As the draft approaches, more people around the NFL ask me about the New York Giants than about any other team. So a few weeks ago I decided to (unofficially and anonymously) poll coaches and GMs around the league, asking, simply: If you were Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, what would you do?
It’s unbelievable how many different answers I’ve gotten.
On the latest episode of the “Scoop City” podcast, co-host Chase Daniel and I had plenty of questions for Dane Brugler, just days after he released “The Beast” to the world. But the one I was most curious about: What does a draft expert think the Giants should do?
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in “Scoop City” feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Dianna: Chase and I have had a really long conversation today about what the Giants should do because we just don’t know. We change our opinion probably by the minute because we look at their situation and their roster, with Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson, and we both agree that it’s a tough duo to attach yourself to in order to make the playoffs, knowing Joe Schoen’s and Brian Daboll’s jobs are on the line. But at the same time, are you going to be able to get a quarterback that you think is going to be ready? I do think there was a time when the Giants were in on Shedeur Sanders, and I think they really had a positive analysis of him. But I just don’t know if that’s the case anymore.
Dane: They did more work on him than anybody, right?
Dianna: I feel like Joe Schoen lived in Colorado at one point (laughs)… every video I saw of Joe, he was in Colorado. Yet here we are, a few weeks out, and I just don’t know if they feel as strongly as they did before. Again, it can change, but it just doesn’t feel like that. How do you see the Giants in terms of what they should be doing here, knowing the players that are going to be available to them at this point?
Dane: It’s a tough spot, and I feel for Joe a little bit just because last year with the No. 6 overall pick, they wanted to trade up. They tried to get a Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. But obviously, and you can’t blame them, the top three teams just didn’t budge. And this year they were even worse than they were last year, but not bad enough to get that No. 1 overall pick. Now Joe’s in a position where so much will depend on his relationship with the ownership and just managing expectations. He has to communicate with the ownership and say, “Listen, we don’t love our quarterback options this offseason. We don’t just want to go out and draft the best quarterback that’s available with our pick, it’s not quite that simple. Let’s add Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson, and then we’ll go with the best player available, which might be Abdul Carter.” Even though pass rush isn’t necessarily a glaring need for them because of what they did with Brian Burns last year, and Kayvon Thibodeaux is still there.
But I think in the top three, you draft players and not positions. So if you have a chance to come away with an impact guy like Abdul Carter, that to me makes the most sense for the Giants. But they’ll still want to get a quarterback, and they’ve done a lot of work on Jaxson Dart. Theoretically, you don’t want him playing in Year One. You want to develop him and bring him along at his own pace. But that’s the quarterback I’m looking at for the Giants. So they go get Abdul Carter at three, then whether they trade up in the late first round or stay put in that early third round and hope Jaxson Dart falls to them, to me, that makes the most sense. Rather than trying to manoeuvre through a not-so-ideal situation of trying to figure out the quarterback position.
Dianna: Yeah, it’s definitely not crystal clear for them. And I think they’re still discussing it and trying to figure out what it is they want to do here. But obviously, if they get Abdul Carter, it does make you think of the Super Bowl years at least… with the way that Giants defense looked. That’s the only silver lining in that.
Dane: And they just saw the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl with a great pass rush…
Dianna: Yeah, they muscle up in that position, and it works. But unfortunately, they’ve got to play that Eagles team, and they still need a lot of help on offense.
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