Should NY Giants trade for Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson?

Many wonder what would happen if the NY Giants traded for Houston Texans superstar quarterback Deshaun Watson, but this is simply a pipe dream that will not and should not happen.

This has nothing to do with Watson’s talent, he led the league in passing yards with 4,823 along with 33 touchdowns. This was on a mediocre Texans team that just traded a top-three receiver in Deandre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals and fielded a questionable offensive line in 2020.

Now, seeing Watson with superstar running back Saquon Barkley and seeing dimes thrown Darius Slayton’s way would certainly open up the Giants’ offense, but again, this is only a pipe dream.

The asking price for Watson around the league has involved three first-round picks along with second-rounders, and potentially a starting-caliber player. The Giants, being a team that needs to continue to rebuild, is in no position to make this kind of move that jeopardizes the future.

The price for Watson for the Giants would include Daniel Jones, multiple first and second-round picks — including this year’s 11th pick — along with Evan Engram and another player most likely.

Filling the holes in the offensive line, receiving core, and solidifying this defense would put the Giants in a much better position to win football games than trading for a quarterback who would lack the help he needs.

Whether you believe the Giants should attempt to trade for Watson most likely would come back to your thoughts on the performance and potential of Daniel Jones. the Giants still need to see a third season out of Jones, and a season with a healthy Saquon Barkley to really decide if he is the quarterback of the future.

Trading for Watson would put him right back in the same situation he was in in Houston; paying for a team that lacks the draft capital and money to support him on offense.

Watson also has to approve of the team he is traded to, or else he can cancel the deal with his no-trade clause. He would most likely say no to the Giants given this fact as he wants to go to a contender.

The NY Giants are not simply a quarterback away, like the San Francisco or Indianapolis are. The Giants need to build the roster that supports the quarterback enough to allow him to take his team as far as it can go.

Daniel Jones has shown the potential to be that guy for the New York Giants, while his sophomore season was not great, his rookie season with a 24-12 touchdown to interception ratio shows that there is still plenty of room for him to grow and get better.

Many quarterbacks have the dreaded sophomore slump, Baker Mayfield had his in 2019 but in 2020 the Browns went to the playoffs and were a few plays away from being in the conference championship. The difference? he was sacked a lot less.

In 2019, Mayfield was sacked 40 times and threw over double the interceptions he did in 2020 where he was sacked only 26 times where he threw just eight.

Jones was sacked 45 times his rookie year and 38 times in 2020, this needs to change and trading for Deshaun Watson does nothing to help that situation.

Rather than trading for Watson, undeniably a top-5 quarterback but one who costs a ton. The New York Giants should use the money they saved to resign guys this year like Dalvin Tomlinson and potentially Leonard Williams. And with the draft capital they have, the Giants need to help out Jones with the offensive line and receiving core help along with bolstering their defense.

The Giants can also make moves in free agency potentially signing a star receiver in Allen Robinson, or make moves to clear more cap space for 2021 and beyond, quick reminder Saquon Barkley is still on his rookie deal at the moment so he will receive a payday soon.

The Giants will be able to do this as they will have a quarterback on a rookie contract rather than one on a megadeal, and they will have the picks to make moves and continue to build the team.

So, while Deshaun Watson would be a lot of fun to watch wearing blue, it is not the practical decision a team like the Giants should make right now.