Joe Schoen: Giants weren’t moving from No. 5 if Arvell Reese was available
New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen said during an appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio that the Giants were not going to move down from No. 5 in the 2026 NFL Draft when it became clear Arvell Reese would be available to them.
We had a couple players in mind that if they were there (at No. 5) we were going to stay," Schoen said. We had a couple opportunities to potentially move back.
Arvell Reese fit that mold."
As it turned out, those players were Reese and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, who the Giants selected at No. 10.
.@Giants GM Joe Schoen on how they were ecstatic to select LB Arvell Reese with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and his fit in the defense.
- SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) May 4, 2026
https://t.co/2rqLCIqNX3#Giants | #NYGiantspic.twitter.com/DEZuX9dtSM
Schoen echoed the idea of position-less defense" head coach John Harbaugh had mentioned the night the Giants selected Reese.
It's going to be fun to see how the defensive staff deploys him," Schoen said.
This is a guy who is getting fired?There was a report last week that Schoen might not make it to this week as Giants general manager. That, of course, has turned out to be incorrect.
It was clear as of last Thursday Schoen was not being fired. He began doing a round of media on Thursday, including a town hall event for fans with Harbaugh and other Giants. It seems highly the organization would be trotting Schoen out to speak to media and fans if his job were in immediate danger.
All indications are that Schoen and Harbaugh are working well together. There seems to be no tension between the two when they are together. Go Long TD (a subscription-only Substack) recently said the two appear to be in lock step."
Schoen remains in the last year of the five-year contract he received in 2022. Perhaps Harbaugh and the rest of the organization play out the season before deciding Schoen's long-term fate. An extension, though, also seems possible sooner rather than later.