'You need a reality show for that room:' How the Giants' quarterback room developed

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Forty-eight hours before one of the worst seasons in New York Giants history officially came to a close, general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll sat down for a meeting with owner John Mara that lasted several hours. They had to explain what went wrong and how they were going to move forward, particularly at the quarterback position.

It was on that final Friday of the 2024 regular season that Schoen and Daboll stated their case to return despite a three-win showing and laid the groundwork for reshaping their quarterback room.

Per a source with knowledge of the conversation, they outlined all the potential quarterback options: from the top of the draft with Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart; to potential free agents such as Justin Fields and Russell Wilson; to potential trade and cut casualties including Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers. They talked about the possibility of adding a veteran (or veterans) in addition to landing a quarterback in the draft. At least one of each was preferred.

Mara and fellow owner Steve Tisch would speak more over that final weekend and come to the conclusion that Schoen and Daboll would ultimately be retained. The quarterback plan fit what they were looking to achieve this upcoming season -- immediately produce better results while simultaneously addressing their "No. 1 issue" of finding a quarterback of the future.

Winston and Wilson were signed in March. Holdover Tommy DeVito was retained prior to free agency. The Giants traded back into the first round to take Dart 25th overall out of Ole Miss at the end of April.

Dart is the first quarterback drafted since Schoen and Daboll took over in 2022.

"It's been exhausting, to be honest with you," Schoen said after the draft of the quarterback search.

It was a journey that took multiple years and included several pit stops. Per sources with knowledge of the Giants' draft strategy, they would have traded up for Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye in 2024 if Washington and New England were amenable. They would have tried to trade for the No. 1 overall pick this season if the Tennessee Titans were willing.

Instead, the Giants' overtures were rebuffed on both occasions.

The quarterback room the Giants settled on is eclectic, to say the least. There is the image-conscious Wilson, the gregarious Winston, the swaggy Dart and the local darling in DeVito.

"You need a reality show for that [quarterbacks] room," one NFL coach said.

But Schoen and Daboll didn't assemble this group strictly for entertainment purposes. Their success will be determined by how many wins they produce, this season and into the future.

It wasn't as if this was always their intended combination of quarterbacks. It's just the way it all unfolded.

THE GIANTS HAD inquired about Stafford prior to the trade deadline this past season, per multiple sources within the league. The Rams were fluttering around .500 at the time and there were whispers about the veteran's future. It was more a check-in to see where the situation stood than a serious inquiry. But the Giants would have been foolish not to at least gauge the possibility when a quarterback of that caliber became available, given their needs at the position at the time.

It's why they re-engaged in February when the Rams gave Stafford's agent, Jimmy Sexton, permission to speak with other clubs because they were at an impasse about his salary. It led to a five-week dance where the Giants tried to pry Stafford from the Rams. They were willing to offer in the range of $50 million per season, a source with knowledge of negotiations told ESPN at the NFL scouting combine in early March.

The Raiders eventually got into the mix as well but in the end Stafford didn't really want to uproot his family. He got two years and $84 million to stay in Los Angeles, less than what the Giants were willing to pay.

"I never really wanted to leave," Stafford would say later.

As this process reinforced, getting a quarterback can be difficult. It's not always within the team's control.

With Stafford's situation approaching a resolution on the final day of February, the combine was nearing completion as well. The Giants would have the projected top three quarterbacks (Ward, Sanders and Dart) in for visits that first week of March.

In the meantime, they had turned their attention to Rodgers, among other veterans. A source with knowledge of the quarterback market told ESPN at the combine to watch out for Rodgers making the switch across town.

It wasn't exactly the cleanest of fits with Rodgers' Jets career lacking any tangible success. Did it actually make sense for the Giants off 3-14 to want a 41-year-old, or for him to want them?

There was a point during the multi-week dalliance that it seemed like it might happen. Rodgers had a one-on-one conversation at one point with Daboll to explore if it made sense on a football level, a source with knowledge of the conversation confirmed.

A free agent for the first time in his career, Rodgers had the Giants and several others in a waiting game. The Pittsburgh Steelers are still in that same position almost two months later.

But eventually the Giants pivoted. The top available options were Wilson, Winston and Joe Flacco.

Of that group, New York looked at Wilson as the best starting option remaining. That was their desired goal, find someone who gave them the best opportunity to win games this season.

"We're going to look for the best player available that can help us win games in '25," general manager Schoen said at the combine. "That's what we're going to do."

The Giants were juggling the Wilson and Winston situations for weeks in late-March. A source familiar with Wilson's thinking told ESPN at the start of the offseason that Wilson was interested in making a move to New York.

But Winston actually signed first on March 21, later saying he knew the Wilson deal was likely on the horizon. Winston's was a two-year deal worth $8 million.

Wilson eventually signed four days later for one year with $10.5 million guaranteed and close to an additional $10 million in incentives connected to playing time and winning.

For instance, a total of $2.5 million can be earned if Wilson plays 85% of the team's offensive snaps. There are $250K and $500K thresholds based on passer rating and another $3 million tied to winning.

Wilson made sense for the Giants. He would get the opportunity to start (Daboll has said he's the No. 1 quarterback this spring) and there wasn't any long-term commitment.

Wilson knew there was a possibility the Giants could draft a quarterback in the first round this year and he was fine with that. Not all the quarterbacks available this offseason wanted to step into a situation that could have a highly drafted quarterback entering the picture, a team source told ESPN.

Wilson and Winston were willing. They were the veteran quarterbacks of choice.

GIANTS COACHES' FIRST contact with Dart came at the Senior Bowl in January. Schoen had already seen him throw at the Manning Passing Academy this past year, which Schoen attended the past few years with his son, Carson, a high school quarterback in New Jersey.

The GM attended the Egg Bowl this past season, a game where Ole Miss beat Mississippi State 26-14. Dart went 14-of-24 passing for 143 yards with a touchdown and also ran for 77 yards in that contest.

New York met with Dart at the combine in late-February, had him out to the facility that first week of March and did a private workout in Mississippi several weeks later. That workout was attended by a large contingent that included Schoen and Daboll, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney, president of player evaluation Tim McDonnell and senior player personnel executive and board member Chris Mara, among others.

"Dominated the entire process with us," Schoen told Dart in their phone conversation after he was selected.

That is believed to be the difference between Dart and Sanders, who both had supporters in the Giants building early in the process. Multiple coaching and front office sources in the league believe Sanders struggled during that early March visit when Daboll peppered the quarterback on an install given to him the night before visiting the facility.

Multiple sources told ESPN several weeks later that they spoke to individuals in the Giants organization who said they were lukewarm on Sanders. It started becoming apparent a week before the draft they were more interested in Dart. He was Daboll's quarterback of choice, a source said days before the draft.

New York planned to take the best available player (Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter) at pick No. 3 and try to move back into the back end of the first round. Multiple sources said on the morning of the draft it was the Giants and Cleveland Browns who had the most interest in trading back in for Dart. That was the Giants' competition.

Talks about moving up became serious after the Pittsburgh Steelers bypassed a quarterback at pick 21. Schoen, however, was intent on not including his first of two third-round picks in the deal. A source told ESPN on the morning of the draft the Giants' goal was to trade their second-round pick (No. 34 overall) and second third-rounder (No. 99) to get back into the first round. Ultimately, they also had to add next year's third-round pick to get the deal done at 25 with the Houston Texans.

"Again, we went through all these scenarios before the day started, what we were going to do at 3 and then at what point we thought it would make sense where it was important for us to hold on to pick 65," Schoen later said. "I'm glad we were able to hold on to that."

New York further bolstered its defensive front by selecting tackle Darius Alexander at the top of the third round.

Had the Giants not been able to get back into the first round and missed on Dart, perhaps they would have eventually considered Sanders. He was ultimately selected by the Browns in the fifth round. But Daboll got his guy.

"I think he's got a lot of qualities you look for in a good quarterback," Daboll said of Dart. "He's tough, makes good decisions with the football, pushes the ball down the field, has athletic ability, played in a really tough conference, started there at USC as a young guy. But did a really good job throughout this process of our meetings, board work, workouts and the tape that we liked. Look forward to working with him."

NOW IT'S A matter of figuring how it all fits together. Wilson gets the first crack at being the starter. If he performs well, that's not likely to change.

Winston is veteran insurance should something happen to the 36-year-old Wilson. Dart is hope for the future. It's hard to see where DeVito, an undrafted free agent in 2023, fits considering the other three all need reps this spring and summer as they learn the offense.

This was their first week together as the rookies began their integration with the veterans at the Giants' offseason workout program. So far the quarterback room has been a good mix, even if it's very early.

"They've been great," Dart said of the Giants' other QBs. "They were some of the first people to text me when I got drafted and I thought that was just super cool. Those are guys that I've looked up to for such a long time. I've said this before, I remember I was wearing Russell's jersey with the Seahawks when he won a Super Bowl. So, like I said, these guys have been people who I've really looked up to. And I hold them in the highest regard. So, I think for me, being in this situation, being able to be a sponge and soak in all the information that I can, will help elevate me. And then at the same time, I just want to compete and make everybody else better in the room as well."

If all goes well, Dart will sit and redshirt his rookie year. If it doesn't, he'll find his way into the lineup. He's the ace up Schoen and Daboll's sleeves to save their jobs.

This is what they've bet their future on. It's what that meeting back in Week 18 produced.