2025 is already exposing Joe Schoen in a big way. And that’s a problem. The oft-maligned New York Giants GM is a card-carrying member of the Toasty Buns Club — for front office execs who just can’t seem to get off the hot seat. Look no further than another slow start this season.
Every year, it’s something new. Whether it’s the miss on the 2022 first-rounders, failing to hit on the entire 2023 class, or letting Saquon Barkley walk for nothing, it’s always something. But one thing remains constant: the losing. Aside from a fluky 2023 season, no matter what, you can count on this Schoen-built team to disappoint and rack up the losses. In his three-plus seasons as GM, the team is 18-34-1 (35% win percentage). They win one out of every three games on average. That’s terrible.
Funny thing about trends is that there’s typically a common denominator. In this instance, the losing almost always comes from a lack of defense — specifically, the run defense — which is where the finger gets pointed right at the 46-year-old exec.
Joe Schoen’s lack of defensive investment is catching up to the Giants
As the G-Men sit at 0-2, following an ugly Week 1 flop and a heartbreaking 40-37 Week 2 overtime loss, it’s becoming obvious their defensive front seven can’t stop a nosebleed.
Big Blue has given up a league-leading 355 yards on the ground through two games. It’s the fourth time in four years under Schoen that the run defense is bottom six in the NFL, and it’s just getting so tiring. It’s the same story, different year. How has this not been addressed? What is this GM doing?
Well, I’ll tell you what he’s not doing — and that’s investing in the defensive front through the draft.
Giants analyst Bobby Skinner pointed out Monday that this regime has done a brutal job drafting defensive linemen and linebackers over the last four years:
Giants are ranked 32nd in run defense through 2 weeks.
4 years of this being a bottom 5 run defense since Joe Schoen got the job.
The DT's drafted are DJ Davidson (5th/24 y/o rookie), Jordon Riley (7th/25 y/o rookie) & Darius Alexander (3rd/25 y/o rookie).
Highest drafted…
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) September 15, 2025
Giants fans are fully tapped into this, too. It’s not just analysts pointing out the glaring holes. The general consensus? Schoen has neglected the defensive interior and linebacker corps in the draft for four years, and it’s finally catching up. He's never drafted a building block for the front seven.
You’ve got fans calling him incompetent, comparing his roster-building strategy to someone running a fantasy draft on Madden. Others are wondering why the team still doesn’t value DTs next to Dexter Lawrence — a trend that dates back through multiple front offices.
Even defensive coordinator Shane Bowen is catching the heat, with fans asking why his so-called run-stuffing defense can’t stop a thing. And perhaps that’s where the onus lies... on the DC. But after the way they handled the Wink Martindale situation, there’s reason to believe they’re going to try to see Bowen through to the end.
It’s all culminating into the same frustration: too little investment, too much arrogance, and absolutely no improvement.
No one’s saying football is easy, but at some point, refusing to fix the one thing that’s held this team back year after year stops being negligence and starts being gross mismanagement.
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