The New York Giants are an anomaly of bad football. They have a promising young quarterback in Jaxson Dart, a defensive line with multiple Pro Bowl-level talents on it, and an offensive-minded head coach, yet they are a 2-13 team that has lost nine straight games.
The one silver lining is that the Giants have a legitimate shot at earning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. With Dart likely taking New York out of the quarterback market, Joe Schoen may try to move down in the order while compiling even more picks that could eventually turn into starters.
The Giants may want to stockpile picks, and the New York Jets need a quarterback as badly as anyone in the league. With Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Oregon's Dante Moore there for the taking, could a trade come to fruition?
This Giants-Jets trade would give Joe Schoen a haul of picks
The Jets have five first-round picks in the next two seasons, which means that no team could offer the Giants more assets in any hypothetical trade. If Schoen wants to stockpile as many assets as possible, he may need to overlook the New York rivalry component and get this deal done.
With the Jets also boasting a ton of cap space, Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey could splurge in free agency to improve the defense while anointing whomever they take at No. 1 as the next savior of the franchise. The Giants, meanwhile, would retool on the fly.
Dart needs some more offensive line help, a No. 2 receiver with a higher ceiling than Wan'Dale Robinson for when Malik Nabers comes back, and some cornerbacks that can actually hold leads when they are ahead. By accepting this trade, the Giants will have all the ammunition they need to improve in all those areas.
The Giants may find themselves better off in the future if they lose to the also 2-13 Las Vegas Raiders in their Week 17 Tank Bowl. If they keep winning, the Giants might play themselves out of the top pick, which would likely nullify any chance the team has of getting a huge collection of picks from a QB-needy team.
Having the No. 1 pick while also sporting a rising young quarterback and a collection of promising players on rookie deals is a very advantageous position to be in, and the Giants could add to their stockpile while taking advantage of a Jets team desperate for a quarterback.