New York Giants Mailbag: Trades, Position Priorities and More

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From Zach:

This may sound out of left field, but I think once Saquon Barkley is healthy, the Giants should trade him for: a good No. 1 receiver AND a decent running back (or a pick to get one).

Before you go ballistic, consider: Giants managed a decent running game without him, he has gotten hurt fairly regularly, he may not fit the bruising running style the Giants want to establish, and no one is untradeable (see Odell Beckham). Whaddya think?

Thanks for the letter, Zach. Believe it or not, I too gave some thought to the scenario you described, except I do want to point out the Giants can’t wait for Barkley to get healthy (we won’t know if he’s back to his pre-injury self until about four or five games into the new season), to acquire a No. 1 receiver—that has to be done now.

While I agree with you about the running game, here’s where the argument to trade Barkley falls short: he does so many other things well when given a chance.

Ask yourself if the Giants would have Daniel Jones on so many designed runs (which put him at risk for injury) if they had Barkley. Ask yourself how Barkley and a No. 1 receiver might open things up for this offense.

What I’m getting at is it’s probably too premature to think about trading Barkley (no one is going trade for him right now until his medical checks out).

That said, I’d be very reluctant for them to resign him to a blockbuster contract that makes him the highest-paid. If I’m the Giants, I let him play out the option year of his rookie deal before making any definitive decisions about extending him.

From Edmundo

Good teams tend to grab extra picks here and there to take more swings at grabbing impact players and complete their rosters. Which one player from the current NYG squad would you like to see traded to get picks in return? What would you envision getting in return for said player?

What’s up, Edmundo? I think the only player on the Giants who might potentially bring in multiple draft picks in return is Leonard Williams—and he’s not even under contract yet.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t include Saquon Barkley, and the reason is simple. He’s already had two significant lower-body injuries, and running backs not only tend to be a dime a dozen, but they also usually don’t have long shelf lives.

Being a pass rusher, Williams could probably still bring in multiple picks if traded, especially after the season he had last year.

SkiFam, wow, you sure did go way back into the vault for an example of how a coaching staff didn’t quite get the most out of a player with your Beckum example.

Anyway, you asked what the Giants do if Smith, Waddle, and Pitts are all available (besides pass out from shock, I’m sure). If it were my call, I’d go with Pitts, given the versatility he offers and the offense’s heavy reliance on tight ends.

As far as what Dave Gettleman will do, I am not sure which way he might be leaning. Dave and Joe are both scheduled to speak to the media this week (Tuesday and Wednesday)—this will be their “combine” media sessions, albeit a couple of weeks later.

While Dave won’t ever come right out and say what he’s planning to do, sometimes if you tune in carefully, you can pick up hints, so I’m curious to see if he’s developed a full-blown love affair with any one specific player in this draft.

Thanks for the Tweet. I’ll be honest. I haven’t thought about the later rounds yet because I’m waiting to see what the final draft order looks like.

At some point, I’ll start doing seven-round mock drafts, but the reason why I haven’t done so yet is because the order isn’t set, and I don’t see the point in running any simulations beyond three rounds to get a feel for how the boards might fall. So hang onto this question for later in March, and I’ll be happy to follow up.

Hi Peter. Nope, I haven’t heard anything. We haven’t had any media access as of this writing since the season ended, but as I mentioned above, we’re speaking with Judge and Gettleman this week, so we’ll see if there is an update on those players and the rest of the injured.

What’s up, Rob? Am I limited to just one? If so, I’d have to say receivers, and it’s not even a competition in my mind. I’d love for them to sign Allen Robinson of the Bears, but I don’t think he’s going to be in their price range.

But I think Robinson would be a great fit for this offense for so many reasons—he just wouldn’t be a “cheap” fit for a team that needs to be careful with their salary cap dollars.

What’s up, Oscar? No, this isn’t “normal,” but I also don’t think it was planned either. Go back and look at the sequence of events that led to the revolving door at offensive lie coaches.

Marc Colombo allegedly blew his stack when told that Dave DeGuglielmo was coming on as a consultant, and things reportedly got ugly, leading to his termination.

Then Guges, who came in with a history of job-hopping, hopped away again, leading to the reported hire of Rob Sale.

Meanwhile, Sale, who has a great reputation in the industry, has never been an NFL position coach before, so the Giants bring in Pat Flaherty, who has, to be a consultant to him and whoever else needs his expertise.

Normal? No. Unconventional? Yes.

Successful? To be determined.

Hey Joey, thanks for checking in. Right now, I’m leaning toward Kyle Pitts as my must-have at No. 11 for the reasons I cited in an answer above.

I also wrote about why I think the Giants should rekindle whatever interest they had in Kyle Van Noy once released in this article.

As for the biggest needs, I’d say receiver No. 1, edge rusher, corner No. 2, and depth at running back, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle based on the current roster holes.

I think they go to the draft and free agency for a receiver, running back, and defensive tackle (assuming they lose Dalvin Tomlinson). I think they go to free agency for a swing offensive tackle.

I can’t give you names just yet because teams are still cutting guys loose, and I’d like to get a more complete picture before committing to an outdated option.

What’s up, El President? My guess is if Tomlinson leaves via free agency, B.J. Hill will pick up a great deal of those snaps. I think they want to leave Dexter Lawrence where he is at, given how he’s grown into that position.

So I don’t envision them moving him to the nose or 1-tech role because his athleticism would probably go to waste in those spots.

I don’t think it’s a receiver of bust necessarily, but I do think they’d like to come out of the draft with a receiver at some point before Day 2 wraps.

As for a trade-up, what are they going to trade? The answer is nothing. This team doesn’t have an abundance of assets to part with, so let’s forget about that.

What’s up, Joey? I think the Giants will add another offensive tackle via free agency unless they can work things out with Nate Solder or re-sign Cam Fleming (for the record, I don’t see either happening, though, of the two, Fleming has the better chance of coming through).

I’m not sure what they’re going to do at guard. I’d like to see them keep Kevin Zeitler, but I can see the benefits of cutting his contract. But I say, at least give him a chance to accept a pay cut if you haven’t already.

I don’t know how left guard plays out. I’ve spoken to several people who feel that Willi Hernandez isn’t a fit for what this offensive system does and that if they’re going to try to trade anyone, he should be it.

And I’m not sure where Matt Peart is in his development—I thought it said a lot that he didn’t play in the regular-season finale with the season on the line. (I also thought he regressed a little down the strength, though that might have been due to his ankle issues.)

Jim, allow me to talk you down from the ledge. As I write this, there haven’t been any cuts on the offensive line, so I’d reserve any panic for the time being.

If they part with Zeitler, let’s see what the plan is to replace him before we get too down on things. (And if they cut Solder, is that such a bad thing since he wasn’t part of the improvement made last year?)

Great question, Carl. I’d say in no particular order: quarterback, offensive tackle (both left and right), edge rusher, cornerback, and tight end.

Quarterback is obvious, and I’m cautiously optimistic about Daniel Jones (but I need to see a lot more before I am ready to stop missing the days of a young Eli Manning in his prime).

Both offensive tackles are essential because they handle the defense’s top edge rushers, and these days defensive coordinators like to flip flop their edge rushers to gain competitive advantages. In that area, I think the jury is still very far from a verdict regarding the Giants.

Edge rushers are essential to disrupt the passer, but you also need guys who are good at playing contain, especially against mobile quarterbacks. To that end, I think the jury is also far from reaching a verdict when it comes to the Giants.

Cornerback is obvious. If your corners can hold their coverage down the field, that helps the pass rush.

And tight end because if you have a guy who’s a threat up the middle, that can open things up for the outside receivers. This is a problem I had with Evan Engram’s game.

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