INDIANAPOLIS – When asked if he was ready for the process of rebuilding the better New York Giants, new general manager Joe Schoen did not hesitate.
“Absolutely,” Schoen said. – Absolutely.
His experience with Buffalo Bills, where Schoen has spent the last five years, should help. Brandon Bean was hired as Bill’s CEO in 2017, recruiting Schoen to serve as his major, to help revive a franchise that hasn’t won a double-digit game or division since the 1990s. (The bills have now been made by both, each of the last two years.)
There are other similarities on the surface between these bills, including a good rear of the draft, some hope on the list, and a confusing quarterback situation.
To be honest, the Giants fell faster – and harder – from this Bill’s team, and Sean’s job is to clean up what’s left. The reality for the Giants is that they have the worst record (compared to the Jets) in the 2017 NFL at 22-59, the salary cap situation requires serious surgery and there are two top 6 overall in the draft. future with the team remain opaque.
Daniel Jones and Sakuon Barkley.
They both had their moments in the NFL. It wasn’t enough for either of them. The clock is ticking faster for Barkley, who is ready to enter his fifth annual season of options, but Jones’ dilemma is just as, if not more, important.
First, for Barkley: Sean didn’t mention him by name – nor did new head coach Brian Daball – but he said they don’t close in on any trade talks.
“We’re still working on it,” Schoen said, “but I’m open to everything.”
Schoen then volunteered to be open to “player-for-player” or even “multi-player” deals. Those words are open to interpretation, but Sean said the Giants didn’t have to be “open to business on the whole list.”
He added: “If someone calls and is interested in one of our players, I will certainly listen to him. We are again in a situation where, unfortunately, we have to go under the salary ceiling.”
“The Giants are not in very good health on the pay ceiling,” Schoen said, and that’s no joke. They are actually about $ 25 million above the limit with 55 players on the list, and their eight biggest hits are not quarterbacks.
The reason Sean has this job is because of the poor composition of the previous regime, the wrong financial distribution and the small long-term vision. If he follows the vision of his mentor Bean, the giants may be open to business. In Beane’s first project, the Bills swapped twice to get Josh Allen and once again to get Tremaine Edmunds in Round 1. They later swapped for Stefon Diggs. The Bills suddenly included one of the best lists in the NFL.
Moving Barkley makes sense. He is a good talent who was too rich at No. 2 as the overall draft pick in 2018. On top of that, injuries in the last three years after his rookie of the year season have reduced Barkley’s return on investment.
But there should and probably will be teams (maybe even Shoen’s former club?) Considering taking on Barkley’s $ 7.2 million contract this season in hopes that he will return to rookie of the year form. in which he scored 15 touchdowns and topped the league in yards from the bout.
Trading with Barkley has always felt like a high probability this off-season for the Giants franchise, which has been in turmoil for years. This is even more likely after Shohen did nothing to suppress the possibility.
2 top 7 choices, but will you use one per quarterback?
Usually, a team that (a) has not been sold as its quarterback and (b) has had two top 10 overall drafts should not stretch the imagination on how to solve the problem.
The Giants have a fifth and seventh overall pick. Sixteen quarterbacks were selected in the first seven overall selections in the 2015 draft. It would be pointless: You are making another one.
But this is not your typical draft. Although one or more quarterbacks could land in the top 10 overall, this is not a QB class that seems to be fooled by decision makers.
The general managers of many other teams felt this way about Jones when he came out in 2019. The Giants took him much higher (№ 6 overall) than any other team would have thought. During the three uneven seasons, Jones remained a major question mark.
Schoen said the Giants “are still working on all of this” with a decision on whether to choose Jones’ fifth option this spring. Sean later called it a “$ 22 million issue” – the amount of money the giants would have to guarantee for Jones’ 2023 contract.
“We have until May 2 to make that decision,” Schoen said, “so we will be patient and go through the process.”
Asked about Jones, Schoen was impressed to see him at the facility at 5:30 the next morning, at a time when many players, coaches and staff are out of town or taking their families on holiday.
“I’m really impressed with the child,” Schoen said. “He was summoned [sixth overall] with reason and I look forward to working with him. “
If the Giants stick to Jones this year, how does that affect their 2022 draft plans?
Well, with two of the top seven picks, that could allow the Giants to move into two building blocks – perhaps one in defense and one to patch up an offensive line that Sean noted currently has “five strong players” in the list.
But as with the quarterbacks of the draft, this year’s top 10 offer much less strength and stellar strength than last year’s draft. This can also make 2023 draft trading more difficult – who wants to trade so high for anything less than prospects for blue chips?
However, Sean is convinced that the Giants can use №5 and 7 – either regular and select players there, or use them in trade – to make a significant improvement on their list.
“I am confident of that to the players [will be] there, “said Schoen.” Where we are, five and seven, with respect to the first round only, [our goal is] finding seven players that we really like that meet the specifics of the position, the critical factors and the type of football makeup and the type of character we want to build in our building. Then I will sleep well at night. “
Sean even seemed to be preparing for the opportunity to take a perspective so high that he might like it more than the others. (Does that sound familiar?)
“If it’s too high to take a man or whatever, that’s fine,” Schoen said. “What I’m interested in is what the people in the building think, and we’ll do our due diligence and make sure that whether it’s deep or not, we’ll find someone we like and can contribute to us.”
Will it be a quarterback? Schoen said the giants were there to assess the position, “as it should be every year.” If the Giants like what they see in the position, it certainly makes Jones’ decision in May much easier.