It’s a good week for guys named Joe in New Jersey.
Jets GM Joe Douglas and Giants GM Joe Schoen hold four of the top 10 picks combined in the first round of Thursday night’s NFL Draft: the Jets at Nos. 4 and 10, the Giants at Nos. 5 and 7.
This is the first time ever the Jets and Giants together have held four or more picks in the top 10 of a single draft. They are also picking back-to-back in the top 10 for the fifth time, and for the first time since Saquon Barkley and Sam Darnold went Nos. 2 and 3 in 2018, respectively.
Long gone are the days of New York annually hosting the NFL’s draft spectacle in Midtown. The glitzy Las Vegas strip is this week’s host for Roger Goodell’s podium parade.
But New York football is still center stage in 2022, controlling the top 10 with significant influence to shape how the board falls for the rest of the league.
“It will be exciting,” Schoen, 42, said last week of his first draft as an NFL GM. “Something you dream about. For that day to finally be here, it will be really cool.”
DIFFERENT TIMELINES
Teams picking in the top 10 normally are bad, losing teams, so they’re rebuilding for the long-term. The Giants and Jets indeed are tied for the worst record in the NFL the past five years at 22-59.
But the two franchises aren’t at the same spot in their processes, so they seem to be approaching their top picks differently:
Douglas, 45, a fourth-year GM, has a second-year head coach in Robert Saleh and a second-year quarterback in Zach Wilson. Douglas, sounds like he intends to draft two players at picks No. 4 and 10 that can help his team win now. He knows there is pressure to show results.
“We expect to be playing in meaningful games in December and in tighter games,” the Jets GM said at last week’s pre-draft press conference. “I can tell you we have 10 players on our board that we’d be very excited to add to the team.”
Schoen, a first-year GM, has a first-year coach in Brian Daboll and a fourth-year QB in Daniel Jones. Schoen is open for business on draft board trades — and deals for players on his roster — that can gain him more premium assets for his roster’s foundation and future.
Ideally, he’d trade down and acquire an extra 2023 first-round pick for when he might be searching for a new quarterback, as the Philadelphia Eagles hold two already themselves.
He hasn’t ruled out trading up or making the picks at Nos. 5 and 7, either.
“We’re open to moving back, moving up, staying as well,” Schoen said during the pre-draft process. “We want to compete today and build for tomorrow.”
These New York franchises rarely make trades with each other.
Douglas sent defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Giants’ Dave Gettleman in Oct. 2019 for a 2020 third-round pick and a 2021 fifth-rounder.
Before that, the Giants and Jets hadn’t completed a trade since 1983. The Jets sent a conditional pick to the Giants for O-lineman Chris Foote in a deal later nullified when Foote was waived.
Maybe Douglas’ recent trade history with the Giants makes them a match again. But if not, he’ll still impact the Giants by picking at No. 4 directly before their selection at No. 5.
Prior to Barkley and Darnold going Nos. 2 and 3 in 2018, that hadn’t happened since 1997, when the Giants took receiver Ike Hilliard at No. 7 and the Jets selected linebacker James Farrior at No. 8.
It first happened in 1977, when the Jets took OT Marvin Powell and the Giants grabbed DE Gary Jeter.
The most famous and successful instance was in 1981, though, when the Giants picked Hall of Fame pass rusher Lawrence Taylor at No. 2 before the Jets picked running back Freeman McNeil at No. 3.
Both franchises hope to hit the bullseye Wednesday, too.
MAKING HISTORY
Rarely have two teams controlled so much capital in the top 10 of an NFL Draft.
In the common draft era, two teams have held a combined four top-10 picks on three times, per NFL Research and Elias Sports Bureau:
It happened in 2000 with Baltimore (Ravens) and Washington, in 1979 with Buffalo and Chicago, and in 1973 with Baltimore (Colts) and Philadelphia.
Bears defensive end Dan Hampton is the lone Hall of Famer that came out of those groups at No. 4 overall in 1979.
Most recently, the Ravens took running back Jamal Lewis and wide receiver Travis Taylor at Nos. 5 and 10 in 2000, respectively, while Washington picked LB LaVar Arrington at No. 2 and OT Chris Samuels at No. 5.
The Jets’ original pick in this year’s draft is No. 4 overall. They got No. 10 from the Seattle Seahawks in the Jamal Adams trade. The Giants’ original pick is at No. 5. They got the No. 7 pick from Chicago by trading back last year so the Bears could take QB Justin Fields.
These picks now represent major opportunities for the Giants’ Schoen to get his rebuild off and running, and for the Jets’ Douglas to plug and play talent at positions of need.
The last time a team had two picks in the top 10, the Cleveland Browns took QB Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall and CB Denzel Ward No. 4 in the 2018 draft.
It has happened seven times from 1990 on. In 1994, the Indianapolis Colts got Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk at No. 2 before taking LB Trev Alberts at 5.
The next time it happened in 1997, the Seahawks landed corner Shawn Springs at No. 3 and Hall of Fame offensive tackle Walter Jones at 6.
The Giants hope that one day they may be comparing Thursday’s draft haul to that 1997 Seahawks class, with Cincinnati corner Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, Mississippi State tackle Charles Cross and Alabama tackle Evan Neal (if he’s still on the board) as some of their most likely options in the top 10.
EXPERIENCE VS. THE FIRST TIMER
Schoen, the former Bills assistant GM, was asked last week if he has a draft day routine.
“I used to golf when there was less pressure,” he said with a laugh.
So the big chair could feel much different for him on Thursday, especially working under the New York spotlight. It will be instructive to see how Schoen handles that pressure with so much at stake.
Douglas, on the other hand, has been here before. He is running his third draft.
At the same time, his 13-36 record means he has to get this right, especially since the arrow is pointing down on his first 2020 class, including first-round pick Mekhi Becton and second-round pick Denzel Mims.
Schoen is also dealing with a unique challenge in holding two picks separated by the Carolina Panthers’ selection at No. 6. He has to try and gain specific insight into Panthers GM Scott Fitterer’s plans, since that could impact a pick or trade at No. 7.
“I’ve thought about that several times,” Schoen said. “What are they doing, trying to figure out what position they might go. That will make a difference in what you do.”
This is only the fourth time a team has had two top-10 picks split by one team in the NFL’s common draft era. The last time was 1990, when the New England Patriots took LB Chris Singleton at No. 8 and DT Ray Agnew at No. 10.
So what will happen Thursday night?
“If you have a crystal ball, I’d love to see it,” Schoen said.
All eyes are locked on the Giants and Jets. New York football will chart a course for this year’s draft.
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