At the NFL Scouting Combine a month ago, Joe Schoen said the Giants were working through 9,000 different scenarios at quarterback. That was a lowball estimate.

"No question," the general manager said with a laugh after he wrapped up another stop on the pro day circuit. This one was at Ole Miss, where the speed limit varies between 10 and 18 mph depending on which Manning generation is being honored at that particular spot on campus.

Following a hectic but productive few weeks of free agency, the NFL speeds toward the draft, which begins April 24. Schoen met up with other executives and coaches at the Annual League Meeting early this week and then returned to East Rutherford, where he hunkered down in the draft room with his staff starting at 7 a.m. sharp on Wednesday.

Schoen spoke with Giants.com about recent roster moves, namely those at the most important position, and how they shape the team heading into the draft.

Q: How would you describe the last couple of weeks and the chain of events that led you to Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston?

Schoen: "You look at the pool of players that are available and the different scenarios, whether it's trades, free agent signings, draft. You know what the pool is going to look like and then you've just got to figure out how you can acquire the best available. It's obviously a lot of hard work by the pro department and my personnel staff. They did a really good job and [Senior Vice President of Football Operations & Strategy] Kevin Abrams, [Director of Football Operations] Ed Triggs, [Manager of Football Administration] Charles [Tisch] do a great job with mirroring the evaluations and the values for players. Not just the quarterback situation but even some of the other signings that we had, we felt like we got targeted players that we liked and got really good value for what our projections were. So, a lot of focus on the quarterback. That was a little bit hectic how everything went down, and it was dragging out a little bit longer probably than I'd like. But we're happy with the way it ended up."

Q: What does Russell Wilson give you right away when he walks into the building?

Schoen: "He's a 10-time Pro Bowler, a guy who's throwing for over 20 touchdowns, I believe it's every year except for two in his career. He played 11 games last year and threw for 16 [touchdowns]. So, the production, he knows what it looks like. He knows how to win. Leadership. I'm just excited to have a guy in the building with as many skins on the wall as he has at the quarterback position."

Q: Wilson said he is looking to lead the team in every way. Is it as much of that as it is on-field production, or do you not separate the two?

Schoen: "It's a combination of both. Players know players, and he's done it at a high level for a long time. That's where you start. Sometimes it's hard to lead if your production on the field doesn't match. Again, he's got the skins on the wall. He's had a lot of success in the league. He won a Super Bowl. Some of the production that he had on the field, we haven't had at that position since Eli. So, just fired up about the player and the person."

Q: He clearly did his homework. I'm sure you listened to his introductory press conference. He listed names up and down the roster, on both sides of the ball.

Schoen: "When you're playing the quarterback position, your best chance for success is being surrounded by weapons and being able to stay on your feet. He obviously did his homework on not just the receivers but the offensive line, what we had there. But yeah, his knowledge of the league is very good. The fact that he was aware of some of our young players that played well last year and who he'll be working with, all those things were important to him when he ultimately made the decision to come to New York."

Q: How does Jameis factor into the room and what led you to him?

Schoen: "We've had to play with seven quarterbacks over the last two years. So, backup quarterback was going to be a priority for us – no different than the swing tackle that we signed in [James] Hudson [III]. Due to some of the injuries we've had and the way things went down, we knew if our starter was injured at some point that we needed to have somebody that could come in and win games for us. And Jameis has played at a high level in this league. He can still throw it. He had multiple 300-yard games last year. You're getting another guy who brings leadership to the table as well. To have a guy who's played as much ball as him, started a lot of games in his career and still has all the physical tools to play. You feel comfortable with him going in the game and being able to execute."

Q: The million-dollar question now is how do the quarterback signings affect the draft plans, particularly at No. 3?

Schoen: "Since I've been here, we've tried to set it up on draft day that we could go play a game [that day]. I feel like we're there now. That way you don't get backed into a corner or force yourself to do anything. The only year that didn't happen was probably my first year. We had to cut several players just to get under the salary cap. There were a lot more holes, so maybe you get into some need-based picks in that scenario. But now we're in a situation where you go through the roster and say, OK, throughout the draft where can we still upgrade? We're not done. We still want to upgrade. We have five picks in the top 105. We could go any position, so we're not ruling any position out."

Q: You mentioned the top 105. How big was it getting that compensatory pick in the third round (No. 99 overall)?

Schoen: "We were conscious of it last year. You hit pause on free agency when you get to a certain level. When we were going through last year, we thought [cornerback] Adoree' [Jackson] would sign a contract with somebody else before we had an opportunity to get him back. We didn't get him back until right before the season, but when he didn't sign and then [offensive lineman] Ben Bredeson did, we knew basically our estimate on the formula that there would be a good chance that we would get a good pick. And it ended up being a third-round pick. Our estimates initially did have it as a third-round pick, and we were ecstatic to get that."

Q: When you're going through the process, is the comp formula something that's just in the back of your mind or is it a big part of the planning?

Schoen: "It's a big part, especially financially, where we were last year obviously with Jermaine Eluemunor, [Jon] Runyan, Motor [Devin Singletary], and then the Brian Burns trade. So financially, we were up against the cap a year ago. So to sign a one-year, 3 or 4 million dollar player and maybe lose a third-round pick, that's how you're going through it. You're thinking about, well, you can't sign a UFA at X-amount because it'll cancel it out. So, we're definitely conscious of it. We were definitely thinking about it as we went through free agency a year ago."

Q: You started free agency on the other side of the quarterbacks. What drew you to cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety Jevón Holland?

Schoen: "Both of them, instincts and ball skills. The ability to take the ball away is something we struggled with last year in terms of creating turnovers. Both of those guys have a history of taking the ball away and they both have instincts. Obviously, [Tyler] Nubin had 13 interceptions at Minnesota. You've got guys back there now who have really good ball skills. I have a lot of faith in our defensive line that if we can create some leads during the season, those guys can pin their ears back. Then have guys on the back end that can take the ball away, are instinctive, route-savvy, and also good tacklers. The other part of that is Adebo and Holland, Tae Banks, Dru Phillips, Nubin, all those guys are under contract. They will be with each other for the next three years. Tae, as well, if we do his fifth-year option. So, there's a young core, a nucleus, along with Dexter [Lawrence] being under contract for three more years and Burns for four. You're starting to see the continuity part of it come to fruition. And we're at a point that you draft or sign guys, they can be together for an extended period of time, which I think is important."

Q: It's almost like you set up a buddy system there now with a vet and a young player in the secondary.

Schoen: "We were a very young secondary last year, so to sign two guys that we did a lot of work on coming out of college that are wired the right way, have leadership and fit what we were looking for from a character and player standpoint, it was important to add. They can help some of these young guys, Dru, Tae, Nubin, the younger guys who are still learning how to be pros. Those guys will be beneficial to the locker room, too."

Q: You had four of the five starting offensive linemen coming back the last time we spoke at the combine. Now you have all five after bringing back Greg Van Roten. How important was that for the state of the offensive line?

Schoen: "When Andrew [Thomas] was healthy last year, I was happy with the way the offensive line was playing those first six games they were together. I thought we were able to function offensively in both phases of passing and running the football. GVR also brings, what people don't see, is leadership. He's a force multiplier in there, which is really good for John Michael [Schmitz], really good for Jake Kubas in his development. Really happy to get Greg back. He's got versatility, he played some center, played guard. But the leadership and the veteran presence in that room was very important. I look forward to those guys continuing to grow, and his leadership in that room and getting his help developing some of the young guys was really important last year."

Q: When evaluate film of your own players after the season, you also get to see the opponents against them. Is that how you came across a guy like Chauncey Golston?

Schoen: "Exactly. Chauncey stood out specifically. What we liked about him, obviously we have Kayvon [Thibodeaux] and Burns as outside backers, he'll be a rotational outside backer with those guys. Then when he comes inside, and his size, his length, his ability to rush the passer inside, he will really help us because a lot of teams fly to Dexter and try to double team him. And Chauncey's ability to win one-on-one matchups and be able to press the pocket will really help us then with Burns and Kayvon coming off the edge. So, I'm excited about the front seven on defense and getting to bring back the same starting five from last year on the O-line and getting to still have the – we're not done – five picks in the top 105 to continue to build the roster."

Q: Going back to Russell, he's known a lot for the deep ball. How will that help with receivers like Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, and Jalin Hyatt? Wilson mentioned Hyatt as being "untapped."

Schoen: "Dabs [Brian Daboll] wants to throw it downfield, and those explosive plays are important. You don't have to go 10 or 11 plays. That helps if you get explosives on any series. We've got the weapons to do it. Slayton, Hyatt, Nabers, Wan'Dale [Robinson] in the slot, Theo [Johnson] can stretch the seam. We've got fast receivers. We've got guys that can get open vertically, get open down the field, and that's one of the things that Russ does well. I'm excited to get everybody in and start developing the offense because one of the strengths of Daboll is taking the pieces that we have and developing the offense around those guys. I think Dabs will figure out what Russ likes and what he does well and pair it with the weapons at receiver, tight end, and running back."

Q: Being around the NFL for a long time, how much did you know Wilson personally over the years?

Schoen: "I've watched his career. I scouted him coming out of Wisconsin and saw him as a young player at North Carolina State. So, I've watched him and observed him for a long time. Then obviously last year we met with him before he eventually ended up signing with Pittsburgh. So, we did have a previous relationship and now it's a year old. But yeah, I always admired him from afar and the success he's had in this league."

Q: He also mentioned he knew [quarterbacks coach/offensive pass game coordinator] Shea Tierney back at N.C. State.

Schoen: "Yeah, Shea was a student coach when he was at N.C. State. So, their relationship goes way back."

Q: Finally, where are you in the draft process? Is it a final sprint after you return from the league meetings?

Schoen: "Pro days are coming to an end here. Colorado still goes on April 4^th. From the league meetings, we start our draft meetings with all our scouts on Wednesday. So, fly home late Tuesday night and then we're in the draft room 7 a.m. Wednesday getting ready for the draft. Our scouts have done a lot of work at pro days. We haven't had meetings since the combine, so we'll take all the new information we have from meetings and pro days or extra film, whatever it may be, and now the board will really start to take shape."