GREG JOHNSON: ‘Hard Knocks’ premiere gives good glimpse into Giants’ front office

The big question going into Tuesday night’s ‘Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants’ premiere was how revealing it would be compared to the traditional training camp format.

For a show with months-old footage dating back to January, you figured much of it would be information that was already covered in the news.

Plus, John Mara isn’t one for drama. The co-owner told the New York Daily News in 2010 that his Giants would appear on the HBO show only after he was dead. But he finally acquiesced, in part because the Giants wanted a way to celebrate their 100th year as a franchise on a national level.

So with all that in mind, the first episode didn’t disappoint. While much of this series may not appeal to non-Giants fans, it appears as though it will give a good glimpse into front office discussions, specifically regarding positional value and salary cap allocation.

The premiere focused extensively on running back Saquon Barkley, quarterback Daniel Jones and how the rest of team shaped general manager Joe Schoen’s viewpoint on those two players moving forward.

The stage was set for the Giants to eventually part ways with Barkley in a future episode when Schoen said this about Jones during a front office meeting in the premiere:

“We’ve gotta upgrade the offensive line, and you’re paying the guy 40 million dollars. It’s not to hand the ball off to a 12-million-dollar (running) back.”

We knew from the Giants’ failed negotiations with Barkley last season and their decision to let him sign with the rival Eagles that Schoen didn’t believe in budgeting top dollar for a running back — at least as the Giants are presently constituted.

But in this episode, we learned that Schoen believed his top offseason needs were cornerback, pass rushers and a No. 1 wide receiver. In addition, he told Mara on Feb. 13 that he believed there would be “value guys” at running back during the second week of free agency. Apparently he also thought tight end Darren Waller, who later retired on June 9, would still be a major part of the offense.

During a Jan. 11 meeting, director of pro scouting Chris Rossetti mentioned Zack Moss, Devin Singletary, Tony Pollard, D’Andre Swift and Josh Jacobs as alternatives that the Giants were considering.

Of course, not all of Schoen’s convictions rang true as they ended up signing Singletary during the first week of free agency, and curiously the Giants invested little into cornerback this offseason.

But the bottom line was that the Giants had too many holes to keep Barkley at any cost, and his value to the team was overstated by many. ‘Hard Knocks’ narrator Liev Schreiber suggested that Barkley had been “the Giants’ best player since he was drafted in 2018.” Uh, left tackle Andrew Thomas and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence would like a word!

Schoen faced some pushback from Mara, who said he’d still like to re-sign Barkley in a perfect would, and director of player personnel Tim McDonnell, who asked on Feb. 16 what the offense’s identity would be without Barkley.

Schoen’s response to both involved the need to supply enough protection for Jones, who is coming off a torn ACL, and determine whether he’s the Giants’ quarterback of the future.

“This is the year for Daniel,” Schoen told McDonnell. “The plan all along was give him a couple years. Is he our guy for the next 10 years, or do we need to pivot and find somebody else?”

Quick Hits

• The Giants’ blockbuster trade for outside linebacker Brian Burns evidently started with banter between Schoen and his good friend/former colleague Dan Morgan on Feb. 2 at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

Morgan, the Panthers’ GM, jokingly asked if Schoen wanted to give them two first-round picks for Burns, which caught Schoen’s attention.

That let the Giants know Burns was available and set the trade talks in motion, as a month later the Giants acquired the 26-year-old and a fifth-round pick for a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick.

• Head coach Brian Daboll showed up in the premiere only briefly for two scenes.

It was either scripted or just awkward when Daboll summoned Schoen to share that he was offering the defensive coordinator job to “Shane” and Schoen replied, “Shane Bowen?” As if there was another “Shane” in the running.

Daboll then rattled off where Bowen’s Titans defenses ranked over the past three seasons in points, rushing yards, yards per rush, third down and red zone. That all had to have been discussed beforehand, but clearly Daboll is hoping that Bowen can shore up the Giants’ run defense.

• It was interesting to learn that Bowen will use a 3-4 base defense, with the two smartest players needing to be the two inside linebackers. “That’s where the bulk of the load is gonna be put on,” Bowen said during a meeting with team brass.

Daboll asked if and where versatile defender Isaiah Simmons fits on his defense, and Bowen said Simmons would be a first- and second-down nickelback (extra defensive back in nickel defense) and then play moneyback (mixture of strong safety and linebacker) on third down.

The Giants’ trade for Burns also made sense considering this comment by Bowen: “I want guys that attack. We’re gonna be structured by having four elite pass rushers up front — four guys we can line up, put the damn hand down, go win.”

Greg will be reviewing each episode of ‘Hard Knocks’ throughout July. For more Giants coverage, follow him on X @gregp_j. Reach him at gjohnson@trentonian.com.