The New York Giants stood pat during the NFL's trade deadline, as the price tag was ultimately too high to make any marquee moves in John Harbaugh's first trade deadline in New York. No Jonathan Taylor and no Tony Pollard, but don't confuse a lack of activity for a lack of initiative from Harbs.
If anything, the aggression to make a big move was there despite the result. In addition to trying their luck on superstars like Taylor, they also tried their luck going down other avenues, as ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported, Big Blue called the Atlanta Falcons about possibly trading for Bijan Robinson.
"The Giants tried hard though," Raanan said. "They made calls on Jeffery Simmons. They made calls on Jonathan Taylor. DeForest Buckner. I even heard the Giants made a call on Bijan Robinson. That's right. Bijan Robinson. So they were certainly big game hunting, but at the same time for most of these deals, they weren't going to overextend, and a big part of that is they're not flush with picks right now."
Falcons GM Ian Cunningham probably hung up that phone in record time. I know Atlanta had a mini-deadline sale after trading away Jessie Bates III, but Robinson currently leads the NFL in rushing yards and may be the single most dangerous player in the league. No duh, Harbaugh wants that in the Big Apple.
It's telling the Giants even considered a Bijan Robinson blockbuster trade
Raanan mentioned it. They at least tried to go big-game hunting, and even though it didn't yield results, that's incredibly encouraging. For a team with just five picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, it was always going to be tough to make a splash, and it's good to know they weren't so desperate to overpay.
The fact the Giants even considered such a move speaks volumes. For starters, it says a lot about how much this team's perception has changed in just eight games with Harbaugh at the helm. But it also says a lot about what they think of themselves if they were truly willing to make such a splash.
Let's put this into perspective. Jonathan Taylor is 27 and a second and a fifth-rounder was unable to do the trick, yet it would take at least a first-round pick (and possibly two) to get the Falcons to even consider moving Bijan Robinson. But for as insane as it sounds, that would actually be a fantastic investment.
Let's just think about the timeline right now. A 24-year-old All-Pro back would make life easier on the offensive line, open things up for Malik Nabers, Isaiah Likely, and Malachi Fields in the passing game, and since he can catch passes, he'd be another safety valve J.J. McCarthy can check down to.
If a 5-2-1 Giants team without both Jaxson Dart and Brian Burns is willing to make a move like this, I'm sure they would have been even more aggressive if the two were healthy. It'll take a meltdown for them to not win the NFC East, and with Bijan under contract through 2030, he'd help them in the short and long term.
Ever since he got hired by the New York Giants, John Harbaugh has been looking for a feature back, and Bijan Robinson would've been the perfect statement addition to show just how serious this team is about getting back to the Super Bowl under new leadership.
Add us as a preferred source on Google