3 Head-scratching Roster Decisions That Haunted NY Giants in 2025

The Giants made life much harder on themselves with these puzzling decisions

Jun 17, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen (left) and head coach Brian Daboll talk during minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

The New York Giants entered the 2025 season with the hardest strength of schedule. It didn’t help that they suffered devastating injuries early on, plunging the franchise into trying circumstances that were always going to be difficult to survive. 

Nevertheless, the team still could have avoided becoming a complete embarrassment for a second straight year.

There were signs of life scattered throughout the campaign, but Big Blue repeatedly squashed them via its self-destructive tendencies. 

This squad should not have been trapped in the NFC East basement, nor should it have been a public relations nightmare.

Several baffling roster decisions reeked of organizational malpractice. We will temporarily pause the John Harbaugh honeymoon phase and review three head-scratching moves the Giants made this past season.

Keeping Evan Neal and Jalin Hyatt on the roster

Aug 24, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal (73) after the game at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Although the new head coach will report directly to co-owner John Mara, general manager Joe Schoen will still have important responsibilities within the organization. Before he aids Harbaugh in this offseason's expected roster renovation, he needs to learn from his past mistakes.

Four years into his tenure, one of Schoen's biggest shortcomings is waiting too long before cutting ties with his unsuccessful draft picks. Retaining Evan Neal and Jalin Hyatt through the entire 2025 campaign perfectly illustrates his stubbornness/misplaced loyalty.

The Giants horribly misfired on the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, identifying All-American tackle Evan Neal as a long-term fixture on the offensive line. 

He failed as a pass-protector during his first three seasons, forcing the coaching staff to consider a position switch to guard. That experiment also flopped.

The former Alabama stalwart was unable to beat out veteran Greg Van Roten and went into the new campaign without a defined role. The Giants felt they had seen enough and made Neal a healthy scratch for several games. 

Ultimately, he landed on the injured reserve in November with a hamstring injury, and when his 21-day window opened, he lasted all of one day before landing back on the injured list. He ended up not taking a snap the entire season.

Neal will probably walk out the door for nothing, having taken up a roster slot that could have been used on someone else. 

The team may suffer the same fate as Hyatt, who is slated to become a free agent next offseason.

Schoen traded up 16 spots to select the Tennessee star wide receiver in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He recorded 23 receptions for 373 yards as a rookie but totaled just 13 catches and 97 yards over the last two years. 

While the 24-year-old silenced past work ethic concerns, he is not cutting the mustard. Hyatt played only 118 snaps in 2025, never seeming to find a role in the offense, even as injuries hit the receiver corps. 

With John Harbaugh coming in, Hyatt might not log another one for Big Blue. The question is, though, why was New York still giving him a look? Only Schoen knows the answer.

NY Giants use a Cor'Dale Flott-Deonte Banks rotation at CB

Oct 26, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks (2) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

It was painfully obvious that Deonte Banks was not a good fit under defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's scheme, but New York was not ready to admit the massive mistake it made by investing a first-round pick in him.

Ergo, ex-head coach Brian Daboll signed off on a cornerback rotation at the beginning of the season. Despite earning the starting role in training camp, Cor'Dale Flott had to cede some of his starting snaps to Banks. 

The former posted a 71.6 passer rating allowed, while the latter's was a startling 149.7.

The Giants seemingly prioritized draft status and "potential" more than production, further angering a fan base that had already watched more than its share of bad football.

Eventually, they scrapped the rotation and made Flott the full-timer at that position, but injuries to Paulson Adebo and Flott forced the team to rely on Banks more later in the year. It was extremely difficult to justify him getting double-digit snaps in the first month of the season. 

Considering Flott is a pending free agent, Banks is technically the next man up.

Expect Harbaugh to change that, regardless of how New York handles the Flott situation. The 24-year-old Banks, however, could stick as a kick returner.

Daniel Bellinger gets limited opportunities

Nov 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger (82) leaves the field after losing to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Giants placed a great deal of faith in tight end Theo Johnson in 2025. Although he increased his production and progressed overall, his role as the unquestioned starting tight end came at the expense of the underrated Daniel Bellinger.

The 2022 fourth-round pick is valued for his pass-blocking skills, but he has proven himself capable as a pass-catcher as well. 

The problem is that he wasn't given many opportunities to thrive in that area this season. Bellinger registered 19 receptions for 286 yards and two touchdowns in a modest 275 pass snaps.

Johnson's workload was nearly double that of his fellow tight end. It is perfectly reasonable to emphasize his development, especially since he is under contract for a couple more years, but the organization needed to give Bellinger more consideration.

Now, the Giants have an incomplete assessment of a free agent who, at just 25 years of age, could offer more upside than they realize. In a passing offense where the term "unreliable hands" is uttered way too frequently, a player with just three career drops in 106 targets should be better utilized.

If Daniel Bellinger flourishes with another squad, fans will be slapped with another brutal reminder of the franchise's recently awful track record in talent evaluation.

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