Giants Criticized by Some Agents for Hard Knocks Appearance

The New York Giants’ decision to appear on Hard Knocks this offseason drew mixed reviews from a panel of over 30 NFL agents surveyed by The Athletic .

“I loved it. I know how it works, but seeing the business behind the scenes for the ordinary fan is very cool,” one agent voter said. “The [Joe] Schoen-Saquon [Barkley] talks. Pre-draft interviews with quarterbacks at the board. I was surprised the Giants were that open.”

A more common sentiment expressed among the voters was shock that the Giants would allow as much as they did to be revealed.

Most of the voters who offered feedback believed it was a mistake for the Giants to take part in the series, with one voter even going so far as to surmise that the Giants probably regret being that open.

“I think Schoen is a good GM, but this made him and the organization look bad,” said one voter, while another added, “Embarrassing to the organization. It will easily justify mass firings when they go 4-13.”

The problem with the series, as one voter aptly stated, is that sometimes the timing of the events that were shown was hard to track. However, as far as the topics covered, the meetings with the scouts, whose feedback on the various draft prospects provided some insight into the organization’s thinking, and the Saquon Barkley talks were of particular interest.

The Barkley talks in fact revealed almost a coolness on the part of the now former running back, who refused to directly promise Schoen a chance to match whatever offers he received on the open market.

The series also revealed that the Giants never made a formal offer to Barkley after learning what his agent’s ballpark estimation to get a deal done would be.

On the flip side, the talk around quarterback Daniel Jones could be potentially damaging. The Giants brass had, until that series broke, been open with its pledge of support behind Jones, who was coming off a torn ACL. But they also added that given the uncertainty surrounding the injury and whether Jones would be ready to start the season, they felt the need to protect themselves.

However, the Giants, rather than just stop at signing a veteran backup (Drew Lock) as protection, actively explored trading away assets to get one of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. 

From Jones’s perspective, that news, believed to have been presented to him under the guise of the organization protecting itself, was reportedly not well received, as Jones likely was smart enough to realize that if the team had been successful in its attempt to trade up, that was likely the end of Jones’s tenure as a starter in New York.

Also of interest in the poll is that the Giants didn’t garner any votes among the agents surveyed for being one of the best run franchises, though on the flip side, the Giants weren’t voted one of the most unstable franchises either.

The Giants’ front office brass as led by general manager Joe Schoen did not receive any votes for the “best talent evaluator” category, though Schoen’s old boss in Buffalo, Brandon Beane, received at least one vote.

Giants’ assistant general manager Brandon Brown received at least one vote as a “future GM to watch.”