The New York Giants are aiming to rebuild their roster in the aftermath of a disappointing 3-14 finish to the 2024 season. Often times, teams in the middle of a rebuild will ship off their tradeable assets in exchange for picks in the NFL Draft in order to reset with a youthful foundation.
Other times, NFL Draft trades take shape as teams become eager to move up the draft board and land the prospect of their dreams — sometimes at the expense of one of their best players. If the Giants want to make a bold move ahead of the upcoming draft, they could have a tradeable asset on the defensive side of the ball.
PFF names Kayvon Thibodeaux the Giants’ best trade asset
Since the Giants selected EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux fifth overall in 2022 he has been a controversial figure. At times, he has flashed the potential to be a dominant pass-rusher. But for the most part, he has been inconsistent, often going through long stretches of snaps or even games without recording a sack or a meaningful total of pressures. In 2024 he totaled just 5.5 sacks in 12 games after a career-high 11.5 sacks in 17 games the season prior.
While previewing the upcoming NFL Draft, Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus listed the “best trade asset” for each franchise. He singled out Thibdeaux for the Giants:
“The Giants are in a strange place from a roster construction standpoint in that they either have untouchable young players or players who seemingly wouldn’t attract much interest,” Locker explained. “The one player who might fit into an alternate category is Thibodeaux.
“The former fifth-overall pick displayed encouraging signs last season with a 72.0 PFF pass-rushing grade, but he saw time on only 593 snaps. Reports have indicated that Thibodeaux’s fifth-year option will be picked up, which would probably nix a trade, but it’s possible that general manager Joe Schoen could deal Thibodeaux, not worry about the option and draft someone instead — such as Penn State‘s Abdul Carter at third overall.”
Considering the Giants’ position in this year’s draft, if they did decide to move on from Thibodeaux, they might be perfectly positioned to draft his replacement. Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter has the potential to be a gamewrecker at the next level and could be on the board when the Giants are on the clock third overall.
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Could Thibodeaux be traded in a package to move up the draft board?
However, if Thibodeaux were to be traded, there is a good chance the Giants would no longer be picking third overall. Thibodeaux could be used in a trade package to move up to the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, foregoing the opportunity to draft Carter in exchange for the chance to take Miami QB Cam Ward with the top pick.
Such a maneuver would create a Thibodeaux-sized hole in the Giants’ defense with no clear-cut plan to replace the fourth-year pass-rusher. However, it would yield the Giants a potential franchise quarterback, which would be a considerably more important asset to possess.
