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Greg Hart asks: I have noticed over the years that some top tier players skip the Combine. It might be concerns that they may not have a good day or confidence that they have nothing to prove. This year it seems that other players really shined and increased their draft status. Do you think the Combine reshuffles the draft calculus?
Ed says: Greg, yes, the Combine can reshuffle the draft calculus if players perform or measure in ways that are unexpected. That said, teams have to be careful not to overvalue
what they see when guys are running around in shorts and not actually playing football. It is easy to be fooled. Teams try to use Combine testing only to confirm what they thought of a player, not to completely change it.
Robert Goodman asks: I was listening to Mike Tannenbaum and a few former players. Mike was advocating for the value approach to drafting. He said it was hard to justify taking a position whose salary was considerably less than another position’s all things being relatively equal (I think this is what he meant), such as ILB or safety compared to WR, OT, edge, CB. Examples are my own. The players responded by saying spoken like a true former GM. What do you think of the value approach? If you agree, what would justify taking the less valuable position?
Ed says: Robert, generally I understand and am a proponent of the positional value approach. Tannenbaum’s point, and one that Giants GM Joe Schoen has made in the past, is that if you are spending an exorbitant percentage of your salary cap at a lower value position it makes it more difficult to pay a premier wide receiver, left tackle, cornerback, edge defender. It’s about resource allocation.
Players just look at it and say the best players should make the most money, regardless of position.
Because many of the top prospects in ths year’s draft class play lower value positions — off-ball linebacker, safety, running back — this makes it a year where teams have to decide whether they stick to the grades on their draft board or bump guys up or down because of the positions they play.
This is the type of draft, and John Harbaugh is the type of coach, where traditional positional value doesn’t carry as much weight. I’m still leery of running back at No. 5, but in general I’m good with the Giants taking whatever player they think will have the biggest impact on their team. Regardless of position.
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Jeffrey Jacobs asks: As scouting has grown & changed enormously over the the years, and there is now miles of video tape available on just about any player you can think of, has the importance of the Combine shifted from what happens on the field to what happen off the field? Have the meetings, interviews, etc. now supplanted the drills & exercises that makeup the “Underwear Olympics” that we watch on the NFL Network?
Ed says: Jeffrey, for many years now teams have considered the medical evaluations and the private face-to-face meetings with players more important than anything that happens on the field during the workouts. Those workouts can confirm that players meet expected thresholds, or send teams back to the tape if they reveal unexpected things about players — positively or negatively.
Still, it is the off the field stuff that teams value the most. They get first-hand medical information, and they get a personal impression of a player they cannot get from the tape. Teams will tell you they don’t often miss on a player’s talent, they miss on who that player is as a person.
Adam Jacobs asks: In the last few days, word is getting out there that the Giants are (at least) kicking the tires of drafting Love with the 5th overall pick. In my personal opinion, I think the team has many more important positions to fill at this time. In your opinion, is this just blowing smoke to misdirect other teams about who they really want, a way to get a team, say New Orleans or KC, to move up in the first round to get Love, or an actual desire to improve the RB room? I’d be happy to move back to 9 or 10 and pick up extra draft capital.
What do you think is the real answer, or is it too early in the process to accurately say what the team is thinking.
Ed says: Adam, John Harbaugh has said he wants a “gold jacket” player at No. 5 and he is not focused on need or positional value there. When I ask draft analysts who the “gold jacket” or “blue chip” players in this draft class are, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is ALWAYS on the list. Some believe he’s the best player in the draft. By that standard, you have to believe Love is a possibility at No. 5.
Could it be posturing? Sure. We are in a new world with Harbaugh. He isn’t going to care if there is backlash because of what happened with Saquon Barkley and the Giants, though, so we will have to wait and see.
Mario Glavicic asks: I was just wondering and thinking if Nakobe Dean fits in the Giants plans? I read rumors of Dallas being interested. Why wouldn’t the Giants take a flyer on him. He doesn’t appear to be a big ticket FA and doesn’t appear to be cost prohibitive. Young player with tremendous upside.
Ed says: Mario, I don’t know the answer to that. He is an intriguing player, but he really has had only one big-time year out of four. That was in 2024, when Pro Football and Sports Network ranked him 14th in the NFL among off-ball linebackers and Pro Football Focus ranked him fifth.
I would think he would be a player the Giants would discuss. The Athletic expects a four-year, $40 million market value. It says:
Dean is one of the best blitzing linebackers in the league, and he appears to be shot out of a cannon on those reps. He is a matchup advantage against running backs as a pass rusher, with a 35.7 percent pressure rate on 28 pass-rushing snaps. Dean is small and a limited athlete. His size prevents him from being an impactful run defender. He relies on instinct and anticipation as a zone-coverage defender.
This is what Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation said about Dean:
“They’d have him back if the salary cap didn’t exist. But it doesn’t make sense for them to pay him when they selected Jihaad Campbell in the first round last year. Plus they have Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the mix as well and he provides a similar skill set to Dean.
“Doesn’t really make sense for either the Eagles or Dean to work out a deal together
“Really good player when healthy. Especially strong firing downhill. Explosive as a run defender and pass rusher. Has limitations in coverage but not to the point but not to the point where he’s a net negative. Really good leader and well-liked in the locker room.”
Chesapeake Blue asks: Has anyone heard a word from poor Brandon Brown? Assistant GM to Joe Schoen sounds like a totally dead end job. Not great resume material. He has almost always worked quietly, in the background. What’s behind the background?
Ed says: Chesapeake, what are we supposed to hear from Brandon Brown? He is the assistant GM. He is only required to speak to media twice a year. No assistant GM is ever going to be front and center speaking for an organization.
Brown has gotten several GM interviews over the years, and finished as runner-up a couple of years ago for the Chargers job. I’m sure the Giants not winning the past few years is not helping him, but to my knowledge he is still highly-regarded around the league.
Karl Oltz asks: Please excuse my ignorance, but can you explain what dead money is when a player is cut? How does it affect the cap?
Ed says: Sure, Karl. The Fantastic cap book “Crunching Numbers” by Jason Fitzgerald and Vijay Natarajan defines “dead money” this way:
The salary cap charge that remains on a team’s payroll even after the player is released or traded.
NFL teams use bonuses to lower cap hits and spread costs when they sign players. Okereke’s four-year, $40 million contract with the Giants included $19.595 million in signing bonus money. That money was paid upfront to Okereke. For accounting and cap purposes, though, the bonus gets divided over the life of the contract. There is $5.463 million in pro-rated signing bonus charges still on Okereke’s contract for 2026. That money stays on the Giants’ salary cap, making $5.463 million in dead money.
That means it is $5.463 million of the $301.2 million salary cap that the Giants cannot spend on another player. It is already allocated to Okereke.
I hope that helps.
Michael Munger asks: There’s no world in the multiverse in which drafting a RB, even one as elite as Love, at #5 makes sense. Why would the Giants even entertain the idea by having him in for a visit? We have two really good RB’s in TT and Skat and if we’re gonna pick on the offensive side of the ball the only picks that make sense are a WR or OL.
Ed says: Michael, yes there is a world where the Giants where it would make sense to draft a running back. John Harbaugh’s world. A world where Harbaugh and the people he brought in with him don’t see Cam Skattebo as the superstar Giants fans do, and don’t see Tyrone Tracy as a big-time back. Harbaugh is serious about building a team that is dominant in the trenches and can pound teams with the running game.
There is also the world where Harbaugh said position and need do not matter to him that high in the draft. He wants a potential “gold jacket” player. Jeremiyah Love is one of only three or four of those players in this class.
Bryan Camacho asks: I have a problem with the concept “positional value.” I don’t understand how the Center isn’t the most valuable position – they are the ONLY position that touches the football on EVERY offensive play. They are responsible for setting the protection of the line, especially with a young quarterback. They have to master various snaps and ensure the ball gets cleanly to the quarterback/running back/wide receiver. Every aspect of the offense hinges on them first and foremost. It doesn’t matter how fast your receiver’s/backs are, it doesn’t matter how talented your QB is, it doesn’t matter how dominant your tackles are if the center can’t control the line, if they can’t control the snap, everything else is irrelevant. In my opinion, they impact the game more than the quarterback. Yet, the NFL doesn’t view it that way and doubtfully will. If they get that so wrong, why should we trust any of the other values?
Ed says: Bryan, you want to try and sell the idea that the center is more important than the quarterback? Good luck with that!
Here is a chart from Spotrac that shows how teams pay each position, which pretty much gives you how the league sees positional value:
Basically, all of the positions that directly impact the passing game are at the top. That’s the reality. Yes, the center snaps the ball. ‘Various snaps’? There are only two — under center and shotgun. Yes, the center is usually responsible for line calls.
I would argue that offensive tackle is the most important position because the premier pass rushers are out there and edge pressure is what often creates disaster for quarterbacks. Personally, I would put center ahead of guard because of the line calls, the snaps, and the idea that centers often have to try and handle massive, powerful nose tackles by themselves.
You are, of course, welcome to your opinion. The NFL doesn’t see it the way you do. Neither do I.
Michael Spezio asks: Can you share what you have been hearing about the Giants’ thinking and potential planned actions regarding the owner Steve Tisch? For me and maybe some other fans, what the Giants do in this situation is important. Are they waiting for the results of an NFL investigation? Are they conducting their own internal investigation? Or are they waiting and hoping for it all to go away?
Ed says: Michael, you have heard what we have heard. Nothing.
Am I disappointed by that? Yes.
George Wallace asks: Do you think the Giants looking to acquire McDuffie means Flott is likely gone, or was the move more about McDuffie specifically as a player?
Ed says: George, I think the move was about Trent McDuffie more than about Cor’Dale Flott. It is kind of like pursuing Tyler Linderbaum. John Michael Schmitz is fine, but Linderbaum is much better. Flott is fine, but McDuffie is a two-time All-Pro who will be 26 this season. He is better. Probably much better.
I believe the fact that they did not get McDuffie increases the chance Flott will be back.
Scott Tucker asks: Ed – you mentioned in a salary cap discussion and freeing up cap space that cutting left guard Jon Runyan would be a viable option. I wonder if you considered the fact that Van Roten and Elemenuer, both being free agents could leave our entire right side of the line vacant. And now cutting Runyon leave a void in the left side. I just don’t understand how that benefits the Giants? Wouldn’t a restructure of his contract (if possible) be more ideal? If he is cut, how would you expect Schoen and Harbaugh to fill the 3 vacancies? It seems we would be where we were 10 yrs ago with the O line and look how long it took the team to finally get an O line that was decent.
Ed says: Scott, I don’t believe I recommended it. I simply have pointed to it as possible. But, the truth is that it is a viable option. Runyan is in the final year of his three-year, $30 million contract and cutting him would save $9.25 million against the cap. That’s a big chunk.
I understand that people are annoyed by the idea of revamping an offensive line that was good last year. Truth is, though, to become a top-tier team that line needs to get better. Greg Van Roten is an adequate player, but he is 36. Runyan is OK, but hasn’t really played up to the contract he got. The Giants aren’t going to give him a contract extension now. If they keep him, they will make him perform in 2026 and earn one.
Harbaugh wants a physical team that dominates the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. He is going to make changes, some that fans understand and some that they don’t. The make up of the offensive line might be one of them.
Paul E. asks: My question is about moving up in the draft. Assuming that this was happening while that team is ‘on the clock’: Does the team that wants to move up in the draft usually inform the other team who they are targeting?
Ed says: Paul, generally not. A team might ask “are you coming up for offense or defense?” There has to be a certain amount of trust between general managers to make any of these moves, but I don’t believe the specific player being targeted is often a topic of conversation.
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