New York Giants Give Behind-The-Scenes Look At High-Tech, 42-Screen NFL Draft War Room
As the Giants make 10 picks during the 2023 NFL Draft, its front office will have everything that it needs on one of 42 screens right in front of them throughout the weekend. New York went all-out with its new, high-tech war room.
The 1,200-square-foot space is located on the second floor of the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. It does not have a single window— it's all business, all of the time.
(Image courtesy: Matt Swensen/New York Football Giants0
Where those windows may have been located, the wall features 42 (!!) flat-screen televisions. Each one is equipped with top-of-the-line technology that allows the staff to pull up any piece of information on any prospect with the tap of a finger.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen will sit at the middle of a big table in a room that looks more like a control room in the military than a place in which 10 players will be drafted. Head coach Brian Daboll will sit in the seat right next to him, and the two — with help from scouts and assistants — will spend four days picking their future.
The Giants completely overhauled their NFL Draft room.
They have come a long way from just one year ago, when Schoen carried around magnets to go over various scenarios. There is no longer a need for the old school way of doing things.
The thought on changing the draft room and revamping the way we did things in here was just trying to evolve with technology and modernize the football operation the best we could. We went away from the manual process of printing out magnets, putting labels on magnets, manually moving them up and down the board.
Any time we would move a player we'd have to type it into a computer. So we tried to digitize the room the best we could, not just from our scouting grades, coaches' grades, but analytics, medical, security.
We developed a scouting system that can truly be utilized throughout the entire football operation. We've been much more efficient this year through our meetings, and the technology has been a big part of that.
The plans for war room renovation began in 2022, but were tabled until the fall. There were just 97 days between Schoen's hiring and the NFL Draft, so there wasn't enough time to get it right.
Thus, over the course of the past year, the room has been built with every little detail in mind. Even the technology, which did not even exist before, required a complete build-out.
Taking a behind-the-scenes look:
The front wall is made up of 22 55-inch screens, flipped vertically in two rows of 11.
(Image courtesy: Matt Swensen/New York Football Giants0
It will serve as the draft board.
(Image courtesy: Matt Swensen/New York Football Giants0
The walls on the side have eight screens each. There are also two in the middle.
(Image courtesy: Matt Swensen/New York Football Giants0
Two screens hanging above keycard access doors will be used to monitor the clock between picks. The last two screens will show NFL Network's draft broadcast and ESPN's draft broadcast.
Ty Siam, the Giants' Director of Football Data and Innovation, played a big role in the build.
Being able to use multiple screens and repeat information throughout is a key advantage. No matter where you're sitting you have all the information at your fingertips — that helps us make decisions.
The room is controlled by two panels that allow user to push content from multiple screens to any screen in the room. All it takes is the touch of a button.
Once the NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday, Schoen can call the shot. As soon as he hits the button labeled 'DRAFT MODE,' the lights will dim, draft board will come up, and sets up all of the side screens with the information he will need for when New York is on the clock.
Click HERE for an inside look at the war room and all of its features, since the NFL refuses to allow it to be embedded within this article. It's a pretty neat space!