monster payday and now the pressure is on for him to step up.
The initial number is far from the whole story. Jones is making that $40 million a year salary, but because Schoen is a wizard, there is a team option after Year 2. That means, if Jones regresses or shows he isn't the guy, that deal can be restructured. Schoen locked in the franchise QB in a team-friendly way. Love to see it.
We also saw extensions for Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas - two guys who are some of the best at their respective positions in the entire league. Jones gets a security blanket for the foreseeable future and the defensive line gets its leader. Then, we have the Saquon Barkley situation. This whole saga could be another blog in itself, but this is the main takeaway.
Schoen and Barkley couldn't agree on an extension. There was plenty of worry that No. 26 would be a holdout into the regular season. However, Schoen stood firm and Barkley ended up signing an adjusted franchise tag. So, Schoen didn't break the bank and he has his Pro Bowl RB back in the mix for 2023. Boom.
1. Putting together the right coaching staff
All of these moves Schoen made have been great. But, they all mean nothing if he gets one move wrong: the coach. A week after Schoen was hired, he named Brain Daboll the head man in charge. Giants fans were still a bit sore from the previous reigns of Joe Judge, Pat Shurmur and Ben McAdoo, so we didn't know how this was going to go. All we knew was this was Schoen's guy. In Hindsight, this should have been the eye opener to Schoen's tenure as GM. When Schoen gets his guy, he's usually right.
Daboll established a coaching staff of Mike Kafka at offensive coordinator and Wink Martindale as defensive coordinator and what do you know, coaching seems to matter a little bit in the NFL. This coaching staff got every ounce out of the 2022 roster. A roster that was widely regarded as below average ended up making the playoffs and taking down the 13-win Vikings in the NFC Wild Card Round.
The season ended there, but one thing is for sure, the Giants are no longer a laughing stock in the NFL. Schoen laid the groundwork with his hires and he is putting the pieces together with his acquisitions. The Giants are in a good place and they have arguably the best GM in the league to thank.
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