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The New York Giants were rumored to be shopping several players prior to the 2022 NFL draft, but no deals were ultimately made. However, that has not stopped speculation on who they should trade or who they might acquire.
Ian Wharton of Bleacher Report recently constructed a trade speculation article that encompassed potential deals for every NFL team. Interestingly, the Giants popped up frequently.
First up, Wharton proposed a trade that would send Kenny Golladay to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round pick.
No team has more cap room over the 2023 and 2024 seasons than the Chicago Bears. This team is ripe for an upside swing on a talented but expensive player who didn’t work out elsewhere. The best marriage between fit, team need and an expendable player is wide receiver Kenny Golladay.
But Wharton didn’t stop there. Assuming no deal could be made between the Giants and Bears, he also proposed New York trading Golladay to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for tight end Nick Boyle and a 2023 sixth-round pick.
Finding a new home for Golladay is complicated by the fact that his new team would need to pay his $13 million base salary in 2022. Baltimore would need to reshuffle some money to make this work, but it has a need for a playmaking receiver after dealing Marquise Brown during the NFL draft. Golladay would give Lamar Jackson a trustworthy, big-bodied threat who can win on deep jump balls better than anyone currently on the roster.
Golladay isn’t going to be the hot commodity this article seems to paint him as.
Meanwhile, there were several other potential Giants-related trades Wharton outlined, including the acquisition of cornerback Jonathan Jones from the New England Patriots at the cost of — you guessed it — a 2023 sixth-round pick.
A great landing place for Jonathan Jones would be with the New York Giants. The Giants are thin at cornerback, and Jones would immediately challenge to start at nickel over Darnay Holmes. If nothing else, his experience and leadership could help New York’s young cornerback group develop for the future.
A trade for Jones would leave the Giants with three nickel corners (Cor’Dale Flott the other) and lacking depth on the outside. We’re not sure this proposal solves any problems.
And finally, Wharton doubles down on Bleacher Report’s stance that running back Saquon Barkley should also be traded. And in this exercise, they have him going to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and a 2023 fourth-round pick.
The New York Giants have a bad but expensive roster. New head coach Brian Daboll would surely love to deploy a fully healthy Saquon Barkley in 2022, but the franchise has seen limited production and availability from the 2018 No. 2 pick. Trading his $7.2 million cap hit and getting a fresh look at Edwards-Helaire is the more prudent decision.
None of these trades seem likely or plausible, but nothing is entirely impossible. Still, it’s hard to envision any team making a strong run at Golladay at his current price or the Giants assuming some of that money to ship him off. It’s equally as difficult to envision general manager Joe Schoen adding another nickel corner when there are so many other needs.
As far as Barkley, the Giants are building their offense around him and have been very public about their desire to keep him.
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