The NY Giants have a chance to add a playmaker to help quarterback Daniel Jones’ development at the NFL trade deadline, and several possible targets may be available
After trading edge rusher Markus Golden to the Arizona Cardinals Friday, it remains to be seen whether the NY GIants will hold a full-fledged fire sale, but there’s a chance general manager Dave Gettleman could both buy and sell ahead of next week’s deadline.
Gettleman has shown a propensity for being aggressive at the deadline, sending a third and conditional fifth-round pick to the Jets in exchange for Leonard Williams last season, despite Gettleman’s misguided notion that the deal might give the 2-6 Giants “a boost.”
If the Giants are able to move veterans such as tight end Evan Engram, who NFL executives tell GMenHQ could be a coveted commodity ahead of the dealdine, or guard Kevin Zeitler to add draft picks for next April that certainly would be prudent.
However, the NFC East race remains wide open, with the NY Giants somehow still in the mix. Even more importantly, nothing is more vital over the final nine weeks of the season than deciding whether Daniel Jones has what it takes to become an elite quarterback.
As the Giants’ offense has shown over the first seven weeks, Jones desperately needs a second reliable veteran wide receiver opposite Darius Slayton. Sterling Shepard returning from injured reserve certainly gives a boost, but the Giants are doing a disservice to Jones and his long-term development by sending him out there with his current inconsistent receiving corps.
The fact that the Giants might have a chance to add a weapon to aid Jones’ development and potentially give the second-year quarterback experience playing meaningful games for the first time over the second half might be alluring enough for Gettleman to make some calls as a buyer.
Here’s a look at five players the Giants should target at the deadline:
Adam Thielen – WR, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings essentially announced a firesale Thursday, trading defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens and eating $4 million of Ngakoue’s signing bonus after just six games.
If “everything must go,” and Vikings general manager Rick Spielman is tearing apart Minnesota’s roster to contend in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes, Gettleman should immediately place a call on Thielen’s availability.
Thielen, 30, is in the first year of a $64.2 million contract extension signed last year with the Vikings an immensely productive receiver despite the chaos around him in Minnesota’s offense and quarterback Kirk Cousins’ inconsistency.
Through the first six weeks of the season, Thielen has caught 32 passes for 415 yards and seven touchdowns, while averaging 13 yards per reception.
The Vikings appear to have landed an elite, field-stretching receiver in first-round rookie Justin Jefferson and might be inclined to move Thielen to get out of his contract and acquire a draft pick. Thielen would be ideal for the Giants, because even if the asking price is a third-round pick, he would be under the Giants’ control for at least the next three seasons.
John Ross – WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Full of speed, but thus far failing to live up to his lofty potential, Ross has the chance to be a low-risk, high-reward addition for a team at the trade deadline and there’s no reason that team can’t be the Giants.
Ross was the runaway MVP, quite literally, of the 2017 NFL Combine, when the former University of Washington receiver ran the 40-yard dash in 4.22 seconds.
Unfortunately for Ross and the Cincinnati Bengals, that track star speed has yet to translate into on-field production in the NFL.
Last season, Ross flashed some of that big-play potential, while averaging 18.1 yards per reception, but he has caught just two passes for 17 yards this season.
If the price is right, and Gettleman can pry Ross away for a late-round draft pick, lining him up opposite Slayton could give Jones two receivers capable of taking the top off of defenses and allow offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to move the Giants’ offense significantly more vertically.
Marvin Jones – WR, Detroit Lions
Jones is a steady, sure-handed veteran receiver but has also emerged as an above average run-blocker for the Lions this season.
In the final year of his contract, Jones has seen his productivity dip this season, and the Lions might be willing to take whatever they can get while Jones would likely welcome a fresh start to audition for one last big-money contract this offseason.
Over the past four years in Detroit, Jones has caught 227 passes for 3,464 yards and 28 touchdowns, while catching just 14 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown through five games in 2020. Pro Football Focus lists Jones as the No. 96 ranked receiver in the league, but he is one year removed from the third-highest graded season of his career.
In the interim, Jones has the chance to be an upgrade over Golden Tate, who has largely been a non-factor this season with 19 catches for 156 yards.
A.J. Green – WR, Cincinnati Bengals
A.J. Green might be in the twilight of his career, but he is still productive and might be exactly the type of receiver Daniel Jones needs to accelerate his development.
Green, 32, has seen his role dramatically diminished this season with the emergence of Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins, who have combined for 59 receptions for 755 yards and three touchdowns. But, he’s still a serviceable No. 2 receiver in most offenses and might be better than that in the Giants’ scheme.
So far this season, Green only has two drops in 44 targets from rookie quarterback Joe Burrow and would immediately push for the starting receiver job opposite Darius Slayton in the Giants’ offense.
It’s difficult to imagine the Bengals being able to garner much more than a fifth-round pick for Green, and Cincinnati might even jump at the chance to free up more snaps for Higgins and Boyd while adding an asset to their NFL Draft war chest to continue building around Burrow.
Chris Conley – WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are squarely in the mix for Lawrence, and have been in the process of acquiring draft picks since trading Ngakoue this summer, so Conley likely could be had for a small price.
Conley is 35th in the NFL, averaging 14 yards per reception, and has caught 14 passes for 196 yards this season. Chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third-round o of the 2015 NFL Draft, Conley has never quite lived up to the potential he flashed at Georgia.
However, last season was one of Conley’s most productive as a pro, catching 47 passes for 775 yards and five touchdowns, which would have made him the Giants’ leading receiver.
Conley is in the final year of his contract, which could make him attractive to a team like the Giants, while not commanding a premium pick to add him to the underachieving receiving corps.
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.