ESPN analyst has surprising pick for worst NY Giants offseason move

The NY Giants didn't have as big of an offseason as last year thanks to their limited cap space. However, Joe Schoen still managed to pull off a few moves to improve the team. Whether it be a big trade, or underrated free agent signing, the team is looking a bit different heading into the 2024 campaign.

Despite this, not everyone was as happy about these moves as most fans. In fact, some even criticized Schoen for one of the biggest moves he made during the offseason, as one ESPN analyst believes the Brian Burns trade was a bad call by New York's front office.

Brian Burns arriving to the NY Giants is huge for Brian Daboll

That's right, despite acquiring a star pass-rusher for a second-round pick, ESPN analyst Seth Walder believes the Giants paid too much to trade and extend Burns. This is certainly an interesting take, so here is his reasoning:

"The Giants' biggest splash was their trade and ensuing contract for Burns. It was a curious choice, as the Giants spent a lot of capital to upgrade one of their only strengths -- maybe their only strength. And they did it at a time when they don't appear close to contention. As good of a player as Burns is, they traded a premium draft pick for the right to pay top money to a player.""

- Seth Walder

To call the Giants' pass-rush a strength is simply a lie. Sure, they have plenty of talent in guys like Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, but outside of them, the rest of the unit is incredibly weak. Not to mention, while Thibodeaux was productive last season, he was still wildly inconsistent, so adding Burns will help with that.

Even with this talent, the Giants ranked 29th in sacks, and 20th in pressures, so it's pretty clear that pass-rush was not a strength despite what Walder said. Adding Burns turns the pass-rush into a strength of New York's, and him playing alongside Lawrence and Thibodeaux will help everyone improve.

The Giants needed to add a guy like Burns in order to make the defense better, so I'm really failing to understand Walder's reasoning for disliking this decision from Schoen and Co. While I can somewhat get not loving Burns' contract, as he is now the highest-paid player on the Giants, the rest of this argument is just silly.

For example, Walder notes that the Giants got this done despite not being close to contention, which is contradictory. Sure New York flustered in 2023, but they made the playoffs just one season prior. This trade serves to help return the Giants to the postseason.