Sleepless night for Joe Schoen before the NFL Draft kicks off the next day?
The general manager of the Giants anticipated he would be able to close his eyes Wednesday night and get sufficient rest for what comes next.
“We’ll sleep good at night knowing we did all the preparation and we let the board talk to us,’’ Schoen said.
If only that were actually true and the draft board could verbalize what the Giants should do with the No. 6 overall pick.
Perhaps Pixar can create an animated film about this. A spirit takes over the entire draft and whispers to teams what they should do.
Then, all Schoen needed to do was listen and pay attention as the draft board talked to him in the voice of Tom Hanks (Woody!), James Earl Jones (Mufasa), Ellen DeGeneres (Dory!) or Billy Crystal (Mike Wazowski!).
Alas, that will not come to pass this week but that does not mean Schoen and the Giants will be all willy-nilly as they are on the clock with their six selections – one apiece in each of the first six rounds.
This is Schoen’s third year spearheading the draft for the Giants and thus far there is no definitive evaluation for how he has fared.
His 2022 inaugural draft brought in a haul of 11 players but only one of them, edge rusher Kayvon Thibobeaux at No. 5 overall, has been anything close to a difference-maker.
The most glaring potential miss that year was Evan Neal, taken No. 7 overall, a player who has not impressed and will have to fight this spring and summer to maintain his starting right tackle job.
The second-round pick in 2022, receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, tore his ACL as a rookie, limiting his time on the field and his effectiveness for much of his second season.
The 2023 draft class was composed of seven players.
Cornerback Deonte Banks and center John Michael Schmitz were immediate starters, both with room to develop.
Jalin Hyatt showed speed as a deep-threat receiver but needs to fine-tune the other aspects of his route-running.
So, not exactly a slam-dunk success or a resounding failure in the first two drafts for Schoen.
What does seem evident is that he has a process he believes in and takes great care in instituting that plan, making sure the staff around him is in lockstep with his vision for what the Giants need to do to procure talent.
“Every waking moment, this is what we’re all thinking about is the draft,’’ Schoen said the week before the start of the 2024 draft. “It’s not just the first round. It’s the second round, making sure we have the players stacked. The three players at a position, that we’re sure that we like them the way that they’re stacked.
“You can go round and round and round. At some point, someone has to make a decision. We’re going through those, some film sessions. We were doing film all morning together as a staff and working through where the discrepancies are, if that makes sense. Whether the coaches like them a little bit higher than we do or the stack is different.
“We actually get in a room together and we say, hey, this is how we’re going to utilize them. This is how we see them as a personnel staff. Let’s roll up our sleeves. Let’s watch the film. Let’s talk through it while we’re watching it. Ultimately we’ve got to make a decision on how they stack on the board.
“That’s what we’re trying to get through the next two days, any type of discrepancies. That way I can prevent myself from the paralysis by analysis because you can, you can go back and forth. As the draft is getting closer, I can stop going through all these scenarios and rest easy at night once these decisions have been made.’’
Based on this way of going about his business, Schoen believes there is no need for panic when the Giants are on the clock.
“Last year was a little bit more stressful because when you’re picking further back in the draft,’’ Schen said alluding to the 2023 draft, when the Giants had pick No. 24. “Where this year at 6, it makes it a little bit easier because you can say, okay, here’s six names, here’s how we like them, here’s our different scenarios, and you can go from there.
“The first round is pretty calm just because you’ve done all the work. No matter how it pans out, you’ve got your stack and how you like the players. Last year, again, there’s a little bit more anxiety and uncertainty because to us last year the draft didn’t really start until pick 15, and now you’re starting to narrow down who’s going to be there.
“Where when you’re picking this high, it’s a little bit different. Pretty calm because all the work and the preparation that the staff, the coaches, all of us have done leading up to the draft. I usually feel pretty good about our board, and as you go through it, the board talks to you, and a lot of the decisions have already been made.’’
There it is, more listening to what the draft board has to say. If only it were so.