New Giants structure will impact team-building as NFL Combine gets underway

INDIANAPOLIS — The on-field impact of John Harbaugh’s changes to the Giants’ organizational structure will begin to crystallize here at this week’s 2026 NFL Combine.

The new dynamic between Harbaugh, senior vice president of football operations and strategy Dawn Aponte and general manager Joe Schoen will move from a conceptual and partly theoretical conversation to a living reality as the Giants begin to build their roster for the fall.

Sometimes when a transition like this occurs, the front office continues normal operations until the new regime’s first NFL draft, and significant changes only occur afterward.

This can maintain some stability and consistency at the end of a franchise’s operation, rather than rushing to implement an entirely new system and prepare for the annual test that is building an NFL roster.

There’s some of that going on with the Giants right now.

Schoen’s staff and scouting system, already in place during his previous four years at the helm of the team, continues to guide the franchise’s process of identifying college prospects and NFL free agents at this time.

But Aponte’s hiring, job description and direct report to Harbaugh promise to change several significant elements of the Giants’ approach and evolution as an operation.

A major curiosity is how Aponte’s “handling” of the “salary cap” and “player contract negotiations” will change the way the Giants value and approach players.

Will Schoen talk about the Giants’ belief in a player’s value when he meets with an agent here in Indianapolis? Will Aponte take the lead in this conversation, with Schoen solely concerned with football evaluation?

If Schoen talks money but doesn’t have final say on contracts, how will that impact which players the Giants ultimately pursue and sign?

Schoen is known for leaning heavily on his reliance on individual evaluations of Giants players and his unwavering belief in the value of the position, a hard line against paying running backs and safeties in the past that has not served the team well.

Harbaugh, however, intends to build a team, not just to get high marks in the offseason. Although he was not a general manager or scout, the Giants hired him for his experience in creating a vision for a group of men and leading them on a mission to realize that vision.

It will no longer be a question of creating a fragmentary list. It will have a defined direction.

A bettor would put his money on Harbaugh prioritizing leadership qualities, physicality and overall team identity in the Giants’ decisions on which players to sign and pick.

Ensuring players meet the criteria of a screening system is a useful and mandatory part of the comprehensive evaluation.

Knowing how they will fit in with the rest of the group, weighing the other variables more meaningfully, and adjusting the final players accordingly can mean the difference between taking the wrong player or adding the perfect player for this team and this situation.

This will influence how the Giants approach decisions about whether or not to retain their own players.

Evan Neal and Jalin Hyatt are local picks who got second, third and fourth chances under Schoen, the general manager who chose them. Harbaugh is unlikely to show patience with a player without good reason.

Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and corner Cor’Dale Flott are local draft free agents. Does Flott’s position make him a priority if the Giants have to pick one and both have strong markets?

Robinson being a Schoen pick would theoretically incentivize the GM to pay him, but do Harbaugh and Aponte have a different idea of ​​what the value of a slot receiver looks like, without emotional ties?

So when it’s time to create and debate the selection committee for all the prospects who will take the field this week in Indianapolis, how will that happen?

Will Aponte and Harbaugh collaborate with Schoen to create the painting? Will Schoen and his recruiting team create a board of directors that Aponte and Harbaugh will then participate in to refine and perfect the organization’s final plan for April?

And if Aponte, who reports to Harbaugh, is the one making all the player contract offers in place of Schoen, what message will that send about the general manager’s future? He has one year remaining on his contract, and the plan after the NFL draft in April is still unresolved.

This will be a fascinating first exercise in understanding how the new dynamic will shape and impact the team that takes the field in the fall at MetLife Stadium.