Giants GM Dave Gettleman has been steadfast in keeping his spot in the NFL Drafts he has lead for the Panthers and Giants over his career. Opportunities to trade back have come up, when he could've had more draft stock to work with. But, ultimately, he took the player of his choice.
This year, though, that could change after seven years of keeping his picks.
According to SNY's Ralph Vacchiano, a source with familiarity of the Giants' thinking said Gettleman "seems more open to the idea" of trading back, and that includes his No. 4 overall pick. A team source added that a trade back "can't be ruled out."
Vacchiano says multiple factors are contributing to this thought process, which include new head coach Joe Judge's collaboration with Gettleman, trying to modernize the Giants' overall operations, and the roster's current needs compared to the projected draft board. But the biggest factor is the battle from other teams to land a quarterback in this year's draft.
The Giants already have Daniel Jones in place, so there's no need to take someone like Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa or Oregon's Justin Herbert -- the two top quarterbacks after LSU's Joe Burrow presumably goes first overall to the Bengals.
Teams like the Dolphins and Chargers need a franchise quarterback, and of course their selections come right after the Giants at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. The Panthers might even want to take a new quarterback with Cam Newton's status up in the air.
So the Giants find themselves in a great situation if Gettleman does wish to trade back because the price tag would likely be high due to those quarterback-needy teams wanting to get ahead of each other on the draft board. New York can only profit from a bidding war breaking out over the pick, unless Gettleman falls in love with a prospect he believes won't be available if he trades back.
But, analyzing the current roster, any prospect can help if the Giants land him in the Top 10. Whether it's the plethora of top offensive tackles in Iowa's Tristan Wirfs and Alabama's Jedrick Wills to name a few, or a defensive playmaker like Clemson's Isaiah Simmons, the Giants would be happy trading back, acquiring more draft picks, and still gaining a player that fills an obvious need.
There's still months left before Gettleman will make that big decision, but the fact that he's open to it is a big deal for a Giants team that could use as many draft prospects as it can get during its rebuild.