Joe Schoen offers even more evidence that he has no idea how to turn the Giants around

Joe Schoen's first season as the general manager of the New York Giants could not have gone much better. Despite the franchise failing to record a winning record or make the playoffs in the five years prior to Schoen's arrival, he helped New York clinch an unlikely playoff berth. The Giants went 9-7-1 and even won a playoff game. For the first time in a while, Giants fans had hope.

Unfortunately, it's looking more and more like that first season was nothing more than beginner's luck for Schoen. The Giants went 6-11 last season and after an embarrassing loss in Germany against the lowly Carolina Panthers, they're now 2-8 - tied for the worst record in the NFL. If the season ended today, they'd have the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Despite all that has gone wrong in New York in the last couple of years, Schoen went as far as to say he does not believe that this team is 'far off' from turning this thing around in a press conference on Tuesday.

"Schoen said he doesn’t think the team is “far off” and cited their 1-5 record in one-score games as evidence of why he feels that way. Schoen repeatedly noted the youth of the roster and pointed to players like Kayvon Thibodeaux, Malik Nabers, Brian Burns, Tyler Nubin, and Tyrone Tracy as reason to think that the future is bright."

Joe Schoen continues to show signs that he might not be the right man for Giants GM job

Is he fully wrong with his assessment? Not really. One-score games can flip. The players he listed above are all fun building blocks that Giants fans can watch for years to come. Even players he didn't mention, like Dexter Lawrence, Andrew Thomas, and Deonte Banks, are worth building around. There are some gaping holes on this roster, though.

First and foremost, the quarterback position is a mess, and that's entirely Schoen's fault thanks to the unwarranted extension. The Giants do have a way out of the Daniel Jones debacle this offseason, but who is going to replace him? Even if the Giants get a top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, it doesn't appear as if this is the best quarterback draft. As any NFL fan knows, it's very hard for a team to get anywhere without an above-average quarterback at the very least.

The offensive line remains a mess. Andrew Thomas is great when healthy, but he played in just six games this season before suffering a season-ending injury, and that's one year removed from the 25-year-old being limited to just 10 games. Durability matters, and Thomas has not been on the field enough. Jones has taken 29 sacks - fourth-most in the NFL. Some of that is on him, but a lot of it is not.

Schoen has made some good decisions even during the bad times. Malik Nabers was a great pick. The Brian Burns trade has looked pretty promising. Even Tyrone Tracy has been a bright spot in a miserable season. His bad decisions, like letting Xavier McKinney and Saquon Barkley walk, and paying Daniel Jones (to name a couple), might've overshadowed those good decisions.

The Giants have several building blocks all over the field to the point where if this team found its fix under center then yeah, they might be able to be a playoff team. How will they get said quarterback, though? Teams like the Washington Commanders and Houston Texans with Jayden Daniels and C.J. Stroud should give Giants fans hope, but the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers took quarterbacks with the No. 1 overall pick ahead of the Commanders and Texans, and they've both been severely underwhelming. Finding a quarterback through the draft can work, but it can also backfire. I mean, look at Jones' Giants tenure.

The Giants' defense has been better than expected, they have a No. 1 receiver, and they have a star left tackle. They even have a running back. With no quarterback, though, how can you say you're close? The Giants have made the playoffs just twice since 2011 and could easily finish with the worst record in the NFL this season. Attitudes like the one Schoen has to say the team is close when it could finish with the worst record in the NFL is part of why they are the franchise that they've become.