New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen discussed the acquisition of JJ McCarthy, the upcoming NFL trade deadline, the impact of head coach John Harbaugh and more during his bye week with the media on Tuesday. Here are some of the points to remember.
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 advance to the NFC playoffs.
The list, however, could be supplemented in a few areas. Schoen and the Giants must decide whether they want to be aggressive between now and the Nov. 10 trade deadline, or whether they want to protect their draft assets for the future. They are currently without fourth- and fifth-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, although they are expected to receive a fourth-round compensatory selection in 2027.
“There are a lot of factors that come into play, in terms of selection. We don’t have a fourth or a fifth at the moment. So you take that into account,” Schoen said. “In some situations it can rule out certain players. Maybe it’s their value. Maybe a third is too rich or a sixth isn’t enough, so you start looking at future picks and contract status, where we are depth-wise. So a lot of factors we’ll look at and who’s going to be available, who’s really available.”
The Indianapolis Colts began what could be a real fire sale Tuesday in trading star guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks. The Colts have several other players the Giants could be interested in, including running back Jonathan Taylor.
“It’s easy to say, go sign positions “So we’re going to look at all the options available. And some teams have already started 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 has to make sense, both short and long term, when you make these moves.”
Schoen said losing Jaxson Dart and Brian Burns “really wouldn’t impact what we do” at the trade deadline.
It’s important to remember that this is ultimately John Harbaugh’s show, not Schoen’s. It is common knowledge that coaches think more in the short term than in the long term. If the Giants make a dramatic move, it will likely be because Harbaugh senses an opportunity and wants to do everything possible to try to capitalize on it.
Schoen said the Giants “absolutely” embraced Harbaugh’s personality.
“It started from day one in the spring. The coach came here and just the details, the message, the leadership. His record speaks for itself as a head coach. The guy won a lot of games. The players were eager to buy into it,” Schoen said. “We have a good, young core of players here that just want to win. They just want to win, no matter what it takes. Coach Harbaugh and his staff have done a really good job laying out the plan. This is what it looks like. This is how you practice. This is how you approach OTAs. This is how you approach the offseason program. This is how you practice in training camp. This is how you prepare in season, week in and week out.”
Harbaugh is clearly this team’s best and most important offseason acquisition.
The fact that the Giants lead the NFC East is something that many NFL analysts and fans have a hard time understanding. How does Schoen view what the Giants have done in seven games?
“I’m happy where we are. I really like the team. I like the composition of the players, the courage,” Schoen said. “I was thinking about it, just the end-of-game happiness that we had, whether it was the last play of the game in Tennessee or Arizona or even Washington, the way it played out. And then the Motor game on Sunday in Houston. So, just the resiliency of the players, the way we played late in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“I’m really proud of guys like that and the way they’re approaching this. Did I think we’d be here? You never know. Every team has its own personality, but I’m really happy with where the guys are. They’ve earned the right to be in first place in the NFC East, and we have some meaningful games ahead of us that I’m looking forward to.”
Schoen and Co. will now see what they can do to help the players.
“They’ve earned the right to be in these games and I know they’re excited about it,” Schoen said. “And, again, we’re going to survey the league and see what’s available and what the cost might be to upgrade the roster, and if it makes sense, we’ll definitely do it.”
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 has started a game for us and played at a high level. You know, he’s 23 years old. He’s won his last five starts, and just having been in that position, how tough it is to come in with 20-plus snaps and not really throw to our receivers throughout a training camp or an offseason. You think about all of them the reps that these guys are having with their receiving corps and their teammates, JJ, I don’t think it’s been a month maybe tomorrow will be a month that he’s been here, and to come out and play against this defense the way he did was impressive. So, again, I love the team… I’m excited about where we are and excited to see what the future holds.
Whether or not the Giants make the playoffs, it’s certainly better to enter November with that possibility rather than already focusing on the draft.
“A good position to be in”
That’s how Schoen characterized the idea of having Jaxson Dart and JJ McCarthy, both 23, former first-round picks, on the roster. Including Dart, Schoen said the Giants’ quarterback room is “probably one of the strongest 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 JJ throughout the (2024) draft. We knew where he was on the depth chart (in Minnesota). We knew Carson Wentz was playing. We had played them in preseason, so we looked at him before the game there. And he was probably the targeted guy from the start 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 started.
“When you talk about a backup quarterback who also has leadership, he can lead not only this room, but the team. Can he go 2-2 in four straight games? He’s 2-1-1,” Schoen said. “And like I said, he’s led us in games where we’ve led in the fourth quarter or at least a tie game. 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 when I was in Buffalo, and we took Josh Allen his first year, we didn’t have a veteran in the room. You’re always going to need a vet that can help the young guys while the coaches are game planning and the quarterbacks are doing film on their own. Down in the meeting room to have a vet and just to know how valuable Jameis is to Jaxson and how valuable he’ll be to JJ as well.”
No matter how well McCarthy is playing this season, and everyone around the Giants should hope he plays exceptionally well, I find it hard to believe the Giants would want to enter next season with a quarterback competition/controversy.
I believe the better McCarthy plays, the more he helps the Giants with another issue Schoen addressed Tuesday: the need to replenish their draft capital.
“Obviously, you want to have as many options as possible. But, again, we’re happy to have Malachi Fields. We’re happy to have JJ,” Schoen said. “So using the draft picks that we gave up to get these two players, we’re happy to have them.
“There are always options to recoup capital along the way, whether it’s from players on the roster at the trade deadline, if people call and it’s something that makes sense for us, in the offseason. If trades are made at draft time, you can go back in the draft. There are other ways to recoup capital, the compensatory formula as well. We’ll see how that plays out. But, yeah, if it makes sense for us to do something at Short term and long term, we’re going to look at every possible opportunity to improve the roster and, again, there are ways we can try to get draft picks back later.
Having a tradeable 24-year-old quarterback who has played good football at the NFL level is a commodity that no other NFL team could have this offseason, and one that could be highly coveted. This would put the Giants in an enviable position.
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