Publicly backing Jones, Schoen says Giants have more than one or two needs

No one knows who the Giants will take with the No. 6 overall pick Thursday night in the first round of the NFL draft. Heck, no one knows if the Giants will actually keep their pick or if they will move up, or down.

No one knows more about who the Giants might pick than Joe Schoen, the general manager, and even he cannot be certain how the selections will go in front of him. By Friday night, though, he knows the team’s draft board will be finalized and that will give him a strong indication which way he wants to go when the Giants are on the clock.

What Schoen is sure of is that whoever the Giants take — a quarterback, perhaps, or a wide receiver? — that one player will not arrive as the final piece to an expansive roster puzzle.

“I think right now we have enough needs that it can go either way, offense or defense,’’ Schoen said Thursday during his third annual pre-draft press conference. “I think we’re not one player away or two players.’’

Do not expect the Giants to “go either way.’’ It stands to reason they will find a player at No. 6 to help an offense that was 30th in the NFL in scoring in 2023. If it is a receiver, the expectation will be for that player to instantly catapult to the top of the depth chart and contribute in a big way, right away. If it is a quarterback, the expectation will be for him to sit and learn while Daniel Jones — as long as he is fully recovered from reconstructive knee surgery — opens the season as the starter.

“There’s several different options that we can take, and we’re going to be OK,’’ Schoen said. “I’m comfortable where we are in terms of whatever we do.’’

The day after the Giants finished 7-10, Schoen said the Giants would add a quarterback to the roster, acknowledging that there were just two of them under contract — Jones and Tommy DeVito — and that Jones was coming off an injury. Schoen signed 27-yearold Drew Lock to a one-year deal worth $5 million to serve as the backup.

With three quarterbacks under contract, Schoen said “I don’t think so’’ when asked if he feels he needs or wants to add a quarterback in the draft. “With Drew’s experience, he has started games and played, and Daniel’s experience,’’ Schoen said. “And what Tommy did last year, another year in the system, Tommy’s come a long way. No, I think we could go into the season with the three that we have and be comfortable with that.’’

This, of course, does not mean the Giants will look the other way if a quarterback they love is available for them.

From what he is hearing, Schoen does not think any of the three teams holding picks 1, 2 and 3 — the Bears, Commanders and Patriots — are going to trade down — although Patriots scouting director Eliot Wolf on Thursday said “We’re open to anything, moving up, moving down.’’ Schoen said the Bears going with Caleb Williams feels like a done deal. “And then the draft starts at 2,’’ Schoen said.

The expectation is the Commanders will take Jayden Daniels of LSU and the Patriots likely will take Drake Maye of North Carolina. Maybe the order for those quarterbacks is reversed. Unless the Giants are all-in on J.J. McCarthy of Michigan at No. 6, it could be that the Giants will not be in position to land one of the top quarterback prospects.

Rather than move up, Schoen said he was surprised by how many teams have contacted him, exploring the opportunity to trade up into the No. 6 spot.

“So those are options too as we look at, if we go back, how far back do we want to go?’’ Schoen said.

What sounds fairly clear is that Schoen and the Giants are not actively looking to shove Jones out the door. Schoen gave Jones a four-year contract worth $160 million and has not quit on supporting him, at least publicly.

“One of the things, when you go back and you watch the 2022 season or all of his throws in 2022, like he was a 25-year-old player that played at a high level and we won 10 games and won a playoff game,’’ Schoen said. “I’m still confident in Daniel, the way he’s wired, what he showed us in 2022.”

This certainly does not jibe with what came out at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February, when Rich Eisen of NFL Network said a rumor he heard from multiple sources was “the Giants are ‘absolutely done’ with Daniel Jones. Done. Might have to play him this year, but that ain’t it. And they feel … the words I heard at the combine, multiple times, the two words were ‘buyer’s remorse.’ ’’

Schoen heard that at the time and waited until now to respond.

“I can’t worry about that,’’ he said. “There’s stuff out there all the time that’s not true.’’

Schoen, asked specifically about the “buyer’s remorse’’ sentiment toward Jones, smiled and scoffed.

“That was not true,’’ he said.