Big Blue View
The mail’s here!
Mike Tizzano asks: Following up on this after reading your article about why Azeez and Slayton must be traded. Two-part question:
1. You cited an exec that said he’d bring no more than a sixth. Could that have changed with his recent production?
2. Is there a possibility that they could fetch a conditional pick based on his production the remainder of the year post trade and/or the acquiring team re-signing him in the offseason?
Ed says: Mike, let’s not get this twisted. I did not say Azeez Ojulari and Darius Slayton “must” be traded. I said that the Giants need to be willing to trade them if they don’t believe either player intends to return to the team next season.
Both are good players who will have options. It would be nice to keep them. Each, though, could very well find more money than the Giants are willing or able to play elsewhere. In Ojulari’s case, he may want to go someplace where he can play full time rather than be a third wheel or situational player behind Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
If the Giants believe they are going to lose the players, they need to be willing to move them now and get something in return. I believe the chances of keeping both players are slim.
I assume when you ask about “recent production” that you are referring to Ojulari. Remember that he may very well be a rental for a team that trades for him. Between that and his injury history I would be surprised if the Giants got anything better than a sixth-round pick that turns into a fifth-rounder based on production/playing time.
Greg Riley asks: Bo Nix rookie QB1 of the Denver Broncos is looking better and better. Do you think GM Joe Schoen missed a glittering opportunity by passing on a trade offer with the Jets that could have netted Nix and an extra couple of draft picks?
Ed says: Greg, no I do not think the Giants missed a “glittering opportunity.” If the Giants had wanted Nix, they had the No. 6 overall pick. They would have used it to just take him. Nix is in the right spot with the only head coach who believed he was worth that kind of draft capital.
The Giants wanted Malik Nabers. They would have taken Rome Odunze had Nabers not been available to them, but if they trade down to No. 10 with the Jets they would have also lost Odunze. He went No. 9 to the Chicago Bears. Now, maybe they could have selected tight end Brock Bowers, who is having a spectacular season for the Las Vegas Raiders. But, do you really want to trade down and end up not getting the player you really want?
I do support trading down as a general rule. Anyone who has followed my work knows that. Sometimes, though, when you have a chance to select a game-changing star who plays a...
