Attitude. Edge. Dawg mentality.<\/p>\n
Malik Nabers brought a lot of that to the New York Giants<\/a> after being the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft<\/a> a season ago.<\/p>\n They seem to have doubled down on the idea of being a tougher, edgier, more physical football team this offseason. The 2025 NFL Draft class exemplified that.<\/p>\n Edge defender Abdul Carter, the best pass rusher in the class, was the pick at No. 3.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were talking on the way down [to the press conference] just in terms of adding dawgs and a certain type of mentality, and I would say two years in a row with Malik\u2019s competitiveness and the toughness that he plays with, and then you add another guy like that in the first round like Abdul Carter and the motor he plays with and the toughness and the violence, that can really help,\u201d GM Joe Schoen said Thursday night.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the identity question was mentioned. That can help develop an identity.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the admirable traits Nabers brings to the table is a willingness to play through injury, and to excel while doing it.<\/p>\n Carter suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out of a College Football Playoff game against Boise State, yet played less than two weeks later vs. Notre Dame<\/a> despite risk of further injury and hurting his stock in the draft.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew if my teammates (were) in the same position I was in, they\u2019d go out there and lay it all on the line for me. I knew that I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure I put my team in the best position to win, knowing what was on the line. If I had to make the choices again, I\u2019d do it again, just be out there with my brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n Quarterbacks are not generally considered to be physical tone-setters. Watch highlights of Jaxson Dart running the ball. He wants to run through people:<\/p>\n Jaxson Dart leaping over an LSU defender…<\/p>\n Jaxson Dart lowering his shoulder for a touchdown…<\/p>\n Jaxson Dart had 1,915 rushing yards over three seasons at Ole Miss…He gained 264 yards on 55 designed QB runs in 2024. pic.twitter.com\/3YVCILTkzJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nick Falato (@nickfalato) April 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to probably have to teach him how to slide,\u201d said GM Joe Schoen.<\/p>\n Dart showed a bit of his mentality Thursday night when asked if his personality fit the big city.<\/p>\n \u201cNo doubt,\u201d he practically shouted into the phone. \u201cI just feel like I got an edge to me. I feel like everybody in the city does, as well. So let\u2019s get to it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Giants added more physicality with the third-round selection of defensive tackle Darius Alexander.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was important. Not just stopping the run but getting after the passer,\u201d Schoen said. \u201cWe talked about identity a little bit last night with Carter. Again, I like what we\u2019ve done on defense.\u201d<\/p>\n In the fourth round, the Giants added a human battering ram at running back in 5-foot-9, 219-pound Cam Skattebo. NFL.com\u2019s Lance Zierlein calls him a \u201ccarnage creator.<\/a>\u201d I can\u2019t help but think of Brandon Jacobs, though Skattebo is 45 pounds lighter.<\/p>\n Skattebo said Saturday his game has been about running over and through people since he started playing at the age of 6.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can go back, watch some film from back in the day. It\u2019s always been a very physical game for me,\u201d Skattebo said. \u201cSince the age of six years old, I\u2019ve been doing the same thing. Throughout my life I\u2019ve stuck with the path that I\u2019ve put myself on, and it\u2019s working out. I\u2019m going to continue to do that because that\u2019s what is bringing me success.<\/p>\n \u201cPhysicality is definitely contagious. If someone gets ran over, it hypes the other guys up and it gets them going. I\u2019m going to continue to bring that and hopefully it feeds off on to my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n Offensive lineman Marcus Mbow was the fifth-round pick, yet another selection that added depth and physicality in the trenches. in his Mbow prospect profile<\/a>, Chris Pflum wrote that Mbow has \u201cexcellent competitive toughness\u201d and \u201ca pretty big nasty streak.\u201d <\/p>\n That fits right in with the picks that came before him.<\/p>\n Daboll admitted toughness was a characteristic the Giants looked for throughout the offseason.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you always add that element to your team in both areas. Mentally, the challenges that go with playing professional football and playing in New York, quite frankly, and toughness on the field. I think we did that in free agency and we did that in the draft,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we covet. I thought we did a good job of acquiring players that demonstrate both of those things.\u201d<\/p>\n I have no idea how good these Giants will be, but I don\u2019t think anyone will call the 2025 version the \u201cGentle Giants.\u201d<\/p>\n Props to Joe Schoen<\/p>\n I saluted GM Joe Schoen for a \u201chome run\u201d first round<\/a> of the draft. Now that the full draft is in the books, let\u2019s give the GM more flowers.<\/p>\n The GM hit every mark. He checked every box. He read the room right throughout the seven rounds. <\/p>\n Schoen did the right thing in Round 1, adding the best pass rusher and defensive player in the draft. He got the potential franchise quarterback he and Brian Daboll have sought ever since they arrived in 2022 without giving up too much.<\/p>\n We called for adding to the trenches on both sides, and to the running back room. Check and check.<\/p>\n He added tough, physical players.<\/p>\n Schoen also read the room right in Round 4, passing on offensive linemen at No. 105 and grabbing Cam Skattebo before the running backs started flying off the board. Most of those offensive linemen were still there at 154, and he nabbed a potential five-position player Dane Brugler of The Athletic gave a Round 3 grade in his draft guide.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Joe did a great job of along with the scouts of bringing in guys that have a lot of toughness,\u201d Daboll said. \u201cEven to get Mbow, credit Joe there. Again, we\u2019re sitting there talking about him or Skattebo with that first pick, and he\u2019s like, we\u2019ll go with Skattebo, and then Mbow was there however many picks later, so we got two guys that we were going to take \u2014 if Skattebo left, we were going to take Mbow.\u201d<\/p>\n Commenters at Big Blue View were LOVING Schoen\u2019s draft. Check out this comment after the pick of Mbow:<\/p>\n Now, obviously, none of these players has set foot on an NFL practice field. There are likely to be a couple of misses. On paper in our immediate gratification world, though, I think Schoen comes out of this draft having done everything anyone could have asked.<\/p>\n Put this draft on top of last year\u2019s highly successful one, and a 2025 free agency that clearly upgraded the defense and the quarterback position, and it\u2019s no wonder Tony DelGenio dropped this comment into the Big Blue View Slack room Saturday afternoon:<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just about a perfect draft for Schoen.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris chimed in with this:<\/p>\n \u201cIf Dart hits, this is a franchise-changing off season.\u201d<\/p>\n They are not going to get an argument from me.<\/p>\n Schoen has been much-maligned for some of the major decisions made earlier in his tenure. We have to wait and see what happens on the field, of course, but as we sit here right now it is pretty difficult to complain about what he has done over the past two offseasons.<\/p>\n Schoen was not gloating Saturday night.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what I think until we go out and do it. Do I like the guys? Yeah, heck yeah. I like the makeup. I think they\u2019re wired the right way, the right DNA. I think we have the right people in this building,\u201d Schoen said.<\/p>\n \u201cI like some of the pieces that we have, but it\u2019s up to them to go out and do it, and I have confidence in them that we will.\u201d<\/p>\n Just a few more \u2018things\u2019 \u201cI\u2019m old enough to remember when Carson Beck, Quinn Ewers, and Shedeur were the projected Top 3 QBs in the class. Shedeur went in the 5th, Ewers in the 7th, and Beck went back to school.\u201d<\/p>\n That reminded me of something. I know that as soon as the dust clears from this draft, some of you will start focusing on next year\u2019s draft and getting attached to certain players. You are making a mistake, and torturing yourself, if you become convinced months and months in advance, before the upcoming college football season even, that \u2018Player X\u2019 is a must-have.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t do that to yourself.<\/p>\n The Giants have a \u201ctell\u201d when it comes to the players they draft. Players they have in for \u201830 visits\u2019, or private workouts, and ones they get good impressions of at the Senior Bowl<\/a> or East-West Shrine Bowl keep ending up hearing their names called in the draft by the Giants.<\/p>\n Carter had a \u201830 visit\u2019 and breakfast with Daboll. Dart had a private workout. Alexander, Skattebo, Mbow, tight end Thomas Fidone and corrnerback Korie Black all had \u201830 visits.\u2019 Fidone said he also had a private workout with Giants tight ends coach Tim Kelly.<\/p>\n \u201cThat Senior Bowl is important for us,\u201d Daboll said. \u201cSome of the coaches go down, I go down every year with Joe. It\u2019s something that kind of gets the process going.<\/p>\n \u201cWe met with some quarterbacks down there. We met with a variety of people, and you\u2019re able to get some guys ahead of say the combine and see them do some different things … it\u2019s a very helpful part of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n So, next time the draft rolls around pay attention to the All-Star games, especially if the Giants have coaches involved, and to the list of visits. That is where the draft picks are likely to come from.<\/p>\n
\nAs Round 7 wound down, Chris dropped a great line into the BBV Slack room:<\/p>\n