Giants Worst NFL Trade Destination? Not Even Close

Things might have been rough for the New York Giants last season, thanks to the injuries and disappointment that followed a playoff berth the year before. But are things that bad that the Giants deserve to be ranked as the top worst trade destination among the 32 NFL teams, such as what Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballantine believes?

With all due respect, no, not even close. Just ask the players who voted for what really matters in the annual NFL Team report card survey, in which the Giants scored eighth out of the 32 teams in the areas deemed most important to the players, such as facilities, locker room, training staff, and more.

But since this survey wasn’t included in the list, let’s look at some of what was.

“The Brian Daboll era got off to a promising start, but it didn’t take long to reach hot-seat status,” Ballantine wrote. “The 2022 campaign resulted in the Giants’ only winning season since 2016. However, that season has turned out to be a mirage. 

“The Giants went 6-11 last season and are locked in to pay Daniel Jones for at least one more season and will have to pay $22.2 million in dead money if they part ways with him in 2025.”

To suggest Daboll’s seat is remotely as hot as, say, that of Robert Saleh’s of the Jets (fifth on Ballantine’s list, by the way) or Mike McCarthy’s of the Cowboys (not on the list, but should have been given his lame duck status which screams “hot seat”) is a head-scratcher. 

The Giants’ 2023 season ended up being a complete mess as far as personnel and injuries were concerned, exposing deeper problems that Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have since sought to rectify.

The biggest was the offensive line, where a combination of talent and coaching led to the unit finishing as PFF’s 30th-ranked group in pass-blocking efficiency.

Injuries hit that unit hard, and the lack of depth ready to step up to fill the spots that opened when left tackle Andrew Thomas, center John Michael Schmitz, and right tackle Evan Neal all had to miss time forced the Giants to bring in guys off the couch (Justin Pugh) or to play guys at positions (Joshua Ezeudu) that they hadn’t practiced at during the summer.

The Daniel Jones argument? While the contract looks terrible after last year’s showing, what people fail to consider when judging it is that, at the time, it made sense given where the Giants were drafting following their “mirage” 2022 season in that they were way out of the range to get a quarterback.

The organization, wanting to keep continuity at the position rather than start from scratch yet also acknowledging that it would take more than just one good season to quell any concerns, put in the escape hatch midway through the deal, knowing that the salary cap was going to rise and that they would likely be in a position to comfortably absorb the dead money if they moved on from Jones.

Speaking of the money, which I doubt would be a factor if a player were to be traded to the Giants since everyone knows the cap can be manipulated, the argument about the Giants’ cap situation in 2025 lacks credibility because the cap can always be manipulated by restructuring or trimming dead weight. 

The Giants also got a chunk of change back after Darren Waller’s retirement, and there are sure to be other cap credits coming that can nullify any pinch the team would feel if it moves on from Jones after this season (not to mention the Giants could make Jones a post-June 1 cut to lessen the dead money hit). 

“The Giants offense became more promising with the addition of Malik Nabers, but it’s going to take more than an electric rookie receiver to get things going. Darren Waller’s retirement leaves this team down another weapon, and the G-Men are going to have a hard time replacing Saquon Barkley’s production,” Ballentine continued.

The one argument against this part of Ballentine’s justification is a point we’ve made several times before, and that is the running back’s success rate in picking up at least 40 percent of the required first-down yardage, 60 percent on second down, and 100 percent on third and fourth down.

Devin Singletary, signed to replace Barkley, has a better rate than Barkley in both the running and passing games. And the Giants have an intriguing dual threat in rookie Tyrone Tracy, Jr, who is a converted wide receiver who figures to be a part of the passing game just as Barkley was.

The last point Ballentine made–and it’s a valid one, though not a big one that we could see a trade player thinking he was being sent to exile if he were to land with the Giants–is the uncertainty in the defensive secondary and in particular, at cornerback. 

The Giants reportedly tried in the off-season to land Tre’Davious White, Darious Williams, and Stephen Nelson, but when those reported attempts didn’t materialize, they began throwing their support behind third-year man Cor’Dale Flott, while also adding veterans David Long Jr and Tre Herndon as insurance.

So yes, the Giants have some questions they need to answer this summer, but so does every NFL team, albeit some more than others. But compared to teams like the Cowboys and their lame-duck head coach status, things could be much worse.