Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Giants Are "Open for Business" Regarding No. 4 Overall Draft Pick
Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has never traded down in the first round of the draft, and the last time the Giants traded down in the first round of the NFL draft was in 2006 when they swapped places with the Steelers to grab defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka out of Boston College.
But with the Giants holding “prime real estate” at No. 4 overall and with being hope that Tua Tagovailoa’s medical checks come back clean, that could change this year.
“We’re open for business,” Gettleman told reporters Tuesday during the NFL scouting combine. “Whatever we do is gonna be in our best interest.”
What would be in the Giants' best interest is to collect as many assets as possible in this talent-rich class, which should yield a solid offensive tackle, a stud receiver from a historically deep class, and some firepower at pass rusher.
The need to acquire additional talent is especially important considering the Giants don’t have their third-round pick, having traded that to the Jets for defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
Gettleman insisted that his record of never having traded back in the first round wasn’t due to anything other than the circumstances not being right in terms of value.
“I have tried to trade back as a general manager,” he said. “But the value wasn’t there, and there was a player there that we liked. I’ve seen teams trade themselves away from really good players. While it hasn’t scarred me, I’ve seen what it’s done to those teams, and it’s something I have in my head.”
New head coach Joe Judge agreed with Gettleman regarding doing what was best for the franchise, and that includes trading back if the opportunity is there.
“It depends on who’s available at that time, what you think their value is,” Judge said. “If you don’t think there’s someone worth taking at that point, where you can gain maybe more assets, there’s value in that."
Although Gettleman is willing to listen, he does caution that there are some drawbacks to trading down. Hear what he had to say about those drawbacks in the video below.
