Giants add center Schmitz, plus speedy wideout Hyatt
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Less than 30 minutes after finishing his second NFL draft with the New York Giants, general manager Joe Schoen still had a lot on his mind and much work to do.
Over the next two days, there will be talks with the agents of players who weren’t drafted about joining the Giants or coming to a rookie camp next weekend. He also wants to circle back and discuss a new contract with running back Saquon Barkley, who’s under the franchise tag.
There will be talks with agents for the seven players the Giants drafted and then maybe some time to decompress.
The work never stops, but Schoen was feeling good Saturday. Over the past three days, New York made two trades to move up and got three players Schoen feels have a shot at starting right away: cornerback Deonte Banks of Maryland, center John Michael Schmitz of Minnesota and receiver Jalin Hyatt of Tennessee.
“You never know how it’s going to fall,” Schoen said. “We went through a million scenarios and didn’t know who was going to be there.”
All three filled immediate needs for the Giants, who surprised many last season by going 9-7-1 and making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Banks, who was taken with the 24th pick overall after a deal with Jacksonville to move up one spot, is a physical, shutdown cornerback who could play opposite Adoree Jackson.
The need for a center developed after Jon Feliciano and Nick Gates were lost this spring to free agency. Schmitz fit the bill after a long career with the Gophers that was extended by the COVID-19 season.
The steal was getting Hyatt in the third round. The speedster caught 15 touchdowns this season, including a Southeastern Conference record five against Alabama.
“I feel like I’m just dynamic, explosive,” Hyatt said Saturday.
Oklahoma running back Eric Gray was taken in the fifth round, Old Dominion cornerback Tre Hawkins III was grabbed in the sixth, and Oregon defensive tackle Jordon Riley and Houston safety Gervarrius Owens were chosen in the seventh.