Draft Trade With Jets Could’ve Landed New York Giants Three Top Prospects In First Two Rounds

CBS Sports NFL Writer Will Brinson mapped out what the rumored NFL Draft Day 1 trade between the New York Giants and Jets would’ve looked like and it appears both sides missed out on a great opportunity.

Brinson reports that after the Giants saw the Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears leapfrog them to snag Michigan State tackle Jack Conklin and Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Leonard Floyd, “the Jets were eager to try and draft (Ole Miss tackle Laremy) Tunsil and… rang up the Giants to make a move from No. 20 up to No. 10” according to Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.

Myers added the Jets only offered one pick, their second-rounder, to flip first round spots. If they had also offered their fourth, the Giants would have been tempted to take it.

Still, if that first round flip for an additional second rounder trade had gone through, the Giants would have the 20th overall pick in the first round, their original 40th overall pick in the second round, and the Jets second-round pick at No. 51. Of course, Big Blue stuck to their guns and went with Eli Apple and Sterling Shepard, but what would the G-Men have done with the extra pick?

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Hard to tell how the draft would’ve realistically panned out if Tunsil goes to the Jets at No. 10. That butterfly effect could’ve seen any number of possible outcomes. Brinson believes the Giants could’ve grabbed TCU wide receiver Josh Doctson or Houston cornerback William Jackson III at No. 20 while ND’s Will Fuller and Ole Miss’ Laquon Treadwell were also available. Out of those four prospects, Eli Apple only had a higher draft grade than Jackson.

It’s possible the Giants could’ve still landed Eli Apple at No. 20, but if Apple’s off the board the Giants would go with one of the three aforementioned wideouts, and they wouldn’t pick Sterling Shepard in the second. Brinson wrote that if the Giants go WR in Round 1, they would’ve gone with Clemson CB Mackensie Alexander at 40 and one of two linebackers at 51 – LSU’s Deion Jones (LSU) or USC’s Su’a Cravens.

ALTERNATE GIANTS DRAFT PICKS POST-JETS-TRADE #1:

• 20th pick, 1st Round (20): WR (Doctson, Fuller, Treadwell)
• 9th pick, 2nd Round (41): CB (Mackensie Alexander)
• 20th pick, 2nd Round (51): LB (Jones, Cravens) or S (Vonn Bell, T.J. Green)

If they snagged CB Jackson in the first, they’d go with Pitt wide receiver Tyler Boyd in the first of two picks in the second. Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland was also available at the 9th pick of the second round, but the report of an enlarged aorta probably scared off the Giants. That just leaves the second of two picks in Round 2.

ALTERNATE GIANTS DRAFT PICKS POST-JETS-TRADE #2:

• 20th pick, 1st Round (20): CB (Jackson III)
• 9th pick, 2nd Round (41): WR (Shepard, Tyler Boyd, Michael Thomas)
• 20th pick, 2nd Round (51): LB (Jones, Cravens) or S (Vonn Bell, T.J. Green)

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With the First Pick

The extra pick could’ve gone towards an offensive or defensive linemen:

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN AVAILABLE:

• T Jason Spriggs
• G Nick Martin
• G Cody Whitehair
• T Le’Raven Clark

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN AVAILABLE:

• A’Shawn Robinson
• Jarran Reed
• Jonathan Bullard

Next: Top 10 Giants Draft Classes In Franchise History

The fact the Giants didn’t pull the trigger indicates they’re more than happy with Eli Apple. They ultimately sacrificed a seventh pick for him. As if the pressure isn’t big enough for Apple, he’s now got an entire fanbase hoping he’s worth passing on Tunsil and/or another top 60 prospect.