1. LB Roquan Smith, Chicago Bears
Easily being the best player on this list, acquiring Roquan Smith will be no easy task. However, the talent he would bring to the linebacker position is something the NY Giants have not seen in over a decade.
Yes, Smith recently rescinded his trade request and has decided to play out the season. However, considering he is on an expiring contract and that there is almost no way he returns to the Bears, we could see their front office panic and look to ship off the two time All-Pro member.
With just how poorly the NY Giants linebackers performed against the Titans in Week 1, especially in coverage, the front office needs to look to improve at that position. If this is the case, why not trade for a star at the position?
Smith may not be the best in coverage, but he is better than what the NY Giants have. When you combine that with his ability to quite literally do everything else at a high level, it becomes easy to see why trading for him would be great.
Linebackers with the lowest passer rating allowed in coverage since 2017
— PFF BUF Bills (@PFF_Bills) June 26, 2022
🥇 Matt Milano: 84.8
🥈 Roquan Smith: 85.0
🥉 Jayon Brown: 88.3 pic.twitter.com/iAapENGx5T
The most difficult part of this deal will likely be having to sign Smith to an extension if it were to go down, as he is on the final year of his deal and is seeking big time money. Is Smith worth that money? Absolutely, however, the NY Giants are going to need to re-sign multiple key players in the coming years, so this deal could become somewhat difficult to pull off.
Regardless, with how bad the NY Giants current linebacker situation is, they need to look for better options. Even if they don’t want to deal with Smith’s contract extension, other names like Deion Jones could be made available as the season goes on.