What Round One Revealed About GM Joe Schoen: The NFL Giants’ Takeaway Draft

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Tape set low for giants General Manager Joe Shuen. That’s one benefit of replacing Dave Gettleman, who went 19-46 in four seasons as GM.

All Schoen had to do with his first-round picks in NFL Project On Thursday night, he was avoiding making a selection that would lead to fan reactions worth watching, like when Gettleman came back I will be Barclay At No. 2 in 2018 and quarterback Daniel Jones At No. 6 in 2019.

Time will tell if the Oregon edge is speeding kefon tebodo and processing Alabama Evan Neal It will be good NFL players. But at least Schoen’s first two choices didn’t trigger TV remotes across the Tri-state.

This draft It will always be your first chance to really get to know Schoen. He inherited the salary cap mess and spent his first few months trying to compile a list of the wreckage left by Gettleman. But with the fifth and seventh selections in the draft, Schwinn had his first chance to make his mark on the roster.

It was clear that Shuen had prepared for every scenario. As expected, the first two options were edge dash game Travon Walker And Aidan Hutchinson. Then there was a bit of a curveball with two cornerbacks Derek Stingley and Ahmed Gardner going straight.

The giants He had an interest in Gardner, so he had to hurt him to come off the board in 4th place on the Planes. And it must have been a bit surprising that none of the offensive tackles were selected in the top four.

That left Schoen two options. He can handle the top of his plate at number 5, trust me leopards He would deal with No. 6 and then take Thibodeaux at No. 7. Or he could take Thibodeaux at No. 5 and then take the remaining top at No. 7. Schoen chose door number 2.

There’s no way to know if Neil or NC State’s Ekim Ikuwo, who came sixth to the Carolinas, ranked higher on the Giants board. But Schoen’s thought process was defined by the steps he envisioned would produce the best package for players.

“After Tibodo, there was a big drop (on fast passing),” Schwinn said. “We like the tackles very similarly, so we thought it was best to let them play and speed up the passes first.”

Giants general manager Joe Shuen said he spoke with three teams interested in trading up to No. 7 but eventually used the selection to draft Evan Neal. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Not said was the fear that the team would trade with the Panthers, who had the impulse to back down, and took Thibodeaux if he was there at No. 6. It was clear that Schwinn felt he would be happy with Neil or Ikuwo and that the difference between was not big enough to risk losing Thibodeaux .

The process provided insight into how Schwinn thinks and what he values.

Here are some additional points from the first day of the draft:

• Schoen said there were “six guys really that we’ve been coveting,” which made him less than the total necessary so he could sleep easily while getting into the draft with the fifth and seventh picks. It is safe to conclude that Tibodo and Neil were among that group of six. So who are the other four on Schwinn’s wish list?

Ekwonu was clearly on a close rank with Neil because when Schoen was asked why he took Neil, he replied, “Because Ickey went at six.” Defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale has been a staunch supporter of Gardner, according to a source, so the Cincinnati cornerback was likely among the six. It seems clear that Walker and Hutchinson would be the other players, although it’s possible that the Giants didn’t value one of these edge-toting as much as their own recruiting status.

Schoen said there was a seventh player they were willing to take if those six players were off the board in 7. The controversy likely has to do with Stingley and Mississippi handling. Charles CrossWho went ninth to Seahawks.

Schoen made a throwing line that could have been revealed

“We had a couple of rhymes for different scenarios,” Schwinn said.

Gardner’s nickname is “sauce,” which rhymes with the cross. Aside from Sesame Street’s editorial skills, it seems likely that Kroos was the player the Giants would have taken the seventh place if the other tackles had disappeared and their other top choices were off the board.

• Schoen said he spoke with three teams interested in trading up to No. 7. He said there are no calls for the fifth pick. It makes sense that the market has been pretty tepid given that only one midfielder, Kenny Becketthe went in the first round, slipped to Steelers at number 20.

Schoen said he agreed to criteria for deals with two teams prior to the draft, but was only planning to continue if all six of his players were to disappear. One of those teams withdrew “because a certain location he was coming for was exhausted.” Looks like this would be a corner since Stingley and Gardner were not expected to go so early.

Schoen did not appear to have been able to reclaim the first round of 2023 in any deal, which again made trading undesirable.

• Schoen didn’t play it safe with his first pick. Thibodeaux brings a larger-than-life character who has not been good with some throughout the league during the pre-draft process, including some in the Giants’ front office, according to a source. But Schoen put in a great deal of work getting to know Thibodeaux.

Thibodeau said he spent more time with the Giants during the initial draft process than any other team. This included a joint meeting Thibodeaux described as a “difficult time,” a visit to the Giants facility and a cross-country trip by Schoen for Thibodeaux’s professional day. Schwinn had only attended a few professional days, but was sure to put Oregon on his itinerary, and had dinner with Thibodeau the night before.

“We got to know the kid probably more than any other player in this draft,” Schwinn said. “I liked the character and liked the player.”

There have been questions about Thibodeaux’s efforts from analysts during the preliminary draft process. Schoen explained why that wasn’t a concern.

“He had a serious ankle injury,” Schwinn said. And a lot of people, with his draft and stock, could comment on it and said, ‘We’ll call it a season and I’m not playing anymore. “Fight again.”

There has also been talk of Tebodo being more interested in his brand than in football. Schoen believes that the ability of college athletes to take advantage of the politics of name, image, and likeness has changed the game.

“The freshmen in college, some of them earn $100K, $200,000,” Schwinn said. “It’s a different athlete and a different experience as a college football player, and we have to evolve and understand that kids are going to evolve, and what they were exposed to when they were in college is going to be a little different.”

He will fall on Daboll to make sure Thibodeaux realizes his potential on the field.

“When I’ve trained in the NFL for 22 years, you come across a lot of different personalities, and as long as they love football and are professionals on and off the field,” Daboll said. “And that’s the coach’s job as well, to teach your players, what makes them move, how to push them when they need to (to) push them, and how to hug them when they need a hug.”

• Thibodeaux’s personalities to overwhelm Neil (and many of his teammates). This looks like he’s going to be fine with Neil.

There is not much intrigue with the choice of Neil. He was seen as one of the best attack airlines in the country on every level. Picking a player who started 40 games in Alabama doesn’t require much scrutiny.

The only potential red flag with Neil is the reported medical concern in his knee and hip that has spread in the days leading up to the recall. Schoen said 8 percent of the league had a medical issue with Neal, but the Giants’ doctors had no concerns.

“I was a little shocked (by the reports), but at the end of the day I’m just in control of my devices,” Neil said. “I can’t control the information that leaked, but I played 41 games in Alabama, I didn’t miss a game, I didn’t miss a moment, I only missed one game because of COVID, so here’s your answer there.”

• Schoen was skeptical about his press conference draft when a question was asked about having #1 in the back corner with the fifth pick. He may have had information that Stingley and Gardner would not make it to fifth.

But with those angles out of the picture, the Giants have no obvious replacement for the veteran James Bradburywhich is still on the chopping piece.

“It doesn’t affect James at all,” Schoen said of his failure to add a corner kick in the first round. “I’ve said it all the time, there are contingency plans. We still have three picks (Friday) night, fifty-four and six. There are a lot of options out there.”

The worst news on the Bradberry front is that heads I traded to take the corner Trent McDuffy with check st. This could potentially kill the chiefs’ interest in trading in Bradberry’s favour. The Invoices They are the other contenders who sniffed Bradbury, but traded for a buck corner in Florida Cair Elam With check 23.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to see Schoen doing a business deal as the pool of potential landing sites shrinks. Meanwhile, a corner kick is likely near the top of the Giants’ wish list on day two because cornering is so vital in Martindale’s defense. Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr. and Washington’s Kyler Gordon could be targets with pick #36.

• Draft picks dominated the big news earlier in the day when the Giants refused to practice Daniel Jones’ Choice for Fifth Year for 2023. This was an obvious move, but nothing is guaranteed given how much the property has thought about Jones.

The Giants are essentially making a $9 million hedge against Jones. The fifth-year option would have secured Jones $22.4 million in 2023. By turning down that option, the Giants have the potential to cut ties after this season if Jones doesn’t make big strides. If Jones does well enough that the Giants want to keep him, they will have the ability to do so with their franchise tag, which is expected to be $31.5 million. Both sides will likely be eager to make an extension if Jones plays so well that the team feels comfortable securing his more than $31 million guarantee for 2023.

The odds are stacking up against Jones who turns into a quarterback at this point in his career. Former Jaguar Blake Bortles is the only player among the 28 drafted in the first round from 2011 to 2019 to decline his option to stay with the team for a fifth season. It was released prior to its sixth season in Jacksonville.

• Giants exercised a fifth-year $10.8 million option in defensive intervention Dexter Lawrencewho was the 17th pick in the 2019 draft. That number might seem high until you realize how recently the defensive processing market has exploded.

Former Giant Dalvin Tomlinson earns $10.5 million annually through Vikingswhile former giant Austin Johnson was awarded a $7 million annually contract from chargers This is offseason. Those prices are only going to go up, so it makes sense to lock in Lawrence at $10.8 million for 2023 now. The option will give both sides time to reach an extension, as the team needs to start retaining some of its quality homegrown players.

(top photo from kefon tebodo: David Baker/Getty Images)