What Might We Expect to See on ‘Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants’?

The New York Giants make their official debut on HBO’s Hard Knocks series in, a new iteration that offers viewers a behind-the-scenes look into the team’s roster-building process and the other key storylines that drew heavy interest between February and June.

While an episode guide has not been released, it’s believed that each of the five parts of the new series will follow the chronological order of the off-season, starting in February when film crew began tracking New York Giants brass in and around their East Rutherford, New Jersey headquarters, and ending in June with the team’s mandatory minicamp.

What are some of the storylines we could see unfold in the series? Here are a few predictions based on the trailer released last month and the major storylines that transpired and were reported. 

If you hope to see the fireworks erupt between head coach Brian Daboll and former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, you will likely be disappointed. 

Remember, filming didn’t begin until February, whereas all the coaching dismissals/resignations occurred before that. However, you may end up seeing the staff introductions, such as defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, whose hiring was announced on February 7.

We could also see the first few days of offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, arguably the most important position coach hire, and special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial as they integrate with the staff and share their visions for their respective units.

In the trailer, there was a clip of Daboll saying, “Our roster isn’t built yet,” which appears to have been shot during the annual NFL combine. So that raises some questions about the decisions made–and not made–by the Giants as they assembled their free-agency and draft plans.

For instance, how did pass rusher Brian Burns land on the Giants’ radar? What did defensive coordinator Shane Bowen see in Isaiah Simmons to want to make him the team’s nickel linebacker? 

What ultimately swayed general manager Joe Schoen to stay with quarterback Daniel Jones rather than look to draft another quarterback that might have been on his list? Why Malik Nabers? Why Drew Lock? 

These are some of the questions that will likely be explored at various points in the series. 

The two biggest free-agency losses for the Giants this year were running back Saquon Barkley, who went to the Philadelphia Eagles, and safety Xavier McKinney, who signed with the Green Bay Packers. 

The McKinney departure was expected all along, though it will be interesting to see how far, if at all, the two sides got in their discussion. It will also be interesting to see if general manager Joe Schoen came close to assigning the transition tag on McKinney, as speculated before free agency started. 

The Barkley departure, however, appears to have a few more layers of intrigue. For instance, Barkley said on his X account that the Giants never made him an offer to return this year, yet the clip shown in the teaser clearly shows a phone conversation Schoen had with the running back in which he asked if Barkley would give him his word about giving him a chance. 

That raises the question about the semantics. Did Barkley come back to the Giants with the offer he received from the Eagles? And if so, was Schoen, who was unwilling to use the franchise tag on the running back and who presumably didn’t want to spend upwards of $10 million per year on a 27-year-old running back with an injury history, simply said to throw in the towel about not putting out an offer because he knew he couldn’t match it?

If that’s how it went down, that would validate Barkley’s statement about not receiving an offer.

Daniel Jones has been on a mission to rehab his torn ACL this off-season. He’s not only fired up by that but also approached the recently completed spring workouts with a noticeable chip on his shoulder.

Parts of Jones’s rehab journey are sure to be featured throughout the series, particularly as he reaches various milestones in his recovery, such as when he first got clearance to run, when he was cleared to do limited work in the spring, etc.

Jones is usually very private about sharing his thoughts with the media, so it will be interesting to see how much he opens up to the Hard Knocks cameras.

A few years ago, the Giants ran a series called , which offered a behind-the-scenes look into their discussion about what they were looking for in the college draft to fill roster holes. 

It’s unclear how much more in-depth the Hard Knocks series will explore that process, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see clips from the team’s interviews with prospective draft prospects or from the workouts held at the Senior Bowl, combine, pro days, etc. 

But besides potentially showing clips dealing with their eventual draft picks, how much, if any, might we see from Schoen and Daboll’s work on quarterbacks or other prospects?

The trailer already teased a look inside the Giants’ war room during draft weekend, with one clip teasing an opportunity for the Giants to presumably trade down with the Atlanta Falcons. 

But what about reported efforts to trade up in the first round for a quarterback? How serious did those get, if at all? If the Giants were rebuked in their attempt to move up, what went into Schoen’s decision to go with receiver Malik Nabers instead of trading down a few spots or using the sixth overall pick on a quarterback?

The Giants opened their rookie and mandatory minicamps to the media, who were not allowed to film anything during the team part of the practices. 

While it’s unlikely that we’ll see wide shots of specific formations, we might see glimpses in the classroom, the weight room, and during those practices (OTAs) that were closed to the media.

Such insight would be valuable because it would examine how the coaches approach teaching. It could also provide insight into the recovery period of other Giants who might have had off-season surgery that wasn’t previously disclosed.

Overall, it promises to be an interesting series. Be sure to keep it here every Tuesday night for an episode recap.