Joe Judge explains NY Giants’ NFL trade deadline philosophy
NY Giants coach Joe Judge opens up about how New York will approach the NFL trade deadline
The NY Giants find themselves in the unenviable position ahead of the Nov. 3 trade deadline of not quite far enough out of the race to be sellers, and far enough away from competing for a Super Bowl that buying at the deadline doesn’t make much sense, either.
Just as he has been granted significant influence over the organization’s roster building through the NFL Draft and free agency, head coach Joe Judge’s voice will likely be among the most influential in the yet to come discussions about how the NY Giants approach the deadline.
So, how do Judge and the Giants thread the needle between possibly adding a piece on offense to aid second-year quarterback Daniel Jones’ development and not lose sight of the value of draft picks that could position New York to add potentially blue chip talent to a young roster next April?
“We’re going out there to be competitive and win every game every week,” Judge said Friday. “We’re not racing to the bottom for some kind of draft pick. That’s not our priority right now. We’re trying to go out every week, we’re trying to win, that’s our goal as an organization.”
The reality for the Giants, is that there are few tradable players on the roster that teams across the league will covet.
Even tight end Evan Engram, with one year remaining on his rookie contract, doesn’t play a premium position and has dropped more passes than any tight end in the NFL since 2017.
One current NFL general manager tells GMenHQ that while there will likely be interest in Engram league-wide, his value is probably a day three pick in the NFL Draft.
Will that be enough to entice the Giants to move on from the 2017 first-round pick?
Even after the Baltimore Ravens acquired defensive end Yannick Ngakoue from the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and 2022 fifth-round pick, Judge doesn’t expect this deadline to be particularly busy.
“I don’t know there needs to be an assumption that there’s going to be a string of moves,” Judge said. “I’m very clear with the players from Day 1 that any decision we make is going to be in the best interest of the team.
“Just because there’s a trade deadline doesn’t mean there’s going to be a string of moves. But, we always have personnel conversations, but this week is no different just because there’s a deadline approaching.”
Next. Giants studs and duds from loss to Eagles. dark
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.