Giants scouts are mastering NIL era with touchpoints, AI, and adaptation

New York Giants select Fields

Giants select Bobby Jamison-Travis

Giants select J.C. Davis

Giants select Jack Kelly

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New York Giants' 2026 rookie draft class

Giants select Arvell Reese

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New York Giants' 2026 rookie draft class

Giants select Arvell Reese

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New York Giants' 2026 rookie draft class

Giants select Francis Mauigoa

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New York Giants' 2026 rookie draft class

New York Giants select Colton Hood

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New York Giants' 2026 rookie draft class

New York Giants select Fields

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New York Giants' 2026 rookie draft class

Giants select Bobby Jamison-Travis

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New York Giants' 2026 rookie draft class

Giants select J.C. Davis

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New York Giants' 2026 rookie draft class

Giants select Jack Kelly

With many prospects now attending two or three programs, shorter tenures have reduced continuity with college coaches. To counter this, the Giants hired young scouting assistants familiar with the portal process. This has allowed deeper evaluations of character and work habits beyond on-field talent.

"We've hired some scouting assistants that come from the college landscape, and they know how these guys work during the portal process. When they actually have to negotiate portal deals, how are they with money before they get to us? We kind of have a beat on who they are, their love of football, what drives them, what are their motivators," Brown said.

"And we're not waiting until they're New York Giants. We know exactly how money is going to affect them. We know how they're going to show up every day. With NIL, too, it affects really the quality of the draft."

The staff’s foresight shone with several recent picks. For cornerback Colton Hood, a double transfer from Auburn and Colorado, national scout Jeremy Breit and college area scout Pat Hanscomb flagged him early.

"Our college scouts, Jeremy and Pat, they outline, hey, this guy is a double transfer. He's coming from Auburn, Colorado. He's got an excellent baseball background. He's a three-time All-State centerfielder in the state of Georgia. This guy has really good ball skills. He can run. Be aware of him game one," Brown said.

"We see him game one. He becomes SEC Defensive Player of the Week that week. Now we come back in the office and tell Joe (Schoen). Joe already has a feel for him. You get to Senior Bowl. (Director of player personnel) Tim McDonnell sees him live. Coach sees him; Coach likes him; Coach has experience with his uncle, Rod Hood, and there's a familiarity there."

Wide receiver Malachi Fields also benefited from a thorough multi-year evaluation.

"With Malachi, you knew when you went to go see him at Notre Dame, we call it our book of business. Multi-year evaluation," Brown explained.

The scouts tracked his development from Virginia through Notre Dame, noting his consistency: "There was consistency in the person, consistency in the approach."

Brown also stressed the importance of smaller All-Star games.

"It's a touch point. Like the touch points are invaluable," he said. "You don't get them back. Who is going to show up on a different stage? It's nice when you can perform in the comfort of your own stadium, your own conference."

Events such as the Hula Bowl provided critical opportunities to evaluate prospects like defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis and small-school offensive lineman Ryan Schernecke against stronger competition and new coaching schemes.

"We’re negligent if we don't unturn every stone," Brown added.

The department smartly incorporates technology while keeping eyes-on evaluations central.

"AI is a tool. It's no different than when you look at maybe whether it's AI, Consensus, mocks, any other supplemental deals. They're all a part of the comparison part. Whether you're using AI to synthesize information, because that's the big part that people don't talk about," Brown said. "If you are using AI to synthesize information of players that have certain traits, and then now you're trying to extrapolate what makes them similar, what makes them different, it's part of the process that you can streamline certain pieces.

"We're not using it to base your evaluations. We're always going to trust our eyes. Our eyes, our exposures are going to be paramount to any other supplemental tools. If there's something different, if there's something that's an outlier, we're going to use that."

He cited an example with Fields, where analytics confirmed game speed exceeded combine numbers, helping the team gain an edge.

"When he ran 4.62 to 4.64, whatever watch you're on at the combine, through AI, we having an E40, which our analytics department introduced in terms of extrapolating the game film. We knew this was a guy that was almost 220 pounds that his game speed was in the 4.4 range," Brown said. "We could leverage that data to help us make predictive and encouraging decisions that may stray from what the human numbers tells us, right?

"The human number told us 4.62 to 4.64, and we knew there was an opportunity point, because if everyone had that data, everyone may not have our other data points. We leverage that and use that to our advantage."

Under head coach John Harbaugh, the scouting and personnel groups have maintained strong stability and collaboration. Brown described a “unified operation” guided by Harbaugh’s “mission over men” philosophy, which prioritizes winning and scheme fit over individual egos. This has funneled scouting efforts toward players who embody the Giants’ physical, versatile, and aggressive identity.

Overall, Brown’s comments portray a patient, relentless scouting department committed to leaving “no stone unturned” in building the roster for sustained success

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants scouts are mastering NIL era with touchpoints, AI, and adaptation