“Hard Knocks” initial offseason project captured the third Joe Schoen–Brian Daboll Giants roster-building effort, with John Mara making some important cameos. After cameras documented the Giants’ free-agency period, the Brian Burns trade and the predraft buildup, it is safe to say a bigger spotlight will be on the team’s 2024 season.

Mara, who advocated for keeping Saquon Barkley (though, without mandating Schoen make a strong effort to do so) and certainly wanted him to end up outside of Philadelphia, stopped short of requiring his third-year decision-makers steer the team back to the playoffs. But the owner does expect a significant improvement, even after the Barkley and Xavier McKinney defections, this season.

“I expect us to take a big step forward,” Mara said, via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy. “… I obviously want to show significant improvement over last year, but I’m not going to make any specific guarantees or demands or anything like that. They know what I want to see. I have a lot of confidence in this particular team. I think we’ve added some good pieces. Now it’s time to show everybody.”

The Giants finished 6-11 last year, but five of those wins came without Daniel Jones. The starter, who received $81M guaranteed during an eventful 2023 offseason that involved a Barkley franchise tag, struggled amid a tough early-season schedule. Jones battled a neck injury before his November ACL tear. Fully healthy once again, Jones looks to be going into another “prove it” season. The Giants can escape the contract by taking on only modest dead money by releasing the longtime starter as a post-June 1 cut next year, but Mara remains onboard with the team’s embattled starter.

“I’m still happy we gave him that contract because I thought he played really well for us in 2022,” Mara said of the four-year, $160M extension authorized in March 2023, via Dunleavy. “Last year, he got hurt. And let’s be honest: When he was playing, we weren’t blocking anybody. Let’s give him a chance with a better offensive line and some weapons around him to see what he can do.”

“Hard Knocks” followed the Giants’ rumored plan to trade up for a Jones heir apparent. The Giants attempted to trade Nos. 6 and 47, along with their 2025 first-round pick, to the Patriots for the No. 3 overall draft slot. The Pats passed, rejecting a substantial Vikings offer as well, and chose Drake Maye — whom both NFC teams coveted — to be their hopeful franchise QB. With that off the table, Schoen pivoted to a wide receiver-based strategy in Round 1 by choosing Malik Nabers.

Not impeding Schoen in free agency, Mara was not thrilled about the Barkley conclusion. But the owner’s Jones support — which was a key part of the first Schoen-Daboll offseason back in 2022 — did not prompt him to stand in the way of an attempt to trade up for a passer in the draft. The team’s Plan B unfolding, with Nabers profiling as the highest-ceiling WR option the Giants have rostered during the Jones era, will apply increased pressure on the sixth-year passer.

“I was nervous about giving up too much to go get a quarterback,” Mara said, “but I was prepared to let them do that if that’s what they wanted to do. We made a decision to stay with Daniel and add a weapon for him, and I think that’s going to work out.”

The Athletic’s Dan Duggan notes the owner and his nephew — player personnel director Tim McDonnell — stood as the biggest skeptics of Schoen’s plan to let the two-time Pro Bowl running back walk in free agency (subscription required). Pro scouting director Chris Rossetti also made a minor pitch to apply a second franchise tag, but the Giants passed on the $12M payment. The Eagles gave Barkley a three-year, $37.5M payday with $26M fully guaranteed; the latter figure leads all active RBs.

Mara also confirmed (via Duggan) he sought this offseason’s “Hard Knocks” version to avoid cameras following his team at a near-future training camp; after the access the Giants provided, it will be unlikely other teams make a point of doing that. The longtime owner has seen his club produce one winning season over the past seven — a surprise 9-7-1 slate that ended in the 2022 divisional round — and no Giants head coach has reached Year 4 since Tom Coughlin. Jones disappointing and Barkley thriving as an Eagle will probably affect Mara’s support for his current decision-makers.

Although the Giants’ roster has some well-paid Dave Gettleman-era draftees as cornerstones, Year 3 features more Schoen imports. It will obviously be a critical year for the regime. The lack of an improvement on last season runs the risk of Schoen’s and Daboll’s jobs being on the line without the duo having acquired their own quarterback.