According to ESPN Giants beat reporter Jordan Raanan, the New York Giants have discussed the possibility of trading for Detroit Lions star wide receiver Kenny Golladay before Tuesday’s trading deadline.
While Kenny Golladay is a supremely talented player, the Giants should say no to any trade involving him.
Kenny Golladay: Why the New York Giants Should Pursue Him Ahead of the Trade Deadline
For the Giants, this would be a mistake. This attempt to land a stud receiver is not the ideal way to build from the ground up in a rebuilding process.
Now is Golladay a supremely talented playmaker? Of course!
Just because you would acquire a talented player and presumably at a semi-discount (which would all depend on what draft picks the Lions would ask for), it does not mean you should pull the trigger. For a general manager in Dave Gettleman, this may be a Hail Mary desperation attempt to salvage what has been–and this putting it mildly–his questionable reign as Giants general manager.
More from Raanan:
“I had heard something about this last week,” Raanan said. “There was at least some conversation about the Giants talking to the Lions about wide receiver Kenny Golladay. My understanding is that it did happen in some shape or form.”
Raanan has said the talks are not too serious and they are just a preliminary idea being floated between the two struggling franchises.
Still, this would not be a very shortsighted approach to make your team better. The Giants should be thinking long term.
The Giants should clearly be sellers at the deadline, not buyers this season. At 1-6, and although the Giants have been competitive in most of their games, this will likely be a lost season when it is all said and done. Just admit as much and try to get younger and have as many cost-friendly assets as you can going into the offseason.
Gettleman made a similar move last year when acquiring Leonard Williams from the New York Jets for a 2020 third-round draft pick and a 2021 fifth-round draft pick that could become a fourth. It was a questionable move and one that was widely panned by Giants fans and reporters alike.
The Giants should not make the same mistake. Again.
It’s understandable to surround your franchise quarterback Daniel Jones with as many weapons as possible, but this is not the way to go, especially at this point in time of the rebuilding process. At the moment, it’s looking more and more likely that the Giants will have a top-five draft pick this season. And with their record expected to be one of the worst in the league, those secondary draft picks later on in the draft will have more added value.
Again, this is not an indictment of Golladay’s talents. He is a top-10 receiver, but the Lions likely asking price is not worth investing in. Any deal would likely have to involve multiple draft picks.
Giants’ owners John Mara and Steve Tisch will have to have the most input here. After the season comes and goes and if the Giants are still one of the worst teams in the NFL, it’s probably time to cut the cord with Gettleman.
This has been the chatter in New York sports talk radio circles for almost two years. Moves like these will certainly not help his cause.
It’s imperative Gettleman doesn’t get the chance to salvage his Giants’ tenure and mortgage the future to make one last splash. It’s like he may attempt to go down swinging with one last salvo to rescue his flailing reputation.
Look, this move would make sense if the Giants were making a legitimate push for the playoffs, as Jones surely needs some big-bodied receivers that can go get the ball like Golladay. That is something Jones and the Giants are sorely lacking right now.
However, the Giants’ front office should revisit this idea in the off-season when they can zero in on free-agent receivers. Or more so in the NFL draft where many mock drafts show the Giants drafting a wide receiver in the first round.
There are a lot of ways to rebuild the roster and replenish a roster barren with playmakers. However, the Giants’ blueprint should be to do it the right way.
No quick fixes or shortcuts to appease the fanbase. It should be through methodical scouting and stockpiling draft picks and through acquiring free agents after the season.
Either way, Gettleman is on the clock and he probably knows it. How he goes about adding Golladay or not (or other potential deals at the deadline), he may be on borrowed time.
