Last night ended the five-episode run of the first season of the offseason edition of HBO’s Hard Knocks. Featuring the New York Giants ahead of their 100th anniversary season, Hard Knocks: Offseason dove into the process from the end of last season through the 2024 NFL Draft before players hit the field for offseason training.
Not to say anything either way about the Giants’ own process as a front office, in terms of the access and quality of the series, there’s no doubt that Hard Knocks: Offseason is a success.
While there is a level of final say and approval from franchises regarding what can ultimately air throughout Hard Knocks series (for competitive reasons), it largely gives unprecedented in-depth access into an organization.
For example, with the Giants on the show, we were privy to the discussions between Giants general manager Joe Schoen and both running back Saquon Barkley and his CAA agent Ed Berry. Frankly, it was transparent that Schoen didn’t have a ton of interest in bringing Barkley back—unless there was the off chance that other teams didn’t find much value in the talented back during free agency.
Barkley said the team did not make an offer to him, and some didn’t believe him. Hard Knocksconfirmed Barkley was telling the truth.
Also, in addition to it being obvious that Schoen was fine with letting Barkley walk to save the money for other positions like the offensive line and pass rusher Brian Burns via trade, we also got a look at Barkley’s mindset in his phone call with Schoen—and the former No. 2 overall pick clearly did not feel he was being valued by the organization that drafted him.
Another high-level of access was to New York looking to move up for a quarterback in the draft. Head coach Brian Daboll stated plainly that he would trade up for Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, and there was apparent interest in North Carolina’s Drake Maye, too. Schoen touched base with de facto Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf during the NFL Scouting Combine, and he called again on draft day to see if New England would be willing to move back without a godfather offer.
Hard Knocks: Offseason gave glimpses of the interview process with draft prospects, the roles of scouts and non-GM front office members, the negotiations for both trades (in the case of Burns) and free agents, interactions between the front office and coaching staff, and discussions with team owner John Mara.
Many NFL teams have put out web series and clips throughout the offseason, but the hours-long access obtained from Hard Knocks gave a new level of insight.
I certainly don’t agree even as a major fan of the NFL offseason and the draft, but many even think the offseason version of Hard Knocks is the best one.
With the Hard Knocks franchise, HBO and NFL Films now have America’s most popular sport covered for all three major phases—the preseason, in-season, and offseason.
They should all be here to stay.