NEW YORK — Giants GM Joe Schoen seemed loose, excited and at ease at Wednesday’s press conference, eight days out from his first NFL draft as a general manager.
One reason for Schoen’s enthusiasm, it seems, is that he likes the action. He holds two high first-round picks at No. 5 and 7 overall, and Schoen says they’re in demand.
“We have received calls on both picks,” Schoen said.
He hasn’t received a hard offer or negotiated a price yet. There are plenty of possible trade-up candidates, though, including the Atlanta Falcons (No. 8), Seattle Seahawks (No. 9), New Orleans Saints (Nos. 16 and 19) and Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 20), to name a few.
“It’s too early to make any type of decision like that,” Schoen said. “Just some teams called and said, ‘Would you be willing to move?’ That’s kind of where it is right now. My comment was as the draft gets closer, we can talk more if there’s any specifics, if you’re serious about doing it.”
For now, Schoen is operating like he’s making picks at Nos. 5 and 7. The next step is for Schoen and the Giants’ personnel staff to compare their vertical board player rankings with those of Brian Daboll and the Giants coaching staff to get on the same page.
“There’s a few players where we’re gonna shut the door and lock it and have knockdown dragouts,” Schoen, 42, said with a smile. “And when we come out we’re gonna make the best decision for the Giants. But there’s not a lot of players that there’s a big separation in terms of how we see them.”
Schoen said “by Monday, you’ll find out who is serious” about trading up in this NFL Draft, though. And judging from the Giants GM’s comments on Wednesday, he’s looking forward to next week’s dance with other general managers to figure out the best scenario for his team.
“I’m perfectly fine at five and seven,” Schoen said, doing some negotiating through the media. “To me, it really wouldn’t make sense right now to do anything unless it blew the doors off, something you can’t turn down.”
Schoen could be eager to trade back based on the value he sees — or doesn’t see — on the first round draft board.
For example, while the Giants are prioritizing their offensive line this offseason, Schoen said it’s important not to reach for a player at a position of need.
“That will definitely be a priority,” Schoen said of the O-line. “It’s just the need, the value, where that is, you just gotta make sure that mirrors up or you’re gonna be in the same boat.
“If you try to force it and it’s not the right value, we’re sitting up here next year saying the same thing,” he continued. “Yeah, we needed a guard so we reached for him, but the value wasn’t right. You’ve got to make sure … those two meet and marry each other. That’s when you’re gonna make the best decisions.”
So does that mean Schoen likes offensive tackles like Mississippi State’s Charles Cross, N.C. State’s Ikem Ekwonu and Alabama’s Evan Neal, but not at the value of picks No. 5 or 7?
That’s possible, although Schoen did call Cross “a really good player” with “really good feet” and admitted “we like him.” He said all three of those players are “great players and great kids” who “all have bright futures.”
Plus, Schoen also cautioned that if you like a player, sometimes it’s better to just draft the guy than to trade back and risk losing him and slip into no-man’s land.
“I’ve been there before,” he said. “You get greedy, say let’s move back, and then that guy’s gone. Are you gonna sleep better at night knowing you got an extra sixth-round pick and you moved back four spots but you lose the guy you want? Or let’s just take the guy and not be greedy.”
Schoen said for that reason, he puts himself through exercises and scenarios to gauge how the board might fall, and which players might be available when.
“That’s why sometimes I do a vertical board like how many players are available, who do we like, if we move back ‘X’ amount of spots, are we gonna get one of these five guys? Yes? Then it makes sense and you get an extra pick,” he said.
The Carolina Panthers’ presence at pick No. 6 adds an interesting element to the entire process, too. That’s a team that could go quarterback or offensive tackle, or trade back to allow someone else to leapfrog the Giants at No. 7.
“Yeah I’ve thought about that several times,” Schoen said with a smirk. “What are they doing, trying to figure out what position they might go, because that will make a difference in what you do.
“If you’re sitting there at five and there’s somebody you really like, and there’s two other players maybe at the same position you like as well — or just two players in general that you’re happy with regardless of position — that can also factor into who you take at No. 5,” he admitted. “But we’re going through several of those scenarios, who may be there, if they are, how we’re gonna go through and make the pick and what we’re gonna do.”
This year’s draft also has been more difficult to predict due to the lack of premier quarterbacks and teams’ secrets about who they prefer.
“Nobody has shown their hands on the quarterbacks,” Schoen confirmed.
Schoen sounds like he’s preparing for the possibility of trading back, though, and it’s refreshing that he’s keeping all of those doors open.
He hasn’t slammed the door on potentially lucrative opportunities all offseason: from welcoming and taking calls on Saquon Barkley and James Bradberry to entertaining draft overtures now.
When asked if he has seven players he likes for those two top picks, Schoen couched his answer with this:
“Do I have seven right now?” He said. “Yeah… [But] we’re gonna get with the coaches and make sure we’re on board with not just seven. If there’s a move back scenario, whatever that is, do we have 10, 15, 20 players that we like and make sure we get them in the right order as football players.”
One of the motivations could be to acquire extra draft capital in 2023 — something the Philadelphia Eagles already did — which would be useful if the Giants need a quarterback.
“If it’s picks this year or picks into the future, those are cost controlled assets that young players that could really help us set the foundation here,” Schoen said. “So I’d be open to either or.”
Open is good. The next step is action. Schoen seems eager to take it when the time is right.
