How much salary space do the New York Giants need to sign their 2022 Draft class?

The New York Giants are facing somewhat of a problematic situation regarding their salary space. According to the NFLPA public salary cap report, the Giants have just $1.56 million available to spend, and with the 2022 NFL Draft quickly approaching, they need to clear about $15 million more just to sign their draft class.

Management has been dabbling with the idea of trading No. 1 corner James Bradberry, which would clear $11.7 million in salary space, but they will also have to restructure a few contracts to open up the necessary funds.

According to Spotrac, the Giants need about $16.2 million to sign their draft class this year, making the return from Bradberry essential to their plans. There are a few other ways they can clear salary space, including trading Saquon Barkley and his $7.2 million cap hit or restructuring the contracts of Leonard Williams and Kenny Golladay.

Schoen has already indicated that the Giants don’t want to push more money down the road, but they have a tremendous amount of salary space opening up next off-season. In fact, the team currently projects to have almost $100 million in salary space, which could amount to even more if they cut several players. Releasing Williams next year would clear $18 million off the cap and $12 million for Adoree Jackson.

Essentially, the Giants will lay the foundation with their draft picks this year, hoping to land several impact players in the early rounds. Because the Giants have two first-round picks, which will both earn around $4.5 million during their rookie seasons, they have to clear ample salary space in preparation.

One way the Giants can lower the $16.2 million number is by trading back in the first round, adding more draft capital for the 2023 draft, or even later on during this year’s draft. They could theoretically lower one of those cap hits to around $2.5 million if they went back as far as 20.

However, it seems the Giants are planning to snag the top offensive tackle and pass rusher available unless a tremendous haul is presented from a team looking to acquire one of the top-rated quarterbacks.