Giants GM Joe Schoen: Drafting a QB ‘not mandatory. We don’t have our feet to the fire’

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Entering his fourth NFL Draft as New York Giants general manager, Joe Schoen has yet to put the name of a quarterback on a draft card. He’s made 24 straight picks without taking a QB, and next week, he might just make it 25.

Speaking ahead of the draft, Schoen said that after signing veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in free agency, he’s not feeling the pressure to select a quarterback with one of his early picks, most notably the No. 3 overall selection.

“You would like to have a young franchise quarterback,” Schoen said Wednesday. “Everybody wants that. But the value has to be right, or it doesn’t matter. You get that one wrong …”

Schoen paused for a moment.

“You’ve just got to get that right,” the GM continued. “When you’re in position to get the right one at the right time, that’s when you pull the trigger.”

Will this year’s draft provide the Giants with the right quarterback at the right time?

The Giants missed out on the top QB talents (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye) in last year’s draft and elected to pick wide receiver Malik Nabers rather than the other first-round options (Michael Penix Jr. J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix). While Nabers looks like a superstar, the 2024 season was rough for the New York offense, largely due to poor QB play.

In response, the Giants overhauled their quarterback room, signing both Wilson and Winston to join Tommy DeVito in what is now a veteran-laden room.

“With the signing of those two players, I think we put ourselves in a position where I don’t think (drafting a QB) is mandatory or we don’t have our feet to the fire where we have to do it,” Schoen said.

Schoen explained that he’s happy with the makeup of the “upgraded” quarterback room and further hinted, as he did at the annual league meetings late last month, that the Giants could spend the No. 3 pick on a position other than the quarterback.

Still, with neither Wilson nor Winston the long-term answer at the position for New York, the Giants are expected to remain players in the draft QB market. That’s been made apparent lately, with the Giants scheduling private workouts with some of the top prospects at the position. The Giants will conduct a private workout with Shedeur Sanders in Colorado on Thursday; they are also slated to conduct private workouts with Louisville’s Tyler Shough and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and have already put in “a lot of work” on Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

It’s not surprising the Giants are doing their due diligence on available quarterbacks, but what’s generated some buzz is the timing of the workouts, given that the draft is only a week away.

“There’s nothing unique about this other than the calendar is what it is this year,” Schoen said. “You’re trying to connect the schedules.”

When it comes to Sanders specifically, Schoen mentioned that Colorado’s pro day (April 4) came later in the pre-draft process, and in general, teams don’t want to conduct private workouts before a college’s pro day because of the injury risk involved.

While the Giants need a new face of the franchise, the homework they’re doing on these QBs isn’t necessarily all about that. If they wind up picking a middle- or later-round QB, the hope is that player can at least develop into a backup — not only for the sake of the pick’s productivity but also for salary cap reasons.

“Now you’re opening up financial resources you don’t have to spend on a backup quarterback, and he can be a cost-controlled player for four years that’s not expensive compared to what’s on the open market,” Schoen said.

Since Schoen’s arrival, the Giants have paid Tyrod Taylor (two years, $11 million), Drew Lock (one year, $5 million) and now Winston (one year, $8 million) as backups. Wilson looks like he’s being paid to start, but what happens in the draft can still change that.

“When you look at what we paid our backup quarterbacks, that’s money you can spend elsewhere,” Schoen said.

When asked about his evaluation of this year’s quarterback class, Schoen did say there’s some “depth” to it.

“If the board lines up, and we are on the clock, and that’s the position that we want to go with, we’ll go with it,” Schoen said. “(But) I’m not going to get backed into a corner on that.”

Hunter’s home?

Schoen did not say whether he viewed cornerback or wide receiver as Colorado prospect Travis Hunter’s primary position. However, the GM did say the team would be willing to play the Heisman Trophy winner both ways.

“We would not be afraid to play him on both sides of the ball,” Schoen said Wednesday. “Travis is a unique individual. It’s unique, the ball skills, the route ability and he also has the ability to go to the other side and play corner. You don’t see that very often. A lot of times, if these guys can’t catch or can’t play receiver, then they get moved to DB. This guy can do it all.”

Hunter recently said he’d rather quit playing football than not be allowed to play on both sides of the ball. The talented prospect has made his feelings known to teams interested in drafting him.

While Schoen said the Giants aren’t afraid to let him try, he does have some concerns.

“You’re always worried about the length of the season, with the 17 games and training camp,” Schoen said. “If he gets hurt doing something that he’s not doing full time, you’re going to kick yourself. But he’s a unique athlete that I think will be able to do both.

“What would have to be settled is the mental part of it. Because the offense is very hard to learn, and the defense (changes weekly). Just how much can you handle mentally where you can go out there and execute, and they can trust you to do your job? Physically, I wouldn’t doubt the kid.”

News and notes

• One of the big updates to come out of the NFL Scouting Combine was that top edge prospect Abdul Carter was dealing with a stress fracture in his right foot. The injury kept him from participating in Penn State’s pro day, but Schoen doesn’t anticipate it’s going to prevent a team from taking him.

“I don’t think there’s going to be much room for pause there,” the GM said before adding that the Giants will meet with their medical personnel Thursday for more information on all draft prospects.

• The Giants will probably wait until after the draft to make decisions on the fifth-year options for 2022 first-round picks Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal, Schoen said.

It seems like both decisions should be pretty easy for New York. Thibodeaux hasn’t been a wrecking ball on defense, but the edge rusher’s 21 sacks in three seasons are still solid enough to warrant the Giants picking up his option, which Over The Cap estimates will be about $14.7 million.

Neal’s career, meanwhile, has gotten off to a far more frustrating start. Given his injury history and poor play when on the field, it would be a big surprise if the Giants opted to pick up Neal’s option, which Over The Cap estimates will be valued at about $16.7 million.

• Schoen and the Giants haven’t shied away from dealing picks in recent drafts, but would they trade No. 3? While it seems unlikely they’ll trade up — the Tennessee Titans appear locked in on taking Miami QB Cam Ward at No. 1 — Schoen said they’re open to all options and have received some calls about teams looking to trade up.

(Photo of Joe Schoen: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

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