Joe Schoen used Josh Allen draft blueprint to land on Jaxson Dart

Joe Schoen was part of the Bills organization when they selected Josh Allen, which gave him a blueprint for scouting QBs.

New York Giants president John Mara, GM Joe Schoen, Jaxson Dart, and head coach Brian Daboll pose with Jaxson Dart. | Thomas Salus-Imagn Images

Scouting quarterbacks is an inexact science, but the Buffalo Bills hit a home run in the 2018 NFL draft with Josh Allen out of Wyoming.

It wasn’t a popular selection when announced, but Allen has proven all the doubters wrong. The Bills, however, were confident they found their man thanks to a rigorous scouting process that involved getting to know the person behind the player.

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New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen was the assistant general manager for the Bills when they landed Allen. He recently spoke with SI’s Albert Breer, and explained what he learned from that experience as he and Brandon Beane zeroed in on Allen.

Schoen told a story about how they liked to see if players could operate independently, or if they expected everything to be taken care of for them. They would have the quarterbacks organize workouts and get their own receivers to throw to.

With Allen, he impressed them not only with his independence, but with how people around him were willing to alter plans to help him make a meeting with Buffalo happen.

Schoen says they used the same strategy in New York, which led them to Jaxson Dart. The Ole Miss quarterback impressed them on the field, but it was how he conducted himself when he wasn’t playing that stood out.

Mississippi Rebels QB Jaxson Dart throws the ball against the Florida Gators during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

“What really stands out about Jaxson is his passion for the game, leadership amongst his teammates and how he can cross sides of the ball,” Schoen says via Breer. “Like, he’s not just sitting over with the offense the entire time. You see him interacting with the defense as well. That’s a big part of the live exposure—you have a bad throw, or you have a three-and-out, you come over to the sideline, who are you interacting with? Which coaches? Are you talking to your receivers? Are you talking to your line? Are you by yourself? Are you not? You get back up, go to the sideline and watch the defense out there. Those are all things that we’re watching and evaluating.”

Dart has some big shoes to fill if Schoen expects him to be the Giants’ version of Josh Allen. That said, they feel good about their process, and Schoen has seen it pay off in the past.

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