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. It’s really more about the dynamics and the conversations that lead up to the decisions.
“I’ve asked GMs about this before. In functional organizations, there aren’t many occasions — if any — where someone pulls rank, makes a pick, and the other person storms off angry. You see that occasionally — we’ve seen people walk out of draft rooms over the years — but I don’t anticipate that here. Right now, Harbaugh and Schoen are working together.
“Anytime you bring in a new head coach alongside an existing GM, there’s a sorting-out process. From the outside, teams that have dealt with the Giants on trades and contracts say there’s still a little uncertainty about who is truly in charge. But everything we know about Harbaugh’s contract — the money, the length, and the language — suggests he has a very strong voice across all aspects of the operation.”
Eisen then asked the bottom-line question: Would Schoen ever pick a player that Harbaugh clearly doesn’t want?
“No way,” Pelissaro agreed immediately. “Let’s cut through all the speculation. Is Schoen going to pick a player and have Harbaugh say, ‘I don’t want that guy,’ and do it anyway? There’s no chance of that happening. They’re navigating this together.”
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: ‘No chance’ Giants’ Joe Schoen drafts player John Harbaugh doesn’t want
Reporting by John Fennelly, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
