Joe Schoen drafted an offensive lineman on Saturday for the first time since 2023: Purdue’s Marcus Mbow.
The Giants‘ 6-4, 303-pounder slipped down the board due to some teams’ medical concerns. He played only six games for the Boilermakers in 2023 due to a broken right leg.
But Mbow (pronounced “Bo”) returned as a 2024 Honorable Mention All-Big 10 selection while playing in 12 games as a junior, before leaving school a year early.
He has played both right tackle (18 games) and right guard (14) in college, so he has position versatility. And he has a mean streak that could benefit the Giants’ front.
“Putting people on the ground, winning reps, demoralizing people, it’s always fun,” Mbow said on a conference call. “It’s definitely part of the reason I love the game.”
Mbo is Schoen’s first offensive line draft pick since the Giants selected center John Michael Schmitz No. 57 overall in the 2023 draft’s second round.
The Giants GM insisted this offseason that the team’s existing offensive line was better than critics suggested when healthy. And Schoen only made two free agent signings at tackle: James Hudson III and Stone Forsythe.
It was imperative that Schoen add youth, depth and talent to the line in this draft, though.
Schoen’s track record drafting linemen is not strong, from his 2022 class of first-rounder Evan Neal, third-rounder Josh Ezeudu and fifth-rounder Marcus McKethan to Schmitz last year.
He signed veterans Jon Runyan Jr., Jermaine Eluemunor and Greg Van Roten one year ago to pair with left tackle Andrew Thomas and Schmitz. And still the 2024 line wasn’t good enough.
It’s especially important that the line solidifies now because Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston are not as mobile as Daniel Jones was. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart can run, but the Giants said they intend to let him sit and develop.
Mbow, a former teammate of Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s, said he can play all five positions on the line after starting to learn center during the pre-draft process. The truth is he played exclusively on the right side at Purdue, though, and hasn’t played guard since 2022. So it remains to be seen how much position flex he has outside of tackle.
It was clear from Mbow’s tone during his first conference call with the New York media that he was disappointed he fell into the fifth round.
He held a draft party on Friday and wasn’t selected, so he was just hanging out at home with his family on Saturday when he got New York’s call at No. 154.
It doesn’t matter where he was picked, of course. It just matters how he plays.
The Giants’ offense needs help, starting up front.
