With a major change in philosophy, the New York Giants elected to trade back and acquire a future first-round selection from the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL Draft. Chicago was keen on acquiring Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, who fell to the 11th overall pick, and the Giants saw the value and moving back nine spots. In addition to a 2022 first-round selection, the Bears also offered a fourth-rounder next year and a fifth-round pick this year, which was utilized to move up and acquire UCF corner, Aaron Robinson.
However, the Giants made a stellar move acquiring more draft capital for the future, as they put in place a contingency plan for quarterback Daniel Jones and also put themselves in a position to acquire more elite talent to build around him if he succeeds in 2021.
Ultimately, after eight years of general manager Dave Gettleman sitting put at his original draft spot, he finally modernized his approach and took significant value from Chicago.
But how high could that first-round pick land in 2022? After looking at Chicago’s schedule, it could be a top 10 selection.
Bears’ opponents for 2021:
-Detroit Lions
-Green Bay Packers
-Minnesota Vikings
-Arizona Cardinals
-San Francisco 49ers
-Baltimore Ravens
-Cincinnati Bengals
-New York Giants
-Cleveland Browns
-Los Angeles Rams
-Pittsburgh Steelers
-Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-Las Vegas Raiders
At first glance, this is a formidable lineup of opponents, and a lot of these teams are preparing to take massive steps forward and 2021. The Detroit Lions acquired Jared Goff via trade from the Los Angeles Rams a few months ago, and the Cardinals continue to build around Kyler Murray. The 49ers drafted Trey Lance, and the Bengals will have Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase to fuel their offense. The Browns remain a strong team, and the Las Vegas Raiders play above their weight class despite interesting draft selections.
Of course, the New York Giants will also take on Chicago next season, and that will be a must-win game for them as they try to increase their draft stock.
At the end of the day, there might only be 4-5 wins in their entire schedule and given they have a rookie quarterback and rookie tackles, their offense could fall apart rather quickly.
If all goes well, the Giants could be sitting in the top 10 with Chicago’s pick and still have a selection of their own. This would give them the ability to move up for a quarterback if need be or take a player like Kayvon Thibodeaux out of Oregon, who is projected as the next elite pass rusher. Nonetheless, this upcoming season should be interesting, and there’s a reason to believe Chicago could gift the Giants a top 10 selection.