By Michael Stewart @TheTruthNYG
What was once deemed a promising 2021 season projected for the New York Giants has quickly shifted gears. Now we must look at being sellers by the November 2nd trade deadline. The Giants are sitting at 1-5 as they face the Panthers and Chief before the deadline and need to look towards the 2022 season and the first course of action would be considering moving some of their players (if possible) at the trading deadline for draft capital/players: Let’s look at my top 5 player to consider trading:
Trading Candidates
- Evan Engram (TE): At this point, the writing should be on the wall regarding Evan Engram’s future with the Giants. Unfortunately; the Giants waited too long to pull a trigger on a trade for Engram and now the best case scenario would be a 5th round pick, but a more realistic scenario could be a late Day 3 pick.
- Jabril Peppers (S): Peppers will be a free agent and is expected a hefty raise, however; the Giants have a history of not over paying for their Safeties (See Landon Collins). Peppers should certainly be on the trading block, but the value would be no greater than a mid Day 3 draft pick.
- Lorenzo Carter (OLB): Carter is also in his walk year and based on his performance thus far, the Giants will not re-sign him. It’s unclear how much value Carter brings back, but I would expect a very late Day 3 draft pick at best.
- Oshane Ximines (OLB): Ximines still has another year left on his rookie contract, however; at this point the Giants organization has seen enough. Similar to Carter, Ximines could bring back at best a late Day 3 pick.
- Sterling Shepard (WR): Shepard still has two more years left on his contract and has performed well enough to be considered a returnee in 2022. However; the current salary cap for the Giants is tight and Shepard could be a cap casualty if the Giants need to use the money elsewhere; especially with the development of Kadarius Toney. Shepard could warrant a early Day 3 pick.
Gettleman’s Final Stand
It’s a foregone conclusion that this will be Dave Gettleman’s final season as the Giants GM so he can actually make right by being active at the trading deadline by parting ways with players that aren’t going to be in the future plans and getting whatever he can. It won’t be easy, but Gettleman and the Giants must do all they can and try to gather as much draft capital or even acquire a player who might fit their overall team scheme better. Regardless; reshaping the Giants for 2022 begins with the 2021 trading deadline and Dave Gettleman could at the very least help give the Giants more ammunition for the 2022 draft and beyond.
Free Agent Signings
Let’s face it, the Giants will not be big spenders this off-season, so whoever the new GM will be needs to be creative and find low-value/high-return players on one-year deals. The Giants need to succeed here to allow their current draft picks of 2021 and their future picks in 2022 time to develop. This is a hit-or-miss formula, but unfortunately, the Giants don’t have many options at their disposal as 2022 will once again be considered a rebuilding year.
The 2022 NFL Draft
The Giants currently have 10 picks in the upcoming draft and that could certainly change if the Giants add more picks at the deadline. The new GM will have their work cut out for them and need to have a successful draft to get this franchise going in the right direction. It will be interesting to see how much change the new GM will do; will he dismantle the entire coaching staff and/or the scouting department as well. This off-season will certainly be an interesting one for the Giants that will hopefully result in a more promising 2022 season and beyond.