The New York Giants have an amazing trade-down opportunity presented to them. The New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles struck a deal today on a draft trade. The Eagles are sending picks No. 16, No. 19, and No. 194 in the sixth round to the Saints in exchange for picks No. 18, No. 101 in the third round, No. 237 in the 7th round, AND a 2023 first-round pick, and 2024 second-round pick (Adam Schefter). The Saints now hold the 16th and 19th picks in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The New Orleans Saints now possess two first-round picks in this year’s draft, like the New York Giants. However, the Saints’ draft picks are sitting in the late teens while the Giants own two top-ten selections. Many analysts are hypothesizing that the Saints this trade today in order to position themselves to draft a quarterback this year. The 16th and 19th picks could be used to trade up and acquire a top-ten draft pick to target a quarterback like Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett. This Giants could be the team that gives the Saints the opportunity they are looking for to draft their quarterback.
Could the Giants trade down with the Saints?
The New York Giants own the fifth and seventh overall picks in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. These two draft picks give the Giants a lot of flexibility with who they could select. At the very least, the Giants can stick and pick, taking two top-ten talents in this year’s draft class. The Giants have expressed interest in all of the class’s top offensive tackle prospects as well as some stud defenders like Kayvon Thibodeaux and Sauce Gardner.
However, the Giants could elect to trade down in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Buzz is generating around certain quarterback prospects that could potentially be drafted in the top ten. In fact, the Giants have even expressed interest in a quarterback prospect, having recently had a meeting with Liberty prospect Malik Willis. Willis seems like he could be a top-ten pick this month, and many of the NFL’s quarterback-needy teams are picking outside of the top-ten, like the New Orleans Saints.
The Giants could turn one of their two top-ten picks into two top-twenty picks in a trade-down with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints would likely be willing to give up picks 16 and 19 in exchange for either pick five or pick seven if the deal will land them their quarterback. In a deal like this, the Giants would wind up with three first-round picks and the opportunities to drastically improve their roster. The New York Giants should keep an eye on the Saints as the draft creeps closer.