The question was about possibly trading back in the first round of the draft and John Harbaugh was bullish on the idea — to a point.
“I think there is no way you could ever say ‘Oh, no, we would never do that,’” Harbaugh said. “There might be a player you would never trade away from. That’s part of the strategy. You have got to kind of work the math out and all that.’’
This was said before the Giants poured fuel onto their first-round fire by adding the No. 10 overall pick to No. 5, which they already owned, in the trade that sent nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals. This new scenario created the need to carve out more time to “work the math out’’ to determine if it is more prudent to stand pat or trade down.
For the first time, Harbaugh will be part of this mathematical formula with the Giants after 18 years running through scenarios as the Ravens head coach. There is little doubt when the Giants complete this NFL Draft and their eight picks are secured, Harbaugh’s fingerprints will be all over the selections and the roster will be shaped more closely in the image for what he wants this team to be.
Harbaugh was able to get a sense for how the Giants operate as free agency got rolling and it came as no surprise that four of the signings (tight end Isaiah Likely, fullback Patrick Ricard, punter Jordan Stout and safety Ar’Darius Washington) were players he had with him in Baltimore. That was an early indication of Harbaugh’s influence on the roster. The next examples will come during the three-day draft that opens up Thursday night.
This does not mean Harbaugh is making the picks. It does mean his voice will be heard loud and clear when the Giants are on the clock.
The buzzword in the building is collaboration. Harbaugh wants what he wants but is open to hearing about what he might not know and why other options might make more sense.
“The early returns on that, it’s been great,’’ general manager Joe Schoen said.
“Coach Harbaugh is passionate about the draft. I’m passionate about the draft. My staff is passionate about it. Just the ongoing football conversations, sitting in the film room with him, whether it’s walking through the board or watching the film. It’s been a lot of fun.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together working through not just first rounders, second rounders. He’s passionate about it. He knows about fourth and fifth rounders. He’s sending me text messages asking me about maybe undrafted free agents, or he saw an article or an agent might have texted him. It’s been a lot of fun being in these meetings and watching film with him.
“It’s going to be a collaborative effort. We’re going to be on the same page. We’re working towards that.’’
That is the thing. It just does not happen. The organization has to work through it. Harbaugh was in the middle of it for nearly two decades with one franchise and, naturally, that is where his frame of reference comes from. Thus, it came as no surprise that when he speculated about draft-day trades, he brought up general manager Eric DeCosta, owner Steve Bisciotti and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome from his time with the Ravens when pointing out where he learned the need for patience, in terms of sometimes waiting for the phone to ring.
Harbaugh said he believes Schoen “will do an amazing job with his staff of figuring out exactly what the details are of what it would take to trade away from each person in each scenario for our team.’’
Each draft should, in some way, reflect the wants and needs the head coach relays to the front office. In 2022, the head coach, Brian Daboll, knew he had a place in his offense for a diminutive slot receiver. Schoen heard that and selected Wan’Dale Robinson in the second round.
Will Harbaugh do the same at pick No. 5 and advocate for taking running back Jeremiyah Love? That might reflect more on Harbaugh’s priorities than Schoen’s priorities.
“Yeah, it’s pretty simple,’’ Schoen said. “We joke around, just good football players. Let’s not overcomplicate it, and we joke about that all the time. Just take good football players. Philosophically we’re aligned on that.’’
Given the tableau he formed with the Ravens, figure Harbaugh prefers big to small when assessing players. That could mean he prefers linebacker Sonny Styles to his Ohio State teammate, safety Caleb Downs. That could mean he wants a mauler-type guard rather than a technician. It all starts to reveal itself later this week.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
