With the NFL Draft less than a week away, it’s time we finally sit down and have this talk, and that is, of course, about Joe Schoen’s role with this team.
It’s time to address a critical issue: Schoen is no longer the right fit for this team. As John Harbaugh’s influence grows on and off the field, Schoen’s role has become increasingly diminished, a trend that’s only becoming more apparent as the draft approaches.
Look, I’ll give Joe his flowers when he deserves it, like when he traded for Brian Burns, drafted Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo, and hired Harbaugh, but these last few months have not gone the way Giants fans anticipated, and it’s time we demand change.
This is supposed to be an exciting time as the Harbaugh era is upon us, but let’s face it, the work Schoen has done in free agency has been pathetic.
This obviously stems back to two offseasons ago, when he let Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney walk, and we all saw that play out on the big screen on Hard Knocks, which was embarrassing.
Now, this offseason, Wan’Dale Robinson is on his way to Nashville, and Dexter Lawrence is headed to the Bengals, too. How does this man still have a job?
I can kind of get behind letting Wan’Dale walk because of what he’s making, $17 million annually is a hefty price for a WR2, but it still would’ve been nice to have him back. Letting the Dexter Lawrence nonsense get to the point where he was traded to Cincinnati is ridiculous.
Yes, I know Big Dex requested the trade initially, and it wasn't entirely Schoen’s doing, but how do you not at least keep Lawrence and his camp engaged and get a new deal done? You have to make a player like him a Giant for life and do everything you can to keep him in New York.
Look, I get it, he’s coming off a down year, but maybe if you paid him last offseason, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
Are we forgetting that just two years ago, he had nine sacks and is only 28 years old entering next season? I’ll digress since the Giants were able to get the tenth overall pick for Lawrence.
Joe, do you really want to be known as the GM who let Saquon, McKinney, Wan’Dale, and Sexy Dexy walk in three years?
Not to mention, you didn’t handle the Daniel Jones situation well at all, which could be a whole other article in itself, but we’ll save that piece for another day.
I’ll give you credit when it’s due, and for the most part, you’ve done a decent job drafting. For example, last year’s draft was a success, but your second draft class back in 2023 was embarrassing, and it’s things like that that don’t leave me hopeful for this upcoming draft.
Just a refresher, 2023’s draft class consisted of Deonte Banks, John Michael Schmitz, Jalin Hyatt, and Eric Gray. I’ll be honest, not your best, Joe.
Listen, we’ll let it slide, but given where the franchise is now with Harbaugh steering the ship, we can’t afford to have those kinds of misses in next week’s draft. If we do, it could set this team back even further and keep them from contending in the NFC East anytime soon.
Something tells me that if these draft picks don’t hit, this could be Schoen’s last NFL Draft as the Giants’ general manager, especially now that he has two first-round picks to get right.
So, Joe, let’s clean it up and fix this before it gets messier.
Consider it written in blue.
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