When the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns agreed to a trade involving wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the media storm was so much that many other aspects of the trade were overlooked.
Although technically a separate transaction that was lumped in to lessen the bookkeeping, the Giants acquired right guard Kevin Zeitler as part of that deal. He came in exchange for edge rusher Olivier Vernon.
In his first season in blue, Zeitler established himself as the team’s top offensive lineman and a potential anchor for years to come. That was reflected in the grades.
Pro Football Focus announced on Wednesday evening that Zeitler finished the year as the Giants’ highest-graded offensive player.
Kevin Zeitler.
76.8 overall is the highest graded player on offense for the Giants this season and has graded above a 73 since he came into the league in 2012 https://t.co/4ITF20qppr
— PFF NY Giants (@PFF_Giants) January 1, 2020
Despite Zeitler’s success, there remain critics of the trade.
Positional value has to come into play here though. You can pick a guard up off the street and get decent play out of them. Edge rushers are much harder to come by.
Were the #Giants any better for having Zeitler over Jamon Brown? He’s costing them double the $$$. https://t.co/78RrZu5ymf
— Scout Kelley (@ScoutKelley) January 1, 2020
Although Jamon Brown played particularly well for the Giants in 2018, he fell off in Atlanta this past season, finishing the year with a 53.2 PFF grade — a solid 23.6 points below Zeitler, for whatever that may be worth.
Meanwhile, Vernon appeared in just 10 games for the Browns, recording 20 tackles, two stuffs, one forced fumble and 3.5 sacks. By comparison, Markus Golden appeared in 16 games for the Giants, recording 72 tackles, 11 stuffs, recovering one fumble and adding 10 sacks.
Without Zeitler at guard, the Browns also saw significant regression from their offensive line.
And if you’d like to factor in the money, here’s a quick look at the 2019 cost:
- Vernon: $15.25M (base), $15.5M (cap hit)
- Brown: $2.5M (base), $4.333M (cap hit)
- Golden: $975,000 (base), $4.75M (cap hit)
- Zeitler: $2.5M (base), $5M (cap hit)
Golden’s contract expires this offseason and he is slated to become a free agent, while Zeitler also has an out (should the Giants desire to move on) before the big money hits the books.
Meanwhile, Vernon has no out in his contract and will cost Cleveland $15.5 million in 2020, while Brown will cost Atlanta nearly $7 million next season before they have a potential out in 2021 (where he would cost nearly $8 million).
Statistically, contractually… There’s no way around it. Dave Gettleman won that trade thanks to Zeitler and improved the Giants in two areas as a result, and that’s not even factoring in the draft picks and safety Jabrill Peppers.
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