New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen addressed the acquisition of J.J. McCarthy, the upcoming NFL trade deadline, the impact of head coach John Harbaugh, and more during his bye week media availability on Tuesday. Here are some of the takeaways.
Trade deadline: ‘Look at all the options’
At 4-2-1 and leading the NFC East, the Giants obviously have a chance to win the division and make the NFC playoffs.
The roster, though, could use supplementing in a few areas. Schoen and the Giants have to decide whether they want to be aggressive between
now and the Nov. 10 trade deadline, or if they want to protect their draft assets for the future. They are currently without fourth- and fifth-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, though they are projected to receive a 2027 fourth-round compensatory selection.
“There’s a lot of factors into it, in terms of where we are pick-wise. We don’t have a fourth or a fifth right now. So, you take that into account,” Schoen said. “In some situations, that may rule some players out. Maybe that’s what their value is. Maybe a third is too rich or a sixth isn’t enough, so then you start looking into future picks and contract status, where we are depth-wise. So, a lot of factors that we’ll look at and who’s going to be available, who’s really available.”
The Indianapolis Colts began what might be a full-blown fire sale on Tuesday by trading star guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks. The Colts have several other players the Giants might be interested in, including running back Jonathan Taylor.
“It’s easy to say, go sign X, Y, and Z position, but if a team’s really not ready to get rid of somebody where they’re asking too much, it doesn’t match up with where you see the value, then it doesn’t make sense to do it,” Schoen said. “So, we’re going to look at all the options that are available. And, there’s certain teams that have already started some trades, and we’ve been in contact with those teams and have a pretty good idea of who may or may not be available. And again, it’s got to make sense, short-term and long-term, when you make those moves.”
Schoen said losing Jaxson Dart and Brian Burns “really won’t impact what we do” at the trade deadline.
Valentine’s View
It is important to remember that this is ultimately John Harbaugh’s show, not Schoen’s. Coaches notoriously think short-term more than long-term. If the Giants make a splash move, that will likely be because Harbaugh senses an opportunity and wants to do everything possible to try and capitalize on it.
The Harbaugh effect
Schoen said the Giants have “absolutely” taken on the personality of Harbaugh.
“It started from day one in the spring. Coach came in here and just the details, the messaging, the leadership. His record speaks for itself as a head coach. The guy has won a lot of games. The players were eager to buy in,” Schoen said. “We have a good, young nucleus of players here that just want to win. Just want to win, whatever it takes. Coach Harbaugh and his staff have done a very good job of laying out the plan. This is what it looks like. This is how you practice. This is how you approach OTA’s. This is how you approach the off-season program. This is how you train in training camp. This is how you prepare in-season, week to week.”
Valentine’s View
Harbaugh is clearly this team’s best and most important offseason acquisition.
The view from the top
The fact that the Giants lead the NFC East is something many NFL analysts and fans are having a hard time wrapping their minds around. How does Schoen see what the Giants have done through seven games?
“I’m happy where we are. I really like the team. I like the makeup of the players, the grit,” Schoen said. “I was thinking about it, just the end-of-game happiness that we’ve had, whether it was the last play of the game in Tennessee or Arizona or even Washington, the way that played out. And then the walk-off run by Motor on Sunday in Houston. So, just the resilience of the players, the way we performed late in games in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“Just really proud of guys like that and the way they’re approaching it. Did I think we’d be here? You never know. Each team takes on a personality of its own, but I’m really happy about where the guys are. They’ve earned the right to be in first place in the NFC East, and we have meaningful games ahead of us that I’m looking forward to.”
Now, Schoen and Co. will see what they can do to help the players out.
“They’ve earned that right to be in these games, and I know they’re excited about it,” Schoen said. “And, again, we’re going to canvas the league and see what’s available and what the cost may be to upgrade the roster, and if it makes sense, we’ll certainly do that.”
Are the Giants equipped for a playoff run?
“We’re about to find out,” Schoen said. “Again, I like the group. They’re resilient. We have a quarterback that’s started one game for us and went out and performed at a high level. You know, he’s 23. He’s won his last five starts, and just having played the position, how hard that is to do, to come in with 20-plus snap counts and not really throwing to our receivers throughout a training camp or an offseason. You think about all the reps these guys get with their receiving corps and their teammates that, J.J., I don’t think it’s been a month. Maybe tomorrow will be a month he’s been here, and to go out and perform against that defense the way he did was impressive. So, again, I like the team … I’m excited about where we are and excited to see what the future holds.”
Valentine’s View
Whether the Giants make the playoffs or not, entering November with that as a possibility is certainly better than already being focused on the draft.
‘A good position to be in’
That is how Schoen termed the idea of having Jaxson Dart and J.J. McCarthy, both 23-year-old former first-round draft picks, on the roster. Including Dart, Schoen said the Giants’ quarterback room is “ probably one of the stronger ones in the league.”
Schoen said McCarthy was the team’s target once they knew Dart would be lost for the season.
“We obviously had intimate knowledge of J.J. throughout the [2024] draft. We knew where he was on the depth chart [in Minnesota]. We knew that Carson Wentz was playing. We had played them in the preseason, so watching him pregame there. And he was probably the targeted guy from the get-go that we were really interested in,” Schoen said.
Schoen was also asked why the Giants gave Jameis Winston a two-year contract extension before the season began.
“When you’re talking about a backup quarterback that also has leadership, that can lead not only that room, but the team. Can he go 2-2 in a four-game stretch? He went 2-1-1,” Schoen said. “And like I said, he’s led us in games where we’ve had leads in the fourth quarter or at least a tie. So you’re in the game in the fourth quarter with him and with a backup quarterback; that’s what you’re looking at. Not to mention the ability to lead not only that room, but the team.
“And then a lesson I learned back when I was in Buffalo, and we took Josh Allen his rookie year, we didn’t have a veteran in the room. You’re always going to want a vet that can help the young guys while the coaches are up game planning and the quarterbacks are doing film on their own. Downstairs in the meeting room, to have a vet and just to know how valuable Jameis is to Jaxson and how valuable he will be to J.J. as well.”
Valentine’s View
No matter how well McCarthy plays this season, and everyone around the Giants should hope he plays exceptionally well, I have a hard time believing the Giants would want to enter next season with a quarterback competition/controversy.
I believe that the better McCarthy plays, the more he helps the Giants with another issue Schoen addressed on Tuesday — a need to replenish their draft capital.
“Obviously you want to have as many picks as you can. But, again, we’re glad we have Malachi Fields. We’re glad we have J.J.,” Schoen said. “So, the utilization of those draft picks that we gave up to get those two players, we’re happy we have them.
“There are always options to regain capital down the road, whether it’s from players on the roster at the trade deadline if people call and it’s something that makes sense for us, through the offseason. If there’s trades being made around draft time, you can move back in the draft. There’s other ways that we can regain the capital, the compensatory formula, too. We’ll see how that plays out. But, yeah, if it makes sense right now for us to do something in the short-term and long-term, we’re going to look at any opportunity that we can to upgrade the roster. And, again, there’s avenues that we can try to recoup draft picks down the road.”
Having a tradeable 24-year-old quarterback who has played good football at the NFL level is a commodity no other NFL team might have this offseason, and one that could be highly coveted. It would put the Giants in an enviable spot.
