CBS Sports Makes Bold Giants Free Agency Predictions

Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports is out with his 2023 NFL free agency mock-up, and he has the New York Giants making a couple of interesting moves.

The first is the Giants' landing Patriots free-agent receiver Jakobi Meyers, of whom Benjamin writes:

With Daniel Jones presumably back on a tag or new deal, their focus would inevitably turn to secure the young QB better playmakers. Meyers, 26, doesn't scream "superstar," but he's probably the most well-rounded wideout available, capable of winning on the margins both inside and outside. Reliability is precisely what Brian Daboll should be looking for at the position.

Meyers, 6-2 and 200 pounds, finished second on the Patriots in receptions (67) but first in receiving yards (804) and receiving touchdowns (6) last season. An undrafted free agent out of North Carolina State who signed with New England after the 2019 draft, Meyers is regarded as one of the gems in an otherwise underwhelming free-agent class.

Meyers has plenty of experience playing in the slot and outside, though his career NFL snaps favor the slot by nearly double. Meyers is at his best in the middle of the field and not only has an impressive contested catch rate of 64.4 percent but he's also dropped just 11 balls in 341 career targets, with just one drop last season.

The Giants tried to get quarterback Daniel Jones a tall receiver once before in the form of Kenny Golladay, but that hasn't worked out, and Golladay is expected to be a cap casualty. Spotrac estimates that Meyers could be in line for a four-year, $50.034 million deal which comes to $12.5 million per year, certainly a reasonable amount if that's indeed acceptable to the player.

But Mike Reiss of ESPN believes the APY for Meyers will be closer to the $15-$20 million APY range.

More importantly, it would give the Giants a key missing piece to its receiver corps that they wouldn't have to trade assets to get as they continue to build up the roster.

Saquon to Who?!

In another proposed move that might just turn a few stomachs of the Big Blue faithful, Benjamin has running back Saquon Barkley going to--wait for it--the Cowboys.

Can you imagine? Barkley is certainly worthy of an earlier pick, but at a devalued position, you can see why he'd slide. With Tony Pollard headed for free agency and Ezekiel Elliott's future unclear, the Cowboys could give Dak Prescott an unexpected boost of skill talent by pairing him with the rejuvenated Giants star. And they'd be robbing their rivals of a freakish athlete.

The Giants have indicated they would like Barkley back, but unfortunately, contract talks between both sides seem to be at an impasse. With Barkley's representation likely waiting to see if the team uses the franchise tag on Jones, which is the expectation if those two sides can't get a deal done by the end of the franchise/transition tag deadline (March 7), an untagged Barkley would then be free to pursue a deal that pays him in the same category as a Zeke Elliott ($15 million APY) or a Christian McCaffrey ($16 million APY) with teams not having to worry about giving up two first-round picks to get him.

Would the Cowboys make a push to land Barkley in that case? Dallas could be planning to part with Elliott, whose contract just doesn't support his decline in production, which would mean they'd likely need a new partner in crime for Pollard, who, like Barkley, is set to be a free agent.

But regarding cost, it would be difficult to envision Dallas swapping out Elliott's $15 million APY for Barkley on a similar amount while also looking to re-up with Pollard, who has an estimated $9 million APY market value.

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