'No chance' Giants' Joe Schoen drafts player John Harbaugh doesn't want
There is "no chance" New York Giants GM Joe Schoen goes rouge and selects a player head coach John Harbaugh doesn't want in the 2026 NFL draft.
The New York Giants are heading into the 2026 NFL draft with a newly reorganized power structure. For the first time, General manager Joe Schoen will lead the draft process in collaboration with head coach John Harbaugh and other front office personnel. That naturally raises an important question: How will the decision-making actually work?
What happens if Schoen wants to draft a player who doesn’t fit Harbaugh’s system or vision? NFL reporter Tom Pelissero addressed the situation this week on Rich Eisen’s podcast . “There are a lot of voices in that building right now, and everybody is still trying to figure out the power dynamics and how the draft is going to play out,” Pelissaro said.
“Joe Schoen is heavily involved. He runs the scouting operation, but John Harbaugh has a ton of juice, and he’s brought in some of his own people — like Dawn Aponte. ” Eisen followed up with the question everyone has been asking since the Giants hired Harbaugh in January and overhauled their front office: Who has the final say on personnel decisions?
“John Harbaugh contractually has a great deal of say over the roster,” Pelissaro explained. “Joe Schoen is still running the personnel department and running the draft. I think the idea of ‘final say’ gets overblown.