The New York Giants surprised most fans during the recent draft when they traded down and selected Kadarius Toney with their first round pick. While multiple receivers have been talked about in connection with the Giants, Toney wasn’t one of them for the most part.
The move was met with skepticism by some, but there’s some indication that Toney is indeed a good prospect that’s gone under the radar. For one, Urban Meyer is on the record as having wanted Toney to join his offense that already includes Trevor Lawrence now.
Though, the Jaguars aren’t the only team that was interested. According to Bob McGinn from The Athletic, the Green Bay Packers also wanted the player. The Giants would foil those plans by taking Toney after trading down, but it looks like the Packers hoped for a different outcome.
This year, Gutekunst resisted the temptation to trade up for Florida wide receiver Kadarius Toney, a player the Packers were extremely high on. He went No. 20 to the Giants.
The Packers had their fingers crossed that Toney might fall to them because there was a passel of other slot receivers with similar ratings. The Giants ended that plan by taking the explosive wide receiver.
The Packers, of course, have been criticized for not drafting receivers to help quarterback Aaron Rodgers. That seems to have created tension between Rodgers and the organization as of late, but if this is true, the franchise at least tried to do something to address the problem before being blocked in that effort by the Giants.
The situation in Green Bay has led to more than a few ideas from fans and media about a trade for Aaron Rodgers, but that looks unlikely based on the Giants’ reputation as a cautious organization.
At the end of the day, the Giants will probably enter the season with Daniel Jones. But through their pick of Toney, which kept Green Bay from adding a weapon for Rodgers, they might have had some hand in how the current falling out has played out.