First up: Trade down
I was looking to move back in the draft to accumulate additional draft capital, without trading too far back to draft some of the more elite names in the draft. My goal was to be able to gain additional picks without missing out on an elite defensive playmaker or one of the top four offensive tackles in the draft, as the New York Giants need either one desperately.
Initially, there was not a lot of interest in trading up. However, after negotiating with the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers, I ultimately ended up swinging a deal with the general manager of the Chargers.
The Raiders GM offered a solid return that included the 12th overall selection in the first round, their third-round pick in the draft and a 2021 second-round selection. However, I was concerned that the return was not good enough to risk moving back that far and missing out on the more elite defensive players and likely the top tackles in the draft.
Instead, I went with the Los Angeles Chargers offer of the 6th overall pick in the first round, their second-round pick (37th overall) and a 2021 third-round pick in exchange for the 4th overall selection and the sixth-round pick in the 2020 draft (183rd overall). The sixth-round pick was added as a means to pry away the second-round pick of the Chargers this year.
After Joe Burrow went to the Bengals, Chase Young went to the Redskins, Jeff Okudah went to the Lions, Tua Tagovailoa went to the Chargers, and Justin Herbert went to the Dolphins, it was time for me to select for the Giants.
With the sixth overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, the New York Giants selected: