Giants GM Joe Schoen discusses NFL Draft strategy, picks' skillsets

For general manager Joe Schoen and Giants, looking to build off a winning season that saw them grab their first playoff win in over 10 years, the NFL Draft was a time for wheeling-and-dealing to pick the guy they wanted and maximizing the value of their draft capital.

With Big Blue picking late in the first round, there were "probably four or five players that we coveted that we thought may be there as of our pick," Schoen told the team's Giants Huddle: Front Office Edition podcast recently.

That meant the draft didn't really start for them until the Washington Commanders were on the clock at No. 16 and "there were still quite a few players up there that we liked and were a little bit surprised they were still there."

"We had multiple plans. We had potential trade opportunities with other teams in place, so it was really an unknown, but we needed to be prepared for every scenario that may have presented itself, and I felt like we were and it actually turned out really well for us," Schoen said.

After the Commanders drafted a corner and New England grabbed a corner with the next pick, a run of wide receivers followed from picks 20-23. And so the Giants decided to move up one spot in a trade with Jacksonville and selected cornerback Deonte Banks out of Maryland.

A decision Schoen based on looking at "different formulas" and various trade charts from the famous Jimmy Johnson chart to "something our analytics department put together."

"You look at the value. You see if it makes sense. Are you going to win, lose, is it even? And then at the end of the day, if you lose a little bit, are you really winning because you're getting the player you want?" he said. "Or for me, sometimes I look at the pick I'm giving up, who do we like at that part of our board? If that player is so much better than what you're going to get at the pick you're giving up, it just makes sense.

"I've been there before where you're disappointed you don't get somebody you want and the opportunity to get players that you like, you feel much better at the end of the day."

So what made Banks worthy of giving up capital – the 160th overall pick (Round 5) and 240th overall pick (Round 7) – to make the Terp a Giant?

"Prototype size. He's got speed, he's got strength, he's got physicality, he can play press-man, he's a 4.36 guy that really fit what the defensive staff was looking for in a corner," Schoen said of Banks. "He ended up being the fourth corner off the board in the first round, and he was actually an ideal fit for what we were looking for in our defense. He was a guy that the defensive coaches coveted, the scouting staff liked, the coaching staff in terms of [coach Brian Daboll] liked.

"So, when you have consensus within the building on a player and is a fit and what he can do for the organization and he's there at the right opportunity, it's a win-win for everybody."

One of those people who was excited was defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who likes to lean on corners to play tight man and bring big, exotic blitzes.

"He was obviously super excited, and it's something for his defense that's very important – having two good corners," Schoen said. "But Tae Banks was one of [Martindale's] favorite players in the draft, and when we were able to get him, he was obviously very excited. My back is still a little bit sore from that bear hug he gave me."

With Big Blue's second-round pick, Schoen selected center John Michael Schmitz out of Minnesota.

"That was a tough one to sit on our hands and wait for, because center was potentially a need," he said. "But we really liked his school film. I saw him play live. I saw him at the Senior Bowl. He had a great week. Another guy that there was consensus between the coaching staff and the scouting staff. New York Giant DNA, through and through: smart, tough, dependable and a good football player."

And after trading up earlier, Schoen was glad his patience in waiting for Schmitz to fall paid off.

"So, the fact that we were able to stay pat, and again, I had to sit on my hands on that one. Luckily he was there when we picked. The Bears traded up right before we picked him. There was a little bit of concern that may be a guy that they covet," he said. "So, that was a little bit of an intense moment when they traded up in front of us, because I think it was known that center was a need."

Of course, patience can be overrated and the Scheon would then trade up to grab Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, another guy the Giants "had graded fairly high" on their board, in the third round.

"When we got into the third round, he was sticking out a little bit like a sore thumb," he said, so the Giants began making calls to see if they could give up their fourth-round pick to move up for Hyatt. "And [Rams head coach] Sean McVay had actually texted [Daboll] the night before. Dabs is like, 'hey, what if I text McVay?' I said, yeah, go ahead. So, we typed in the terms and Dabs sent it off to coach McVay, and eventually they called us back and it worked out.

On Hyatt, Schoen added: "He brings us some height. He's over 6 feet. He ran 4.3. He can stretch the field, and that's something that we thought... maybe we were missing a little bit of last year. People want to play tight boxes against us with Saquon [Barkley], and this gives us a chance to go vertical if we need to."

The Giants GM also had some one-line recaps of the other picks:

Round 5, Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma: "A quick, explosive, instinctive, three-down back that we're excited to have."

Round 6, Tre Hawkins III, CB, Old Dominion: "Big, physical, long, fast."

Round 7, Jordon Riley, DT, Oregon: "Big man with length, strength, can hold the point and can defend the run."

Round 7, Gervarrius Owens, safety, Houston: "Tall, long, fast deep-field safety that can come up and strike you but also can play in pass coverage."