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New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman said on Friday that trading the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft next week is something he will seriously entertain, and it makes perfect sense.
In fact, so long as the Giants find a good deal, they should trade the pick.
Why? Because it seems pretty clear that New York wants to roll with an offensive tackle with its top selection in order to provide some more protection for young quarterback Daniel Jones.
The Giants' offensive line has improved over the last year, but it is still far from a finished product. As a matter of fact, Jones was sacked 38 times in 13 appearances and 12 starts in 2019, a very large number for a mobile quarterback (or just in general).
Here is the thing: this draft class is deep at offensive tackle.
Whether it's Louisville's Mekhi Becton, Iowa's Tristan Wirfs, Alabama's Jedrick Wills or Georgia's Andrew Thomas, there is a lot of talent at that position, and New York will likely be able to trade back into the lower part of the top 10 and still be able to pick up one of those players at that spot. Plus, the Giants would add more picks in the process.
As of right now, New York only owns a pair of selections inside the top 95. For a team that still has numerous holes to fill up and down its roster, that is not ideal.
Unless the Giants feel that one of those four tackles is clearly above the rest (and if they are thinking about trading the pick, they probably don't), it makes sense to move down, take who they feel is the best tackle available and then have more selections to add more talent on defense.
While New York isn't as far away as many believe (the Giants are actually pretty loaded with talent at the skill positions), they went just 4-12 this past season, so obviously, Big Blue needs more pieces.
With free agency already done, the only way the Giants can bring in more talent is through the draft, and the best way for them to maximize their chances of adding as many good players as possible is by getting more picks. This isn't rocket science.
Of course, if there is can't-miss player available at No. 4, that changes things, but there doesn't appear to be a massive gap between any of the four tackles. Becton is considered the most freakish athlete, but he comes with some risk. I've also seen the other three tackles named as the best at their position by different talent evaluators.
Evidently, there is no clear-cut best guy at offensive tackle, so that gives the Giants more wiggle room to trade down without having to worry about a big miss.
Luckily for New York, it doesn't have to worry about quarterback this year. A lot of its pieces are already in place.
Now, the Giants need to worry about drafting for need, and the most efficient way to accomplish that is by trading down to acquire more assets.
