Giants Engaged In Kayvon Thibodeaux Trade Talks; Saints Showing Interest
Similar to their Mathias Kiwanuka and Jason Pierre-Paul first-round picks earlier this century, the Giants have stacked their edge-rushing corps by drafting Arvell Reese. That came after Abdul Carter arrived in New York despite the presences of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
While the Giants are preparing to start Reese as an off-ball linebacker — presumably with pass-down rush responsibilities a la an early-career Von Miller — a logjam has formed here. The Giants may be prepared to resolve the issue tonight. They are engaged in trade talks on Thibodeaux, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. The Saints are among the teams showing “strong interest.”
If the Giants do not move Thibodeaux, he might not have a starting role. A fascinating NASCAR package-style setup in which all four edge rushers share the field would generate intrigue — like the Giants’ JPP-Kiwanuka-Justin Tuck-Osi Umenyiora line did during the 2011 Super Bowl XLVI-winning season — but Thibodeaux’s name has come up in trade talks for several weeks. With one year left on his contract, the former No. 5 overall pick may soon need to relocate.
The Saints have been in on Thibodeaux since February, according to NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill. In late February, a report indicated the Giants were listening on the Oregon product. Days later, they were viewed as preferring to trade him. This was well before it was viewed likely that Reese — who was closely tied to the Jets at No. 2 overall — could fall to 5.
Although a potential early-Day 3 pick has been floated as satisfactory compensation, a recent report indicated the Giants were not prepared to accept anything south of a Day 2 choice for Thibodeaux. While Chase Young, Jaelan Phillips, Yannick Ngakoue and Dante Fowler generated third-rounders (or thirds and then something else) in contract years, Thibodeaux has been inconsistent as a pass rusher. He has one six-sack season on his resume, and that 11.5-sack 2023 season looks like an outlier. The Giants look to have vacillated on whether to keep or trade Thibodeaux this offseason, the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy adds. The Reese pick certainly stands to increase internal trade interest.
The Saints were connected to potentially trading up for Reese in Round 1. The Chiefs then viewed them as a threat for cornerback Mansoor Delane. But New Orleans did not move up the board and then left Rueben Bain Jr. there, choosing wideout Jordyn Tyson at No. 8. New Orleans returns Young and Carl Granderson but has not re-signed franchise sack kingpin Cameron Jordan, who is entering an age-37 season.
Thibodeaux, 25, is due fully guaranteed $14.75MM salary this season — his fifth-year option campaign — but is coming off a second straight injury-shortened year. After missing five games in 2024, he missed seven in ’25. It would be surprising if anyone offered more than a third-rounder for the former top prospect, and it is worth wondering if the Giants would accept a fourth-rounder and another Day 3 pick to finalize this deal. By engaging in talks now, the team appears to be hoping an EDGE-needy team will offer that elusive third to finish this process.
Giants To Play Arvell Reese At LB, Francis Mauigoa At G
The Giants let the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft come to them on Thursday night, landing two of the class’ most highly-regarded players in Ohio State’s Arvell Reese and Miami’s Francis Mauigoa.
Reese, 20, primarily lined up as an off-ball linebacker in college but has been tabbed for a move to edge rusher in the NFL. New York, though, has three-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns, last year’s No. 3 pick Abdul Carter, and 2022 No. 5 pick Kayvon Thibodeaux on the roster. There would be little room for Reese as an edge rusher as a rookie.
Instead, the Giants are planning to keep Reese off the ball to begin his career, head coach John Harbaugh said (via FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano). He will line up on the weak side, and his versatility will keep him involved in the pass rush.
General manager Joe Schoen said (via NFL insider Jordan Schultz) that Reese was the team’s top-ranked non-quarterback prospect, so New York was more than happy to draft him and figure out where to play him later.
Mauigoa lined up at right tackle for the Hurricanes, but his 33.25-inch arms is below typical NFL standards at the position. The Giants are also set at both tackle spots with Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor, who are both signed through the 2028 season. As a result, Mauigoa will slide inside to compete for a starting guard job, likely on the right side, per Vacchiano.
That comes with an obvious caveat: Mauigoa must be healthy. A disc issue in his back popped up during the pre-draft process, and though there have been positive updates around his status, there was some concern it would affect his stock. Perhaps it did, as he was frequently mocked in the top five picks but instead fell to the Giants at No. 10. They made their own assessment of Mauigoa’s health and came away satisfied.
“We’re comfortable with it,” Schoen said (via Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper), noting that the team now employs one of Mauigoa’s former trainers at Miami. That gives them additional information on the injury, which occurred during the 2025 season, and the confidence to spend their second first-rounder on the 20-year-old lineman.
Giants Could Trade Up From No. 37
The time leading up to the beginning of the draft’s second round is always filled with intrigue based on the potential for trades near the top of the order. Several teams will be worth watching closely in the opening stages of Day 2.
[RELATED: Round-By-Round Draft Tracker]
One of those could be the Giants. New York made a pair of top-10 selections on Thursday, and team’s next scheduled pick is No. 37. Many have pointed to a potential trade down on the Giants’ part as a way closing the gap between that selection and the team’s fourth-rounder (No. 105). Instead, a trade-up maneuver could be in store.
Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports there is “buzz around the NFL” that the Giants could pull off a small move up the board early tonight. While the team lacks a third-rounder to include in any deal, it has five Day 3 picks which could be used as capital to swing a trade. After making a notable addition on defense (Arvell Reese) and along the offensive line (Francis Mauigoa) on Thursday, defensive tackle continues to loom as a roster need for New York.
With Dexter Lawrence no longer in the fold, the Giants could stand to make at least one free agent addition in the near future in addition to selecting a rookie this weekend. Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald is still on the board, and he has been linked to the Giants recently. The likes of Christen Miller (Georgia) and Lee Hunter (Texas Tech) are also available, and they are candidates to be selected early in the second round.
New York could of course be targeting other positions in a potential trade-up move. In any case, it will be interesting to see if a deal can be reached in the coming hours as teams jockey for position atop the Day 2 order.
2026 NFL Draft Results By Round
From the No. 1 overall pick to Mr. Irrelevant (No. 257), here are the results from the 2026 NFL Draft:
Round 1
1) Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza (QB, Indiana)
2) New York Jets: David Bailey (EDGE, Texas Tech)
3) Arizona Cardinals: Jeremiyah Love (RB, Notre Dame)
4) Tennessee Titans: Carnell Tate (WR, Ohio State)
5) New York Giants: Arvell Reese (LB/EDGE, Ohio State)
6) Kansas City Chiefs (from Browns): Mansoor Delane (CB, LSU)
7) Washington Commanders: Sonny Styles (LB, Ohio State)
8) New Orleans Saints: Jordyn Tyson (WR, Arizona State)
9) Cleveland Browns (from Chiefs): Spencer Fano (T, Utah)
10) New York Giants (from Bengals): Francis Mauigoa (T, Miami)
11) Dallas Cowboys (from Dolphins): Caleb Downs, (S, Ohio State)
12) Miami Dolphins (from Cowboys): Kadyn Proctor (T, Alabama)
13) Los Angeles Rams (from Falcons): Ty Simpson (QB, Alabama)
14) Baltimore Ravens: Vega Ioane (G, Penn State)
15) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Rueben Bain Jr. (EDGE, Miami)
16) New York Jets (from Colts): Kenyon Sadiq (TE, Oregon)
17) Detroit Lions: Blake Miller (T, Clemson)
18) Minnesota Vikings: Caleb Banks (DT, Florida)
19) Carolina Panthers: Monroe Freeling (T, Georgia)
20) Philadelphia Eagles (from Packers via Cowboys): Makai Lemon (WR, USC)
21) Pittsburgh Steelers: Max Iheanachor (T, Arizona State)
22) Los Angeles Chargers: Akheem Mesidor (EDGE, Miami)
23) Dallas Cowboys (from Eagles): Malachi Lawrence (EDGE, Central Florida)
24) Cleveland Browns (from Jaguars): KC Concepcion (WR, Texas A&M)
25) Chicago Bears: Dillon Thieneman (S, Oregon)
26) Houston Texans (from Bills): Keylan Rutledge (G, Georgia Tech)
27) Miami Dolphins (from 49ers): Chris Johnson (CB, San Diego State)
28) New England Patriots (from Texans via Bills): Caleb Lomu (T, Utah)
29) Kansas City Chiefs (from Rams): Peter Woods (DT, Clemson)
30) New York Jets (from Broncos via Dolphins and 49ers): Omar Cooper Jr. (WR, Indiana)
31) Tennessee Titans (from Patriots via Bills): Keldric Faulk (DE, Auburn)
32) Seattle Seahawks: Jadarian Price (RB, Notre Dame)
2026 NFL Draft Results: Team By Team
Here is every team’s haul from the 2026 NFL Draft:
Arizona Cardinals
- Round 1, No. 3: Jeremiyah Love (RB, Notre Dame)
- Round 2, No. 34:
- Round 3, No. 65:
- Round 4, No. 104:
- Round 5, No. 143:
- Round 6, No. 183:
- Round 7, No. 217:
Atlanta Falcons
- Round 2, No. 48:
- Round 3, No. 79:
- Round 4, No. 122 (from Eagles):
- Round 6, No. 215) (from Eagles)*
- Round 7, No. 231:
Baltimore Ravens
- Round 1, No. 14: Vega Ioane (G, Penn State)
- Round 2, No. 45:
- Round 3, No. 80:
- Round 4, No. 115:
- Round 5, No. 154:
- Round 5, No. 162 (from Chargers):
- Round 5, No. 173*:
- Round 5, No. 174*:
- Round 6, No. 211 (from Broncos via Jets, Vikings and Eagles):
- Round 7, No. 250:
- Round 7, No. 253:
Buffalo Bills
- Round 2, No. 35 (from Titans):
- Round 3, No. 66 (from Titans):
- Round 3, No. 91:
- Round 4, No. 101 (from Titans):
- Round 4, No. 125 (from Bears via Chiefs and Patriots):
- Round 4, No. 126:
- Round 5, No. 167 (from Texans):
- Round 5, No. 168:
- Round 6, No. 182 (from Jets via Browns, Jaguars and Raiders):
- Round 7, No. 220 (from Jets):
Carolina Panthers
- Round 1, No. 19: Monroe Freeling (T, Georgia)
- Round 2, No. 51:
- Round 3, No. 83:
- Round 4, No. 119:
- Round 5, No. 158 (from Vikings):
- Round 5, No. 159:
- Round 6, No. 200:
Chicago Bears
- Round 1, No. 25: Dillon Thieneman (S, Oregon)
- Round 2, No. 57:
- Round 2, No. 60 (from Bills):
- Round 3, No. 89:
- Round 4, No. 129:
- Round 7, No. 239 (from Eagles via Jaguars and Browns):
- Round 7, No. 241:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Round 2, No. 41:
- Round 3, No. 72:
- Round 4, No. 110:
- Round 6, No. 189:
- Round 6, No. 199 (from Lions via Browns):
- Round 7, No. 221 (from Giants via Cowboys):
- Round 7, No. 226:
Cleveland Browns
- Round 1, No. 9 (from Chiefs): Spencer Fano (T, Utah)
- Round 1, No. 24 (from Jaguars): KC Concepcion (WR, Texas A&M)
- Round 2, No. 39:
- Round 3, No. 70:
- Round 3, No. 74 (from Chiefs):
- Round 4, No. 107:
- Round 5, No. 146:
- Round 5, No. 148 (from Chiefs):
- Round 5, No. 149 (from Bengals):
- Round 6, No. 206 (from Bears):
- Round 7, No. 248 (from Seahawks):
Dallas Cowboys
- Round 1, No. 11 (from Dolphins): Caleb Downs (S, Ohio State)
- Round 1, No. 23 (from Eagles): Malachi Lawrence (EDGE, Central Florida)
- Round 3, No. 92 (from 49ers):
- Round 4, No. 112:
- Round 4, No. 114 (from Falcons via Eagles):
- Round 5, No. 137 (from Eagles)*:
- Round 5, No. 152:
- Round 7, No. 218 (from Titans):
Giants Draft T Francis Mauigoa At No. 10
The Giants added on defense with their top selection. They have brought in offensive line help at No. 10 by selecting Miami tackle Francis Mauigoa. New head coach John Harbaugh had referred to the team’s offensive line a work in progress, so Mauigoa’s addition should, in theory, bring them closer to a finished product.
In 2025, the Giants only had one offensive lineman start every game of the season, and that lineman, right guard Greg Van Roten, is the only starter not expected to return after the expiration of his contract with the team. Elsewhere on the line, Andrew Thomas returned to form after a pair of injury-riddled seasons, showing elite play in 13 games this year, while Jermaine Eluemunor continued his steady play opposite Thomas. Eluemunor also missed a few games in 2025 and rookie fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow filled in adequately as the team’s swing tackle.
The left guard role was manned almost entirely by Jon Runyan whlie a carousel at center saw starts from Austin Schlottmann and John Michael Schmitz Jr. Outside of Van Roten, though, the play on the interior line was uninspired. The Giants signed a pair of former starters in Lucas Patrick and Daniel Faalele in an attempt to bring in competition for the guards spots, but the quality of play for both in recent years fails to inspire much confidence.
With both tackle spots manned, it’s believed Mauigoa will be coming in to take the starting right guard position opposite Runyan. The pending rookie only played right tackle in Coral Gables starting every game there from his freshman year to Miami’s national championship game loss in the College Football Playoff, but many projected guard as his best future position in the pre-draft process. Although he didn’t show much versatility for the Hurricanes, when reporters asked if he’d be willing to switch to guard at the next level, he told reporters that the line has five positions, and all he wanted was to land a starting job at one of them.
The pre-draft process for Mauigoa also contained a bit of concern over a potential back issue that some expect will require surgery in the future. The 20-year-old underwent additional imaging for his back to satisfy any concerns, and the results must’ve done enough to alleviate any hesitation New York had before drafting Mauigoa. In the end, he comes off the board just five picks later than we projected in our PFR Mock Draft, but ultimately, Mauigoa lands right where we thought he belonged.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Giants Draft LB Arvell Reese At No. 5
Arvell Reese remained on the board through the first four picks, but he has now come off the board. The hybrid linebacker/edge rusher has been selected fifth overall by the Giants. New head coach John Harbaugh came over from a team known for drafting the best player available, and with his expanded role in New York, Harbaugh has done just that with this selection of Reese.
Reese will become a Giant after one phenomenal year on the Buckeye’s defense. Not appearing on defense as a true freshman, Reese was used sparingly as a rotation off-ball linebacker in Year 2 en route to a College Football Playoff Championship Game victory. Once Cody Simon moved on to the NFL as a fourth-round pick, Reese took over next to teammate and fellow top 10 pick Sonny Styles. While Styles spent a majority of his snaps in the box, Reese split his time as an off-ball linebacker and an edge rusher.
In part-time pass rushing duty, Reese produced 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Most evaluators see him producing more as a pass rusher at the NFL level, but some believe he could maintain some sort of versatility as a hybrid sort of player similar to the early years of Micah Parsons. New York drafted a similarly transitioned defender at No. 3 overall last year in Abdul Carter. In fact, Reese joins an extremely crowded room of highly drafted pass rushers that includes Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
There have been plenty of rumors that Thibodeaux could be on the trading block even before this pick. Despite the Giants bringing on yet another first-round edge rusher, ESPN’s Adam Schefter claims New York has no intentions of shipping out Thibodeaux. The four-year veteran out of Oregon may end up walking in free agency after this next season, but the litany of talented pass rushers ahead of Reese on the depth chart should allow him to be used with more versatility while still learning how to fit into his likely new position.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Latest On Giants’ First-Round Plans
The Giants adding the No. 10 overall pick in the Dexter Lawrence trade has complicated the first round for the NFC East franchise. A lot is in play as John Harbaugh finalizes preparations for his first New York draft.
Tied to the likes of Jeremiyah Love, Sonny Styles, Caleb Downs, Jordyn Tyson and also potentially bolstering their O-line, the Giants have several directions they can now go holding two top-10 choices. The Giants are believed to want to help Jaxson Dart in this year’s first round, per ESPN.com’s Matt Miller, and Love links have piled up. But it is quite possible the Notre Dame running back is off the board by No. 5.
How the board falls at 5 may dictate what the Giants do at 10, with CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones expecting Big Blue to draft a player on each side of the ball by night’s end. It would be interesting to see the Giants take Love at 5 and perhaps Tyson or Carnell Tate at 10, but if the team does draft either Love or Tyson at 5, finding a defender at 10 might be difficult.
It is quite possible Styles and Downs will be off the board by No. 10, perhaps ramping up the pressure on New York — presuming it wants at least one of the Ohio State defenders — to go defense then offense. Downs appears more likely than Styles to be available at 10, and before the Bengals and Giants made the above-referenced trade, Ely Allen’s PFR mock draft had the safety falling to Cincinnati in that spot. But it is very possible both go off the board in the top nine, and in a scenario where the Giants end up with Love or Tyson at 5, they might need to look closely at their O-line options due to Styles and Downs potentially being spoken for by 10.
Love may be too difficult to pass on at 5, but Miller adds the Giants do not expect him to be there by then. That said, Miller notes the team would pick the former Fighting Irish star if he is available. That simplifies this process to a degree, but with Love links to the Cardinals and Titans, it is obviously possible the Giants will need to turn to their second choice (at least) at 5.
Tyson may be part of that equation, as the Arizona State wideout has vaulted up the board — with his recent workout showing the skillset that has tantalized teams amid an injury-plagued career. Giants coaches are “very high on” Tyson, Miller colleague Jeremy Fowler adds. No team did more work on Tyson than the Giants, per Miller.
Joe Schoen was at the prospect’s modified pro day in Tempe, Ariz., and that included a dinner with the fast-rising pass catcher. If the Giants do not believe Tyson will be available at 10, adding him early and taking their chances with one of the Ohio State defenders or an O-lineman may be the play (in the event Love is gone by 5).
The team has also been connected to Tate, and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer mocks the ex-Buckeyes receiver to New York at No. 5. The team likes both players, per Breer, but Tate would give New York a much safer prospect — albeit one with less upside — in this premium draft slot.
Tyson will be a higher-variance prospect, while Tate — Ohio State’s WR2 behind Jeremiah Smith over the past two years — would slot in alongside Malik Nabers. The latter’s recent ACL tear could impact the Giants on Tyson, but if the NFC East team is truly sold on the Arizona State product’s upside, passing for a safer option may not go over too well should Tyson hit elsewhere.
Bengals, DT Dexter Lawrence Agree To One-Year Extension
APRIL 23: The new Lawrence deal will pay out $11MM in base salary along with a $10MM roster bonus and $1MM in per-game roster bonuses next season, as detailed by The Athletic’s Dan Duggan. 2027 also contains an option bonus ($8.25MM) along with the same roster bonuses and a workout bonus. Lawrence is due to collect $5MM more across the next two years than he was with the Giants, and the Bengals will easily be able to move on after that span.
APRIL 19: The trade sending DT Dexter Lawrence from the Giants to the Bengals in exchange for the No. 10 overall pick in this week’s draft also featured a revised contract. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report that Lawrence has inked a one-year, $28MM extension that will keep him under the Bengals’ control through 2028.
A report that emerged in the immediate aftermath of the trade suggested the Giants did make an effort to retain Lawrence even after the Bengals put the No. 10 pick on the table. Paul Schwartz of the New York Post corroborates that report and confirms Big Blue made offers that would have resulted in a sizable raise for Lawrence, which the 28-year-old obviously declined.
Connor Hughes of SNY.tv adds that the Giants’ proposals included an average annual value “near” $28MM, but in exchange, they wanted to add more years to Lawrence’s existing deal (which had two seasons remaining). Per Hughes, Lawrence’s camp did not even make a counteroffer, which – combined with the relatively modest terms of his Cincinnati extension – make it plain that the player simply wanted a fresh start elsewhere.
Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk passes along a full breakdown of Lawrence’s Cincinnati deal. He was due $42MM over the final two seasons of his Joe Schoen-constructed contract, and the $28MM add-on makes it a three-year, $70MM agreement. The $23.33MM average annual value places Lawrence 10th among defensive tackles, just one spot higher than he was before the trade (though he will get some near-term raises; he was previously scheduled to earn $20MM in 2026 and $22MM in 2027, but he is now due $22MM in ‘26, $25MM in ‘27, and $23MM in ‘28, as Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano summarizes).
Lawrence’s potential impact on a Cincinnati defense that has undermined the club’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs in recent seasons, together with a financial commitment that does not shoot their new acquisition particularly high up the league’s DT hierarchy, help to justify the Bengals’ uncharacteristic aggressiveness here. That said, league sources still believe the Giants did well to land the No. 10 choice.
Hughes spoke with several coaches who were “stunned” by the return. Those coaches agreed that Lawrence is a very good player but pointed to his age and conditioning as cause for concern, as well as the fact that he needs to be kept on something of a snap count to maximize his production. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan says the Giants themselves were surprised by the strength of the Bengals’ offer, and Raanan’s colleague, Jeremy Fowler, hears no one was going to top it.
Lawrence is coming off a down year – albeit one Schoen partially blamed on the elbow injury the three-time Pro Bowler sustained late in 2024 – and even though their gamble is mitigated to some degree by the nature of the extension, the Bengals are clearly banking on a return to elite form. In a statement issued after the trade became official, director of player personnel Duke Tobin made sure to thank much-maligned owner Mike Brown for greenlighting the transaction and added that he expects Lawrence to elevate the players around him (the full statement is available here, courtesy of SI’s Jay Morrison).
Lawrence is the centerpiece of an offseason defensive overhaul in the Queen City that also includes the additions of Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook, and Kyle Dugger. The Giants, meanwhile, could consider one of the top DT prospects in the draft as a Lawrence replacement, and they now have two top-10 selections to aid in their quest for a return to contention.
Giants’ Joe Schoen Candidate For Post-Draft Firing?
We have not seen a post-draft GM firing in a while, but that point on the calendar has brought changes in the not-so-distant past. The Jets and Texans each canned GMs (Mike Maccagnan, Brian Gaine) after the 2019 draft, while the Bills fired Doug Whaley following the 2017 draft.
Maccagnan and Whaley were fired months after those AFC East organizations hired a new head coach (Adam Gase, Sean McDermott), and both HCs then played central roles in identifying GM successors. These examples are eerily similar to this Giants offseason, which has seen major changes outside of the GM chair.
[RELATED: Many Scenarios In Play For Giants’ Two-First-Rounder Night]
Joe Schoen helped the Giants land John Harbaugh, but the latter insisted on reporting to ownership. Ownership greenlit that change to land the Super Bowl-winning HC and would not have done so for another candidate, but Schoen was rumored to be an impediment to that potential change during a three-day wait for the Giants’ Harbaugh hire to become official.
It stood to reason Schoen would be against a change that increased a head coach’s authority, but the Giants’ struggles during his GM tenure did not give the fifth-year Big Blue boss much of a case to prevent it. A report during the Harbaugh pursuit indicated a likely willingness for the high-profile coach to work with the Giants’ holdover GM, but Schoen did have to answer questions about his presence preventing the team from hiring a quality coach.
Later in the offseason, we heard the Giants’ Dawn Aponte hire (as senior VP of football operations and strategy) stripped power from Schoen. That February report indicated Schoen had essentially been “relegated to handling scouting” while the “rest of the building reports to Dawn.” Teams regularly retain scouting staffs through drafts, as to ensure continuity ahead of the event, before making changes on that level. While GM switches at that juncture are rare, the late-2010s moves show they are not unprecedented. With Schoen running the scouting (and Harbaugh and Aponte siphoning power), dot connecting here regarding a post-draft change is not too difficult.
Schoen should indeed be considered in jeopardy of being fired following the draft, SportsBoom.com’s Jason La Canfora notes. The veteran Giants GM, who has overseen a 13-38 record since a surprising 2022 playoff berth, is considered in “very real danger” of losing his job soon, per La Canfora.
This would be a hard-luck firing, given Schoen’s contributions in running the Giants’ HC search amid John Mara’s battle with cancer, but the team’s on-field struggles — which led to Brian Daboll‘s in-season ouster — certainly warrant a change. Harbaugh throwing his weight around to identify a GM to work alongside him would make sense. Harbaugh’s hire resulted in organization-wide changes, to the point long-running staffer Kevin Abrams was booted in January, and scouting-side moves are assuredly coming post-draft.
Schoen, 46, came over from the Bills with Daboll in 2022. He worked for the Dolphins and Panthers previously during an NFL career that has spanned 25 years. He has spoken of collaboration occurring between GM and HC this offseason, as Harbaugh will be heavily involved in the draft room when the Giants are deliberating.
“The early returns on that, it’s been great,” Schoen said (via the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz) of collaboration between the GM and HC. “Coach Harbaugh is passionate about the draft. I’m passionate about the draft. My staff is passionate about it. Just the ongoing football conversations, sitting in the film room with him, whether it’s walking through the board or watching the film. It’s been a lot of fun.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together working through not just first-rounders, second-rounders. He knows about fourth- and fifth-rounders. He’s sending me text messages asking me about maybe undrafted free agents, or he saw an article or an agent might have texted him. It’s been a lot of fun being in these meetings and watching film with him.”
A separate report (from EssentiallySports.com’s Tony Pauline) indicated Harbaugh has not been especially collaborative lately, with a source close to the situation indicating “John knows what he’s going to do and John’s not talking to anybody!” The Giants hold two first-round picks, and several pathways have emerged regarding the team’s draft approach post-Dexter Lawrence. Schoen extended Lawrence in 2023 but saw the defensive tackle become disillusioned with the franchise’s direction. Letting Saquon Barkley and fellow first-team All-Pro Xavier McKinney walk in free agency did not age well for Schoen.
GMs rarely receive second chances, and Schoen will have next to no chance at another GM gig if he is fired post-draft. It would stand to reason the veteran exec would land in a prominent non-GM role elsewhere if fired, but his Giants employment should be considered a situation to closely monitor coming out of this weekend’s draft.
