Episode four of the HBO's offseason edition of Hard Knocks with the New York Giants released on Tuesday night, and it was perhaps the most revealing episode of the series, as we saw footage of general manager Joe Schoen talking with New England Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf regarding a potential trade up to No. 3 for a quarterback hours before the first round of the NFL Draft. Ultimately, Wolf told Schoen that the Patriots would not move out of the spot.
“I think we're pretty happy witting here, picking, but if you offer us like one, two, three this year, one, two next — I mean, I'm exaggerating,” Eliot Wolf said to Joe Schoen. “It would probably have to be pretty significant.”
Schoen did throw out a hypothetical offer, albeit informally, to see if he could get the Giants up to the No. 3 spot to pick a quarterback, which presumably would have been Drake Maye from North Carolina.
“Okay, so like a one this year, obviously it'd be six this year, a one next year, and then something more this year is not going to do it,” Schoen said to Wolf. “It's gotta be multiples in '25?”
In response, Wolf made it clear that the plan was to stick at No. 3 and pick a quarterback. The Patriots eventually did that and picked Drake Maye in that spot.
“We're in this situation where we just, probably sit and pick a quarterback, you know?” Wolf said to Schoen.
The Giants' desire to move into the top three was clear in this series, especially in episode four. Ultimately, it did not happen, and Wolf even indicated that if the Patriots had already had a franchise quarterback that they would have called the trade in with the Giants. That just was not the case, and New England did not pass up on a prospect like Maye.
Giants' pivot plan after failing to trade up for Drake Maye
After it was clear that the Giants were not going to be able to move up to the top three to get Maye, they pivoted to the wide receivers in the class.
There was speculation heading into the draft that the Giants were interested in quarterback JJ McCarthy and even tackle Joe Alt, but that seemingly was not the case. Schoen passed on McCarthy at No. 6, taking LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers over him.
In the episode, Schoen outlines the plan for the Giants, saying that if Marvin Harrison Jr. or Malik Nabers were on the board at No. 6 they would turn the card in, and if not, they had trade back scenarios. At one point, Schoen is heard saying that he hopes the Los Angeles Chargers go with a tackle at No. 5, which they eventually did with Joe Alt. Nabers was on the board at six, and Schoen did not hesitate to take him.
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