Don't look now but Joe Schoen is having himself a pretty good offseason. In just the last few weeks, he has revamped his secondary, fortified his offensive and defensive lines, re-signed his second-best wide receiver, and, oh yeah, signed two veteran quarterbacks that are more than capable of starting in the NFL.
No, Russell Wilson is not Matthew Stafford, but come on, you didn't really think the Giants had a shot at getting him, did you? There's optimism and then there's delusion. And, no, he's not Aaron Rodgers either, at least not statistically. But he is the perfect bridge for a team looking for a franchise quarterback, and he doesn't come with an ego the size of the Grand Canyon. After what happened with the Jets the last two seasons, why on Earth would Schoen want to import that circus atmosphere into the Giants locker room?
Having both Wilson and Jameis Winston on the roster opens up all kinds of possibilities for Big Blue in next month's NFL Draft. For starters, everyone is assuming that Shedeur Sanders will still be on the board when the Giants select at three. But what if he isn't? What if the Cleveland Browns snag him at two? Schoen now has a number of good choices available to him.
1. He can take Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter and then trade back into the first round to grab a QB (Jaxson Dart),
2. He can take what is widely regarded as the best prospect in the draft, Colorado CB / WR Travis Hunter, and then trade back into the first round for Dart, or
3. He can trade down and acquire more draft capital, which he can then use to either take Dart later on in the first round and fill some holes, or just continue to improve his overall roster and draft a QB in '26.
And if Sanders is still there at three:
1. He can take him,
2. He can take either Carter or Hunter and trade back into the first round to grab Dart, or
3. He can trade down and acquire more draft capital, which he can then use to either take Dart later on in the first round and fill some holes, or just continue to improve his overall roster and draft a QB in '26.
What a difference a year makes. Last offseason, the Giants lost Saquon Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles - for nothing - and seemed perfectly willing to go into the 2024 season with Daniel Jones as the starting quarterback and Drew Lock as the backup. Whatever else you may think of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, they are considerable improvements over Jones and Lock. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all that, even if Sanders is available, Schoen doesn't take either Carter or Hunter and grab Dart later, or punts the QB situation to next year, perhaps hoping that Arch Manning is available. Then again, he could wind up with Sanders. There's no way of knowing.
Everything hinges on how Schoen and his staff feel about Sanders. If they think he's their future franchise QB, they'll take him. If, on then other hand, they're not entirely sold on him, they won't. The point is with Wilson and Winston signed, the Giants now have a number of options at their disposal. A couple of weeks ago, all they had was Tommy (Cutlets) DeVito and a shit load of agita.
Frankly, I haven't been this impressed with a Giants front office in a very long time. Joe Schoen has gotten a lot of flack over the last couple of years, most of it deserved. But if we're going to give the man grief for his failures, the very least we can do is give him an attaboy when he does a good job. His offseason moves have not only improved the roster, they've put the Giants in position to succeed down the road.
Well done, Joe.
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