Giants 2025: Is Joe Schoen the best GM to guide New York into the longer term? | USAEMALL.com

This is the final entry in a five-part series about the state of the New York Giants. Within “Giants 2025,” we will examine the talent on the roster, the team’s positions of need, their pathways to improvement, the players they could target in the offseason and finally, the people charged with restoring this franchise to its former glory. 

At some point over the next 72 hours, Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch will meet to determine the fates of coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. Mara has said the coach and GM who arrived together from Buffalo in 2022 aren’t a “package deal.”

“They both have different jobs, different responsibilities and could have different levels of success,” Mara said in March.

Neither Daboll nor Schoen will meet any standard of success as the 3-13 Giants enter their season finale on Sunday against the Eagles. The evaluation of Daboll figures to be more direct since his sole focus is getting the team to win each week. He obviously has fallen short of that objective the past two seasons after a 9-7-1 debut that earned him the NFL Coach of the Year award.

Schoen’s assessment is more layered. As he said when he was hired, he was aiming to “compete for today and build for tomorrow.” The competing today aspect has fallen flat, but he could get a reprieve if ownership believes in his plan for the future.

To get a holistic view of Schoen’s tenure and how the Giants got to this bleak spot in his third season, I reviewed the major roster-building decisions from each of his three years. This exercise should give a fuller perspective on what Schoen inherited, what he’s added, what he’s subtracted and where things stand as he wraps up his third year on the job.

Part I: How many building blocks can one of the league’s worst rosters actually have?
Part II: Salary cap shouldn’t stand in way of improvement; NY has money to spend
Part III: Free-agent targets include bridge QB, help for Dexter Lawrence, true No. 1 CB
Part IV: Giants 2025: A rookie QB needs a stable ecosystem to thrive. Can NY provide one?

2022 offseason

Schoen inherited a 4-13 team that bottomed out after quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a neck injury that forced Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm to start the final six games of the 2021 season.

The salary cap was a mess, with the team projected to be $10.7 million over the cap when Schoen was hired. Schoen set out to shed $40 million from the cap to get the books in order, which severely compromised his ability to build the roster.

The greatest asset Schoen inherited was nine draft picks, including the fifth and seventh overall selections. Unfortunately for Schoen, there was no quarterback worthy of a top-10 pick in the 2022 draft.

GO DEEPER

Giants NFL Draft order scenarios: Can New York still land the No. 1 pick?

One of Schoen’s first major decisions was declining Jones’ $22.4 million fifth-year option for the 2022 season, setting up a prove-it year for the 2019 first-round pick.

For all of predecessor Dave Gettleman’s flaws, there was young talent — running back Saquon Barkley, left tackle Andrew Thomas, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, safety Xavier McKinney and safety Julian Love — on their rookie contracts. There were also quality high-priced veterans — defensive lineman Leonard Williams, linebacker Blake Martinez, cornerback James Bradberry, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and kicker Graham Gano — on the roster.

• Notable players under contract: QB Daniel Jones, RB Saquon Barkley, WR Kenny Golladay, WR Kadarius Toney, WR Sterling Shepard, WR Darius Slayton, OL Andrew Thomas, OL Nick Gates, DL Dexter Lawrence, DL Leonard Williams, OLB Azeez Ojulari, ILB Blake Martinez, CB James Bradberry, CB Adoree’ Jackson, S Xavier McKinney, S Logan Ryan, S Julian Love, K Graham Gano.

• Notable free agent departures: TE Evan Engram, OL Will Hernandez, DL Austin Johnson, OLB Lorenzo Carter, S Jabrill Peppers.

Engram showed promise during his five seasons with the Giants, but the 2017 first-round pick needed a change of scenery. He got that with a one-year, $9.6 million contract from the Jaguars. Engram has thrived in Jacksonville, earning a Pro Bowl selection in 2023. Hernandez is another early Gettleman draft pick who found more success in a new environment.

• Notable cuts: CB James Bradberry, S Logan Ryan, LB Blake Martinez, TE Kyle Rudolph.

Bradberry was the biggest cut, and his uncertain status loomed over much of the offseason as Schoen tried to trade the 2020 Pro Bowler. Schoen finally cut Bradberry after the draft to create $10.1 million in cap savings. Bradberry signed a one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Eagles and was a second-team All-Pro for Philadelphia in 2022.

Ryan’s cut wasn’t financially motivated, as the Giants actually lost cap space by cutting him. It was a culture-related move, as Schoen and the coaching staff wanted to move on from an influential leader with close ties to the previous regime. Ryan became a starter for the NFC South champion Buccaneers in 2022.

Rudolph was an obvious cut to create $5 million in cap savings because the 32-year-old had clearly lost a step. Martinez took a $7 million pay cut during the offseason as he recovered from a torn ACL and then was surprisingly released after cut day. Rudolph and Martinez were out of the league shortly after their departures from New York.

• Notable trades: N/A

• Notable extensions: N/A

• Notable free agent signings: OL Mark Glowinski, OL Jon Feliciano, QB Tyrod Taylor, WR Richie James.

With limited cap space, Schoen’s biggest splash was signing Glowinski to a three-year, $18.3 million contract. Glowinski was benched one game into his second season and then cut before Year 3.

Spending on a backup quarterback was a priority after the Glennon/Fromm fiasco in 2021, so the Giants gave Taylor a two-year, $11 million contract with the idea that he could be a bridge option in 2023. But Jones remained the starter in 2023, and Taylor left to sign a two-year, $12 million contract with the Jets during the 2024 offseason.

• Notable draft picks: OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux, OL Evan Neal, WR Wan’Dale Robinson, OL Josh Ezeudu, CB Cor’Dale Flott, TE Daniel Bellinger, ILB Micah McFadden.

The Giants used the No. 5 pick on Thibodeaux and the No. 7 pick on Neal. Injuries and poor performance have made Neal a complete bust, while Thibodeaux hasn’t produced like a top-five pick.

Robinson was a surprise second-round pick. He’s been a high-volume slot receiver with obvious limitations. The Giants used the 67th pick on Ezeudu, who has been nearly unplayable. Flott, who was the 81st pick, seems best suited as a depth corner. Landing the solid McFadden in the fifth round was one of Schoen’s biggest draft hits.

Schoen prioritized filling holes in his first draft. He twice traded back in the second round to acquire two additional mid-round picks. Investing in the offensive line was also a priority, but he went 0-for-3 on Neal, Ezeudu and fifth-round pick Marcus McKethan.

With two top-10 picks and five picks in the first three rounds, this draft was an opportunity for Schoen to lay a solid foundation. But this group has underwhelmed through three seasons, with no one from this draft class in line for a big second contract at this point.

2022 season

• Notable additions: S Jason Pinnock, WR Isaiah Hodgins.

Pro personnel scouting was an important strength due to the lack of funds to spend on depth. The Giants claimed Pinnock, cornerback Nick McCloud and offensive lineman Tyre Phillips off waivers after cut day. All three players filled valuable roles in 2022 and in subsequent seasons, with Pinnock being a starter for the past two seasons. Hodgins was a home-run waiver claim midway through the season, becoming Jones’ top target down the stretch.

• Notable trade: WR Kadarius Toney.

It was a steal to get anything for Toney at the 2022 trade deadline after he had worn out his welcome due to his unreliability. Getting third- and sixth-round picks for Toney was a strong haul for Schoen. Toney made a few big plays to help the Chiefs win Super Bowl 57, but he quickly flamed out in Kansas City for the same reasons the Giants traded him.

2023 offseason

Emboldened by the 2022 success, Schoen scrapped his plan for a deliberate rebuild. After giving Jones a four-year, $160 million contract with $82 million guaranteed, Schoen admittedly “accelerated” the process.

Schoen used the $10.1 million franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley and traded for veteran tight end Darren Waller. No longer hamstrung by the cap, Schoen made mid-level signings in free agency to bolster the roster around Jones.

This offseason is where everything went off track. Jones’ poor play behind a historically bad offensive line dug a huge hole early in the season. The situation was exacerbated when Jones missed three games with a neck injury and then tore his ACL immediately upon returning to the lineup in Week 9.

• Notable free agent departures: S Julian Love, OL Nick Gates, OL Jon Feliciano.

The Giants and Love couldn’t agree on an extension during the 2022 bye week, so Schoen pulled the team’s offer. Love didn’t find the market he was expecting in free agency, so he gave the Giants the opportunity to match the two-year, $12 million offer he got from the Seahawks. But the Giants had moved on, so Love departed for Seattle. The high-character leader earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2023 and got rewarded with a three-year, $33 million extension.

• Notable cuts: WR Kenny Golladay.

The Giants released Golladay two years into the horrific four-year, $72 million contract he got from Gettleman in 2021. The release created $6.7 million in cap savings, while leaving the Giants with a $14.7 million dead money charge. Golladay never played another snap in the NFL.

• Notable trades: TE Darren Waller, OLB Boogie Basham, ILB Isaiah Simmons.

The biggest “win-now” move of Schoen’s tenure was trading a third-round pick to the Raiders for the 30-year-old Waller. It was a calculated gamble on a player with the upside of a No. 1 target during an offseason with no top wide receivers on the market.

The trade looked like a steal when Waller was dominant during training camp, but hamstring issues resurfaced during the season and limited his effectiveness. He then shockingly retired after one season.

• Notable extensions: QB Daniel Jones, LT Andrew Thomas, DL Dexter Lawrence, WR Darius Slayton.

Schoen was juggling the futures of Jones and Barkley right up until the franchise tag deadline. When the long-term deal was reached with Jones, Schoen pivoted to tagging Barkley. The initial plan had been to extend Barkley, but the sides couldn’t reach an agreement, so the focus shifted to Jones. Tagging Barkley paved the way for his departure a year later in free agency.

Schoen was proactive in locking up core players before they hit free agency. That resulted in good value on extensions for Lawrence (four years, $90 million) and Thomas (five years, $117.5 million). Lawrence has become the best nose tackle in the league, so having him under contract through 2027 is a major score. The vibes aren’t as good with Thomas, who is signed through 2029, because he has only played 16 games in the past two seasons.

• Notable free agent signings: LB Bobby Okereke, WR Parris Campbell, DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DL A’Shawn Robinson.

Schoen didn’t spend wildly in free agency, but he utilized the cap space he lacked in his first offseason. The biggest swing was a four-year, $40 million contract for Okereke, who was a borderline Pro Bowler in 2023 before taking a step back this season.

Campbell and Robinson each got one-year deals worth $5 million. Campbell was a flop, while Robinson provided the expected help to the run defense.

• Notable draft picks: CB Deonte Banks, C John Michael Schmitz, WR Jalin Hyatt.

The Giants traded up one spot in the first round to take Banks with the 24th pick in the draft. He showed promise as a rookie, but has had an alarmingly poor second season. Schmitz, who was picked in the second round, has improved this season, but he doesn’t look like he’ll ever be more than an average center.

The Giants traded a fourth-round pick to move up 16 spots to take Hyatt in the third round. His second season has been incredibly disappointing, as he has just eight catches for 62 yards in 15 games.

Tommy DeVito signed as an undrafted free agent and won three straight games as a rookie when Jones and Taylor were injured. That magic quickly wore off, however, and it’s clear DeVito doesn’t have a future in New York beyond being a backup.

Schoen’s 2023 draft is headed toward being as bad as the worst classes from the Jerry Reese era.

2023 season

• Notable trade: DL Leonard Williams.

Schoen again was active at the trade deadline, shipping Williams to Seattle for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick. That strong haul was made possible by ownership agreeing to pay most of Williams’ $10 million salary.

The Giants used the second-round pick on safety Tyler Nubin, who had a solid rookie season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 14. Williams has been a monster in Seattle with 13 sacks in 25 games over the past two seasons. He signed a three-year, $64.5 million extension to remain in Seattle after last season.

2024 offseason

Schoen was in a tough spot after the accelerated rebuild resulted in a 6-11 season. The Giants had the sixth pick, putting them out of range of landing any of the top three quarterbacks in the draft. Schoen passed on the next three quarterbacks — Michael Penix, JJ McCarthy and Bo Nix — to take wide receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6. Nabers looks like a home run, but the Giants desperately need a quarterback after Jones’ play further deteriorated.

Schoen let Barkley and McKinney walk in free agency, which has hovered over this season as they’ve starred for their new teams. Taylor had no interest in returning, leaving for a two-year, $12 million contract with the Jets. The Giants landed on Drew Lock on a one-year, $5 million deal as the best option to back-up Jones, which has been another quarterback misevaluation.

Fortifying the offensive line was an emphasis in free agency, with the signings of Jon Runyan, Jermaine Eluemunor and Greg Van Roten improving the beleaguered unit to functional.

• Notable free agent departures: RB Saquon Barkley, S Xavier McKinney, DL A’Shawn Robinson, OL Ben Bredeson, QB Tyrod Taylor.

Barkley’s saga came to an anti-climactic conclusion, as the Giants didn’t try to re-sign him and he left for a three-year, $37.8 million contract with the Eagles. Even if letting Barkley walk was the right move for the Giants, he has haunted Schoen by having an MVP-caliber season for a rival.

The Giants weren’t willing to pay McKinney the four-year, $67 million contract he got from the Packers. McKinney is having a career-year with seven interceptions and is headed to his first Pro Bowl.

The success of former Giants — Barkley, McKinney, Love, Williams — has heightened the scrutiny of Schoen as this season goes down the tubes.

• Notable cut: OL Mark Glowinski.

The Giants made the no-brainer move to cut Glowinski to create $5.7 million in cap savings, bidding farewell to the prize acquisition of Schoen’s first offseason.

• Notable retirement: TE Darren Waller.

Waller’s first season with the Giants was a disappointment, but he was still a productive receiver when healthy. So it was a surprise when he decided to walk away at 31. He left the Giants with a $2.5 million dead money charge in 2024 and a $4.9 million dead money charge in 2025.

• Notable trades: OLB Brian Burns.

Schoen took another big trade swing with the Burns deal. The Giants sent a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Panthers for Burns, whom they signed to a five-year, $141 million contract.

Burns has come as advertised: He’s a very good pass rusher, but he’s a tier below the true game-wreckers. The 26-year-old will be a core piece for the Giants, but it’s hard to overlook the significant investment used to acquire him.

• Notable extensions: N/A

• Notable free agent signings: OL Jon Runyan, OL Jermaine Eluemunor, RB Devin Singletary, QB Drew Lock, OL Greg Van Roten.

With Schoen whiffing on the offensive line in the draft, he shifted to proven commodities in free agency. Runyan was solid at left guard before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 14, even if his three-year, $30 million contract is a bit rich. Eluemunor (two years, $14 million) and Van Roten (one year, $2 million) were value additions to fortify the right side of the line.

Giving Singletary a three-year, $16.5 million contract seemed like an overreaction to losing to Barkley. Singletary lost his starting job to rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. early in the season. Lock had been a disaster in his first three starts before a stunning breakout against the Colts last week. Still, the decision to first turn to DeVito before Lock after benching Jones shows how badly the team botched the evaluation of Lock as a viable option in the offseason.

• Notable draft picks: WR Malik Nabers, S Tyler Nubin, CB Dru Phillips, TE Theo Johnson, RB Tyrone Tracy.

This year’s draft class is Schoen’s biggest success. Nabers looks like a future star, while Nubin, Phillips, Johnson and Tracy are all starting-caliber players with upside. If Schoen is retained, this draft class will likely be referenced as one of the top selling points.

2024 season

• Notable cut: QB Daniel Jones.

With a 2-8 record and the lowest scoring offense in the league at the time, the Giants pulled the plug on Jones 10 games into the season. The decision was partly influenced by the injury guarantee in Jones’ contract, which could have guaranteed him $23 million in 2025 if he suffered a major injury that sidelined him deep into the offseason.

The initial plan was for Jones to be inactive for the final seven weeks of the season to avoid injury, but he was granted his release from Mara days after his benching.

It’s staggering how much of a failure the Jones extension was. The Giants went 3-13 in his 16 starts after signing the deal. He threw 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions over the past two seasons. The Giants will eat $22.2 million in dead money in 2025 as a result of Jones’ release.

The miscalculation on Jones torpedoed the past two seasons, and the Giants are back at the ground floor of their rebuild entering 2025.

Here’s a position-by-position comparison of the starting lineups in the 2021 season and this season:

It can be debated if the current roster is better than the one Schoen inherited. The current roster is significantly improved at wide receiver and edge rusher, while its much weaker at defensive tackle and in the secondary.

Other positions can be argued, but it’s damning that there’s even a debate. The goal three years into this regime should be to be far beyond the lows of the Gettleman era. But the Giants will need a victory in Sunday’s season finale to even match the four-win total of the 2021 team. That says it all about the lack of progress Schoen has made in three years.

(Photos of Joe Schoen and John Mara: Aaron M. Sprecher and Rich Graessle / Getty Images)