October 30, 2025 — Happy second anniversary of getting rid of defensive lineman Leonard Williams! So thankful they did that... that guy truly was the worst, huh?
With the Nov. 4 trade deadline under a week away, I’d love to look back on a previous deadline deal that still haunts the New York Giants to this day.
The year is 2023. The G-Men are coming off a brutal 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets in Week 8, where kicking woes were the talk of the town. Coming into the game, Graham Gano had a known left knee injury, but head coach Brian Daboll insisted on keeping him active. He misses two kicks, dropping Big Blue to 2-6.
With the sour taste of a loss on his mind, general manager Joe Schoen dives headfirst into the notion that they’ll be sellers. The very next day, the second-year GM picked up the phone and struck a deal with the Seattle Seahawks to send star defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Pacific Northwest for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-rounder.
The move made some sense. Schoen was attempting to be forward-thinking about New York’s cap situation, understanding Williams was already 29 years old and looking for a contract extension. Well, you know what they say about making moves out of desperation... they rarely work as planned!
Since leaving East Rutherford, Williams earned Pro Bowl honors and a top-15 finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024, and his 2025 campaign looks very strong, too.
The final details of the trade were finalized after the 2025 Draft concluded:
Giants received
- S Tyler Nubin (Minnesota)
- OL Marcus Mbow (Purdue)
Seahawks received
- DL Leonard Williams
But what if that didn’t happen? Imagine, instead, a universe where Schoen doesn’t move Williams. A world where No. 99 slots beside Sexy Dexy, becoming one of the most fearsome defensive interior units in the league.
Quick... to the multidimensional portal!
Whoa, that's crazy! It's October 30, 2025, and Williams is still on the Giants?! That's crazy.
Well, since we're here...
For the sake of not going too off the rails, we’ll assume that aside from the draft picks they acquired in the other, less-fun Williams-less world, the G-Men have stayed the course. They enter 2025 with Williams, Lawrence, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Abdul Carter on their defensive front.
They fill the Tyler Nubin void by passing on Darius Alexander in the third round of the 2025 draft, selecting Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts with the 65th overall pick. Everything else remains the same.
In this universe, long gone are the days when the Giants have to choose between run defense and the pass rush up front. They get the best of both worlds, especially with Williams clearing the onslaught of double teams Lawrence faces every week.
I won’t get too bogged down in specifics, but the Giants would be in a much better spot heading into Week 9 than that other team without the two-time Pro Bowler. The biggest difference is the effort level. Williams plays with a motor that few on Big Blue have, and it could just be the missing ingredient to making this defense finally work.
Instead of 2-6, the team is easily 4-4, potentially 5-3. It's an awesome new world where defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's defense puts them in a position to win, and they can hold onto last-minute leads. Sounds like an awesome place.
But wait. Something's happening... uh-oh, I think the portal's closing. Reality comes screaming back.
Sure, maybe keeping him wouldn’t have magically fixed everything. But watching this defense get walked over every week makes it hard not to think about what they lost.
So as October wraps up and the trade deadline looms, remember: dealing away Leonard Williams wasn’t just a moment of “future proofing” — it became a benchmark for what’s gone wrong. The “what could have been” portfolio keeps growing, and Big Blue fans deserve better than a multiverse of missed opportunities.
Anyway, happy two years!