New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen admitted that he would be open to trading his No. 5 overall pick at the 2026 NFL Draft on Tuesday at the Combine.
“We’re going to look at all options,” he said. “We’re open to moving back if an opportunity is there. We’re also fine staying and taking a player there. If you can’t get out of 5, there’s always a chance in the second round if you want to move back, or if there’s a good player, you can sit and take him, or you can move back into the first round. We’re going to keep all our options open.”
Schoen and new head coach John Harbaugh have plenty of avenues to explore with that top-five pick. They could draft a top-rated offensive lineman should left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor leave in free agency, or bring in another promising wide receiver to lineup alongside Malik Nabers and expand quarterback Jaxson Dart’s arsenal of outside weapons.
Harbaugh, of course, is going to have considerable say in which direction the Giants go. Schoen is getting one last chance to prove that he can build a winning team despite being the main constructor of rosters that went a combined 7-27 over the last two years.
The former Baltimore Ravens’ head coach helped build a consistent competitor during his nearly two decades. He made the playoffs in 12 of his 18 seasons in charge of the AFC North franchise.
“Coach and I’s communication has been great. When he got here, it’s the first time you’re going through everything together,” Schoen said. “So how did you guys do this in Baltimore? OK, this is how we did it. OK, we’re doing that exactly the same. Then we get to Pro Days, how did you guys operate with Pro Days? The process is the same. It’s just overcommunicating on how we do things vs. how they did things in Baltimore, or how he wants it done. They drafted well in Baltimore, and they won a lot of games. We don’t have all the answers. There are tweaks we can make in our process, and I’m open to that.”
