Breaking Down Various NFL Draft Rumors' Potential Impact on Giants

Smokescreen season is about to clear u starting Thursday, but as we draw closer to the 2022 NFL draft, the rumors regarding what teams may or may not do are picking up steam at a rapid pace.

Here is a quick rundown of some of the more relevant rumors to come out and how they might potentially impact the Giants on draft weekend.

Steelers Eyeing Seventh Overall Pick?

A slip of the tongue? According to Nick Farabaugh, a Steelers beat reporter, Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert offered up the tidbit that he had investigated the cost to move up from No. 20 to No. 7, the second of the Giants' two draft picks.

The Steelers are thought to be looking for a quarterback in this year's draft, and according to Noah Strackbein of All Steelers, they have their eye on Malik Willis. But in addition to Carolina, the Seahawks, Texans, and Saints are among those teams that could be looking at a quarterback as well, though it also remains to be seen how the looming trade of Baker Mayfield impacts the first round among those quarterback-needy teams.

Pat's Take: The Giants and Steelers are no strangers to doing business together. They have made trades twice in the last decade, the first time in 2015 when NEw York acquired punter Brad Wing, and then more recently in 2017 when the Giants picked up cornerback Ross Cockrell.

In terms of draft day trades, the last time these two teams made a trade during the draft was in 2006, when New York sent the 25th overall pick to the Steelers in exchange for the 32nd pick, a third-rounder and a fourth-rounder. (The Giants selected Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka with the No. 32 pick.)

But to say for certain there will be a trade down at seven with any team is premature as it all depends on how the Giants' board falls. That being said, if the Giants are going to make any trade, my gut tells me the seventh overall pick is the one to watch as the Giants won't risk losing out on their top-graded offensive tackle.

Darius Slayton is on the Trading Block?

The Athletic has reported that receiver Darius Slayton could be traded sooner than later. Slayton, a fifth-round pick in 2019, is entering the final year of his rookie deal and has a $2,598,721 cap hit-- a rich total for a receiver who right now projects to be fourth on the depth chart.

Pat's Take: This report comes as zero surprise given the Giants' current cap situation. New York, per the latest NFLPA public salary cap report, shows the Giants as having $6,340,274 in cap space, but it's unclear if that total is before or after the $1.2 million being held in escrow pending the outcome of Logan Ryan's grievance case.

The Giants, according to Over the Cap, need just over $12.5 million to sign their rookie class, and every little bit of spare change is going to help. But from a bigger perspective, the truth is that Slayton has been unable to follow up on his impressive rookie season in which he caught 57.1 percent of his pass targets for eight touchdowns.

Since then, Slayton's catch percentage has dropped each year, hitting a career-low of 44 percent last season. He also has five touchdown catches in the last two years.

Once viewed as a fifth-round steal, that kind of production coupled with his cap hit just doesn't add up. With the Giants needing cap room and this year's receiver class being so deep, Slayton's removal from the roster would not be a surprise.

But for the very same reasons cited above (drop off in production and him being in the final year of his contract), I'm not sure if the Giants would be able to get much more than maybe a conditional seventh-rounder for Slayton. The Giants need the salary cap space, but they can get it in other ways.

And while this draft class is talent-rich at receiver, I think the Giants will hang on to Slayton, bring him to camp to compete, and then decide from there as the cap savings would be the same regardless if he were to be cut before June 1 or after.

Report: Panthers Won't Trade for Baker Mayfield Before Draft

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport has reported that the quarterback-needy Carolina Panthers are unlikely to trade for disgruntled Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield before the draft. The Panthers apparently want to see how the board falls before taking on Mayfield's $18.86 million salary (fifth-year option).

Pat's Take: The Panthers, per Over the Cap, lead the league in salary cap space with over $30 million, so absorbing the contract wouldn't necessarily break them. But from a Giants' perspective, this could mean that the Panthers are eyeing a quarterback in this draft class.

If that is indeed the case, then perhaps another quarterback-needy team (hello, Pittsburgh!) could attempt to jump ahead of Carolina and into the fifth overall spot currently occupied by the Giants to get the quarterback of their choosing.

Would the Giants make this trade? That depends on how the board falls. New York MUST complete its renovation of the offensive line by drafting one of the big three offensive tackles (Charles Cross, Ikem Ekwonu, and Evan Neal).

While it might be tempting to trade down if two or three of those players are on the board, the Giants would be better off just using the fifth overall pick to get the tackle and call it a day, regardless of the Panthers may or may not be planning to do.

Giants WR Kadarius Toney Shows Up to Off-season Program

After causing a bit of a stir with his blatant absence from the Giants' start of the off-season program on April 4, receiver Kadarius Toney, last year's first-round pick, finally showed up in East Rutherford.

The timing is interesting, as Toney reportedly arrived in town on Saturday, a day after the Daily News broke the story regarding the possibility of the Giants looking to trade the receiver.

Last week, teammate Kenny Golladay, when asked about Toney and his absence, hinted that he woudl reach out to the young receiver, opining that Toney "would definitely listen" to both him and fellow veteran Sterling Shepard.

Pat's Take: It's unclear if the leaked "threat" of being traded prompted Toney to report to the voluntary program to get his new playbook, as it was never disclosed why he was absent.

But it was evident via the body language of both head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen that Toney's absence was more than likely the young receiver's choice to stay away.

Kadarius Toney getting after it in the Giants weight room.(Pic via https://t.co/t0A1c1zRU7.) pic.twitter.com/X8j2mY5Iym
— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) April 25, 2022

If that was indeed Toney's choice and he bowed to peer pressure, then good for those who convinced him to report. Last year, Toney, who didn't score a single touchdown in an injury-filled and rocky season, was a part of a four-win team. At this point in his career, he still has a long way to go to earn the trust of his teammates and his coaches, and his staying away, again if by choice, wasn't going to help that cause.

Daboll spoke of wanting to have guys willing to go the extra mile to help themselves and the team get better. Toney's absence gave the opposite optic. But the good news is that other than for the three-day minicamp, Toney hasn't missed a lot of on-field work just yet as the Giants just recently completed Phase 1 of their off-season program.

What the receiver does from this point forward will be telling. That said, it would be a stunning development if the Giants trade him by the end of the draft.

Giants Favor Stingley Over Sauce?

ESPN is reporting that the Giants and Seahawks are the two teams that could be in play for LSU cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr. Stingley had a solid pro day which has boosted his draft stock, and there have been some late mock drafts putting Stingley ahead of Cincinnati's Sauce Gardner int he top-10.

Pat's Take: This is going to be another case of "how the board falls" because there is also growing chatter that the Giants might look to move out of No. 7 overall to pick up additional assets (including one that they might be able to use to trade back into the bottom of the first round to grab an edge rusher.

Coach Gene Clemons, in his breakdown of Stingley vs. Gardner, thinks that the LSU cornerback might be the better fit if he's there:

Versatility remains the name of the game for the Giants, and Stingley seems as if he could provide that. His lateral quickness and suddenness in his change of direction allow him to cover the best receivers even when they go to the slot. Based on the amount of man coverage you can predict in a Wink Martindale system, Stingley provides a better return on investment.

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