Big Blue View
The wreckage of some of the costly draft mistakes GM Joe Schoen and the New York Giants have made since 2022 was on full display in Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Washington Commanders.
Evan Neal, the No. 7 overall pick by Schoen in 2022, was inactive. That’s an indication the Giants don’t think he is transitioning well to guard after flopping at right tackle.
Jalin Hyatt, a player the Giants traded up for in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, did not play a snap. This after a season in which he caught just eight passes.
Deonte Banks whom Schoen traded up one spot to make sure he was able to select in Round 1 of the 2023 draft, played only 11 snaps and did not get on the stat sheet.
Even Darius Alexander, third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, was inactive. The Giants preferred to elevate defensive lineman Elijah Garcia rather than give Alexander a uniform. Alexander had a quiet summer after missing spring practices, so perhaps he just needs time.
Not coincidentally, the Giants on Sunday displayed issues on the offensive line, in pass coverage, getting receivers open and stopping the run.
Schoen has been widely praised for his work in the 2024 and 2025 drafts. Maybe those will turn out to be home runs for the Giants. Do we really, though, know the answer at this point? Probably not.
What we do know is that missing on highly-drafted players when you are trying to rebuild a team is devastating. And, the Giants are smarting from many of the draft picks gone wrong. Particularly over the first two seasons of Schoen’s tenure.
Let’s go through each of Schoen’s four draft classes. Admittedly, it is too early to draw conclusions about 2024 and 2025, but they are still worthy of discussion. I am going to grade the classes using our unique ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ format.
The Evan Neal flop has been a crusher for the Giants, and overshadows anything else that is good, or at least OK, about this group.
When you miss on a top 10 pick, and with the Giants not even giving Neal a uniform in Week 1 as a healthy scratch, the selection of Neal absolutely qualifies as a miss, that sets a rebuilding franchise back. Top 10 picks are gold, and you can’t fritter them away if you want...
