The New York Giants are staring at a tough question with John Michael Schmitz Jr., and the answer doesn’t look like a $37.3 million one.
Three years after using the 57th pick in the 2023 Draft on the former Minnesota center, the Giants still don’t have a settled answer at the position. That alone says plenty. Schmitz was supposed to help solve the problem, but the issue feels just as open now as it did before he arrived.
Spotrac’s market projection puts Schmitz at three years and $37.3 million, or $12.4 million per year, but that number feels wildly out of step with what he has shown so far. He is heading into the final year of his rookie deal in 2026, and if his trajectory doesn’t change, the Giants could be looking at a major reset in 2027, whether that comes through free agency or the draft.
The contract projection makes a certain kind of sense on paper. Spotrac leans on things like age, draft status, and positional value, and that can inflate the number for a young former second-round pick. But the league doesn’t pay for pedigree alone, and three seasons of uneven play tell a much different story.
Pro Football Focus grades lay out the arc clearly:
Season
PFF Grade
Rank
2023
41.4
37/37
2024
61.4
30/43
2025
60.8
29/40
Schmitz did climb out of a miserable rookie year, when he finished last among qualified centers. But the improvement has stalled. His last two seasons have settled in around a 61 grade, which leaves him in the bottom tier of starting NFL centers.
The bigger issue is what that means on the field. Schmitz has struggled to anchor against powerful defensive linemen, and when he gets pushed back, the pocket caves from the middle.
That puts extra stress on the guards beside him and throws off the whole protection picture. Centers who need help just to hold up are hard to trust, and even harder to pay.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen has shown a reluctance to move on from his draft picks, but this is the kind of spot where sentiment can become expensive. Paying top dollar for replacement-level production would only tighten the Giants’ financial squeeze. Schoen has to be careful not to double down on a second-round pick who still hasn’t solved the problem he was drafted to fix.
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