Drafting well in the NFL Draft is one of the main pathways to sustained success in the NFL. But getting through the foundational years of building a roster can be hard — especially given the variance that the draft brings. 

For the New York Giants, general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll came in together in 2022 with a lot of work to do. The Giants roster had a lot of holes what needed filled. Two early first-round picks were supposed to help, but the reality is that you need successes later in the draft as well to climb out of a bad situation. 

The middle rounds of an NFL Draft are where you can still find the proper intersection of talent and opportunity — if you know what you're looking for. So, with four NFL Drafts in the books and three having played at least one NFL season, how have Schoen and Daboll's picks performed? Here's a look at the middle rounds (Rounds three through five) under this regime in New York. 

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Grading The New York Giants' Draft History In The Middle Rounds Under Joe Schoen (2022-2024)

Third-Round Draft Choices: CB Dru Phillips (70th overall, 2024), WR Jalin Hyatt (73rd overall, 2023), OL Joshua Ezeudu (67th overall, 2022), CB Cordale Flott (81st overall, 2022)

Thank goodness for Phillips' flashes as rookie last season. Without his presence on this list, the Giants' third-round haul under Schoen would be a gut punch right off the top. Hyatt has struggled to find his footing through two seasons but did bulk up this offseason to try to aid his play style, while Flott has pin-balled between an outside cornerback and a nickel defender through three seasons. His size limits his ceiling in either role but it would appear as though his opportunities in 2025 are limited thanks to both Phillips (500+ snaps in the nickel last year) and the arrival of Paulson Adebo at a handsome rate in free agency. 

Ezeudu has played just over 700 snaps through three seasons between left guard and left tackle. He's been credited with 12 penalties, 42 pressures and 10 sacks conceded over that stretch — making him a frustrating miss for a Giants offensive line that needs depth amid Andrew Thomas' injuries. 

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Fourth-Round Draft Choices: TE Theo Johnson (107th overall, 2024), TE Daniel Bellinger (112th overall, 2022), SAF Dane Belton (114th overall, 2022)

There's a happy blend of resumes in Schoen's fourth-round selections. Johnson is oozing with ability and flashed in a big way as a rookie. It would not surprise me if, 12 months from now, he's celebrated as the best overall pick out of the money rounds through Schoen's first three seasons. Bellinger is a low ceiling but sturdy tight end player with a limited impact in the passing game. He makes for a fine "TE2" but likely won't command bigger opportunities than that. 

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Belton is a nice role player but the Giants didn't exactly give him a big vote of confidence when they paid Jevon Holland the big bucks this offseason. Belton should be regarded as a third-safety as a result but a viable NFL defender who could ascend even further. 

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Fifth-Round Draft Choices: RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. (166th overall, 2024), RB Eric Gray (172nd overall, 2023), LB Micah McFadden (146th overall, 2022), DL DJ Davidson (147th overall, 2022), OL Marcus McKethan (173rd overall, 2022)

This late in the draft, you take your wins where you can and accept that the law of averages dictates you're going to have your fair share of misses, too. New York having Tracy Jr. and McFadden both on the docket as fifth-round picks in a three-year stretch puts them ahead of your average drafting team in this regard. That's a nice win for a resume that has a few sturdy contributors but not a lot of clear starters through rounds three and four. New York has as many starters in the fifth-round between these two as they do in rounds three and four combined (Johnson & Phillips). 

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Grading The Middle Rounds (2022-2024)

Schoen has landed a respectable amount of talent through the middle rounds, with standout players like linebacker Micah McFadden, running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., and cornerback Dru Phillips representing the best of the bunch. We don't know what kind of emergence we'll see from tight end Theo Johnson in his second season but the potential is plentiful — and Dane Belton got some buzz out of minicamp and OTAs this summer. 

But the early misses that appear to be present in Flott, Ezeudu, and potentially Hyatt really water down the later success stories. The other thing that stands out about this group is the redundancy of selections, especially when foiled against some of New York's other personnel moves — having Dane Belton flash in minicamp is great but it comes after signing Jevon Holland to a $15 million per year contract and another top-50 draft investment in Tyler Nubin. Two running backs in consecutive years, two tight ends in the fourth round in three drafts, and the wide receiver investments of Wan'Dale Robinson and Malik Nabers in the early rounds (and retaining Darius Slayton) put Hyatt in a tough spot, making a breakout even less likely. 

The fifth-round work for Schoen is very good. Perhaps this year's rookie, Marcus Mbow, will be the next stroke of genius in this regard. But the Giants will need to win enough games for it to matter. I would give Schoen a 'C' for his middle round resume through three years of proof of concept, with the fifth-round hits doing the heavy lifting to offset the perceived misses thus far in the third-round. 

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