Say it whichever way you like.

Not backed into a corner. Not forced to do anything. Not mandatory.

General manager Joe Schoen used his third iteration on Wednesday, just eight days before the 2025 NFL Draft begins next Thursday. The Giants hold eight picks, including the third overall choice as part of five selections in the top 105.

In an offseason that was defined by the future of the quarterback position, Schoen thinks the Giants are in a spot where they do not need to draft one if the board does not fall that way. That train of thought follows the signings of 10-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson and former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston.

"With the signing of those two players, I think we put ourselves in a position where I don't think it's mandatory or something with our feet to the fire, that we have to do," Schoen said in his pre-draft press conference. "I think the two guys we signed have played a lot of ball. They've got a lot of skins on the wall. I do think we've upgraded that room compared to where it was a year ago. I like the two guys that we have, and Tommy's (DeVito) still in there, and he's won games for us, too, and he's still developing. We're happy with the makeup of the room right now."

Given the nature of the position, the consequences of hitting and missing on a quarterback are amplified. But there are levels to each.

Just because a quarterback is drafted, it doesn't mean he has to be a starter right away. There is even value in getting a young backup given current salary demands.

"Backup quarterbacks are between $4 million and $10 million, whatever number you want to throw out," Schoen said. "So, yeah, if you can get a quarterback in the third, fourth, fifth, whatever it is, and he can be a backup quarterback, now you're opening up financial resources that you don't have to spend on a backup quarterback, and he can be a cost-controlled player for four years that's not expensive compared to what's on the open market.

"It doesn't have to be this guy has got to be a starter. It would be nice if it's a young backup quarterback on a rookie contract too because, when you look at what we paid for backup quarterbacks, whether it was Tyrod (Taylor), Drew (Lock), to where we are now, that's money you can spend elsewhere. To sign a guy with upside at that position that can develop and maybe win you games, or maybe they develop into a No. 1, you're always looking at those scenarios."

Make no mistake, though. The goal is to find "the guy" for the next 10-15 years. That hasn't been in the cards yet for Schoen.

He has selected 24 players in his first three drafts as general manager, none of which has been a quarterback.

"You'd like to have a young franchise quarterback," Schoen said. "… Everybody wants that. But the value has to be right or it doesn't matter. You get that one wrong – you've just got to get that right. When you're in position to get the right one at the right time, that's when you pull the trigger."

Schoen added: "I don't know where everybody else is, but you're dealing with 31 other teams and how they see their board. But yeah, if the value matches up with what we have on a player and there's an opportunity to take any position, we'll do it. Not going to force it if it's not the right value. Again, if the board lines up and we're on the clock and that's the position we want to go with, we'll go with it. I'm not going to be backed into a corner on that."

As a result, the Giants are also open to "all options" in terms of trading up or down from the No. 3 pick.

"We've received some calls," Schoen said. "Yes, we've received some calls."

The million-dollar question right now is what Schoen, coach Brian Daboll, and their staff think behind closed doors.

Schoen categorized the 2025 quarterback class as having "some depth to it." There is also a wide range of ages, experience, and most importantly, starting potential.

Will any of them land with the Giants?

"We're going to run out the shot clock here," Schoen said. "We have until next Thursday. We're going to continue to do our due diligence. I think a lot of teams around the league are doing the same thing we're doing right now. They're in meetings. The phone calls usually pick up early next week when guys are out of meetings and you're getting closer to the Draft. We'll continue to make our calls, whether it's college coaches, high school coaches, whatever research we need to continue to do. Again, that's been our process. We'll do good on Thursday."