Pick a word that describes Giants general manager Joe Schoen during the 2023 NFL Draft: Aggressive, attentive, astute.
The list goes on as long as they all start with the letter ‘A.’
Because Schoen aced this draft.
For way too long, the Giants were way too far behind in the game of draft-board maneuvering.
Former general manager Jerry Reese didn’t make a first-round trade (up or down) in 11 drafts as a general manager. He didn’t trade down in his last 77 turns on the clock.
Reese’s successor, Dave Gettleman, was a more active trader by comparison, but he never fully grasped value.
Enter Schoen, who traded down twice in 2022 when the Giants needed improved depth and traded up twice this weekend when the goal was quality over quantity.
The result was three players selected over the first three rounds that different expert mock drafts had earmarked to the Giants as first-rounders.
Here are The Post’s pick-by-pick grades for the Giants’ draft class:
Round 1, No. 24 overall: Deonte Banks (CB, Maryland)
When four straight receivers went off the board (No. 20-23), the Giants didn’t reach. They traded up one spot and pivoted to their biggest need on the other side of the ball to get Banks lower than expected.
Judging by Wink Martindale’s overjoyed reaction in the draft room, the defensive coordinator got who he wanted to play press man-to-man coverage. Banks paired a 4.35-second 40-yard dash with a 42-inch vertical leap (tops for cornerbacks) at the NFL Combine.
He jumps to the front of a slew of young players (Aaron Robinson, Cor’Dale Flott, Nick McCloud, Rodarius Williams, etc.).
Grade: A
Round 2, No. 57 overall: John Michael Schmitz (C, Minnesota)
Don’t play poker with Schoen. After he repeated many times recently that he was comfortable with the in-house options of converted guards at center, Schoen waited and nabbed who was believed to be the top center on the Giants’ board.
Schmitz, 24, spent six years at Minnesota and likely would’ve been a top-100 pick in 2022, so he’s NFL-ready to compete against Ben Bredeson and Shane Lemieux for a starting job. A level of nastiness expected from a former wrestler jumps off the screen. Schmitz hit it off with offensive line coach Bobby Johnson during the pre-draft process.
Grade: A
Round 3, No. 73 overall: Jalin Hyatt (WR, Tennessee)
Schoen actually deserves credit for the restraint on waiting this long to select Hyatt after watching him score five touchdowns on six catches against vaunted Alabama. If you look past the incredible speed – hard to do, especially when getting faster was a Giants’ primary offseason objective — there are questions about his route-running and slender 6-foot, 176-pound build.
Hyatt played mostly in the slot in college, and the Giants have an overabundance of slots under contract, even if most are just one-year deals. He was a top-five receiver in many pre-draft rankings but the 10th receiver selected.
Grade: A
Round 5, No. 172 overall: Eric Gray (RB, Oklahoma)
Even in a perfect world, the Giants needed to upgrade from veteran Matt Breida and special-teamer Gary Brightwell to lighten Saquon Barkley’s workload. It’s not perfect because Barkley hasn’t signed his franchise tag and his relationship with the organization (not teammates) is strained.
Schoen wisely let Barkley know that a running back pick was coming. It’s unlikely that Gray, who averaged 6.4 yards per carry on the way to 1,366 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, is more than second fiddle to Barkley in 2023. He runs for chunks more than dirty yards, so not an ideal complement.
Grade: B+
Round 6, No. 209 overall: Tre Hawkins (CB, Old Dominion)
The junior college transfer set an Old Dominion record for tackles by a cornerback (76) in 2021. Hawkins checks a lot of boxes for an athlete, but needs to develop his football fundamentals.
Hawkins dropped his penalties from six in 2021 to one in 2022, per the Athletic, as he learned when and when not to use his hands, but he still has given up “a lot of touchdowns,” per NFL.com. Put him in the slot for run support and on special teams.
Grade: C-
Round 7, No. 243 overall: Jordon Riley (DT, Oregon)
This is a classic seventh-round flier on a unique trait. In this case, size. Riley is a 6-foot-5, 338-pound run-stuffer who played 331 snaps on defense and 70 on special teams last season for Oregon, which was his fourth school.
Riley only tallied 21 tackles in 13 games because his job is to eat up blocks with an 81 ¼-inch wingspan and let the linebackers roam free to make plays.
Grade: C
Round 7, No. 254 overall: Gervarrius Owens (S, Houston)
The durable four-year starter played 46 of a possible 47 games after a year out of football and another at a junior college.
He mostly played a center-field role, using the ball-tracking skills he developed as a former cornerback to total 22 passes defended and four interceptions.
When the catch is made, however, Owens misses too many tackles and allows yards after the catch.
It’s difficult to foresee him joining the mix with Bobby McCain and Jason Pinnock to replace Julian Love.
Grade: B-
Overall draft class grade: A