Skip to main content
New York Giants Website
Advertising

Giants News | New York Giants – Giants.com

ForF_100x30

Presented by

Fact or Fiction: Trade potential in 2020 NFL Draft

COMMISSIONER-ROGER-GOODELL-FACT-OR-FICTION

There will be movement in front of the Giants in the first round.

John Schmeelk: Fact -- There is no guarantee of movement but more likely than not, there will be a trade given that two teams drafting in front of the Giants do not have a need for a quarterback. The Lions have Matthew Stafford, who has a contract that's prohibitive to move and is coming off an excellent season. The Redskins drafted Dwayne Haskins in the first round last year. Whether there is movement will depend on two things. The first is Tua Tagovailoa's medical reports from the combine, coming off a serious hip injury. The second is how much teams fall in love with Justin Herbert's physical tools. There are multiple teams picking right after the Giants (Dolphins, Chargers, Panthers) that may have a need for a quarterback this offseason.

Lance Medow: Fiction -- I don't see the Bengals trading the first overall pick. They need a quarterback and Joe Burrow is sitting there, so that leaves the Redskins and Lions. While neither team has an immediate need for a signal caller, that doesn't mean they each can't use a top defensive playmaker that will be on the board such as Chase Young or Isaiah Simmons. I think it's more likely the Lions make a trade than the Redskins, but at this point, I'd still lean toward no movement at all.

The Giants will add more new starters through free agency than the draft this year.

Schmeelk: Fact -- It is difficult to add more than two or three starters in the draft, especially when the Giants will likely have only three picks in the top 100 (including an assumed compensatory pick between 96-100). I would think the Giants will add about three starters in free agency, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. To start the season, more free agents will be starters but by the end of the season, the pendulum might swing to the rookies.

Medow: Fact -- Last season, it was close but they wound up adding more starters through the draft (Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence, Deandre Baker, Darius Slayton and it's fair to put Julian Love in this group as well) than free agency (Mike Remmers, Golden Tate, Markus Golden, Antoine Bethea). The potential of adding new starters is all based on opportunity and it's hard to tell at this point how the new coaching staff feels about the existing players on the roster. Given the Giants have less picks in 2020 than they had in 2019 and the young nucleus that is already in place, I'll say it's more likely they add more new starters through free agency.

The 2020 league year and free agency period begin on March 18.

This year's pending NFL free agents are heavier on defense.

Schmeelk: Fiction -- The number of available quarterbacks that are scheduled to be free agents alone makes the offensive class more formidable. How often are future Hall of Famers like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Philip Rivers all free agents in the same offseason? Then there are other starting caliber quarterbacks like Ryan Tannehill and Jameis Winston. Even with fairly strong edge and defensive backs classes, playmakers like Amari Cooper, Derrick Henry, A.J. Green and offensive linemen like Brandon Scherff and Jack Conklin put the offense over the top.

Medow: Fiction -- I think it is close, but the main reason why the offense receives a boost is because of the depth in the free agent quarterback class (Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Dak Prescott, Philip Rivers, Ryan Tannehill, Jameis Winston, Teddy Bridgewater). With that being said, a number of those players will likely stay put, which slightly takes the intrigue out of the class. In addition to the quarterbacks, at running back you have Derrick Henry and Melvin Gordon, while Amari Cooper, A.J. Green and Emmanuel Sanders headline the wide receiver group. Hunter Henry and Eric Ebron are available if you're looking for a tight end, and Anthony Castonzo, Jack Conklin, Andrew Whitworth, Jason Peters and Brandon Scherff highlight the offensive linemen set to be on the market. There are several playmakers at each position on defense, but I don't think anything matches the substance at quarterback.

Defensive line is the Giants' deepest position heading into the draft and free agency.

Schmeelk: Fact -- This is fact assuming the Giants primary base defense will be a 3-4. They have a number of good, young players to play defensive line in that formation, such as Dalvin Tomlinson, Dexter Lawrence and B.J. Hill. Leonard Williams, a free agent, is also someone who will bolster the group if he is re-signed. If the Giants play a four-man front more often, they don't have an abundance of defensive ends, especially with Markus Golden a pending free agent. If they are more of a four-man front, I would go with wide receiver since the team has three returning starting-caliber players in Golden Tate, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard.

Medow: Fact -- I think the top two positions to consider in this category are: defensive line and wide receiver. Keep in mind, Leonard Williams is scheduled to be a free agent, so at this point, you can't factor him into the depth chart, but that still leaves Dexter Lawrence, Dalvin Tomlinson, B.J. Hill and RJ McIntosh. All young players with potential but, for the most part, all with small sample sizes. At wide receiver, you have Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton at the top three spots, but who is behind them is up in the air considering Cody Latimer, Russell Shepard, Corey Coleman and Cody Core are all set to be free agents. That's why defensive line gets the slight edge over wide receiver.

View photos of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones throughout his NFL career.

24_GiantsApp_GenericPromo_1920x1080

Giants App

Download the Giants' official app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices

Related Content

Advertising