The Giants received rave reviews for their selections in last week’s NFL draft. Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr assessed their draft as an A-minus, but the team’s leadership apparently thinks very little of draft grades. In fact, general manager Joe Schoen downplayed positive reviews of the team’s draft class.
“You don’t win games in April,” Schoen said, per NFL.com. “The social media rankings and everything like that, you know, it’s about what we do this fall and how we go out there and compete when it matters and how we continue to build this offseason and get bigger, faster, stronger, through our strength program and then how we prepare and execute in August. I think there’s a process.
“And do I like some of the guys we drafted? Yeah. But still … every year is different, and the team has got to gel, and we have got to build chemistry,” he continued. “We have to stay healthy. There’s a lot that goes into it.”
New York started the draft by trading up one spot to take Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks in the first round and then drafted Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz (No. 57), Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt (No. 73), Oklahoma running back Eric Gray (No. 172), Old Dominion defensive back Tre Hawkins III (No. 209), Oregon defensive tackle Jordon Riley (No. 243) and Houston safety Gervarrius Owens (No. 254).
This past season was the first year Schoen and coach Brian Daboll spent with the Giants, and it was nothing short of a u-turn compared to previous seasons. The team made the playoffs and upset the Vikings in the wild-card round to make it to the divisional round, where they eventually fell to the Eagles. It was a good first year for the new regime, but Schoen clearly has his eyes set on greater heights.
