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The Giants will be finalizing their draft board over the next few days so they can decide who they could take with the fourth overall pick.
But they really don't want to make the pick at No. 4.
According to multiple NFL sources, the Giants' preference is to trade down in the first round of the NFL Draft and they have had preliminary conversations with teams in the hopes of setting up the parameters of a deal by Thursday night. It's still unclear if they'll be able to find a deal, but one NFL source described them as "extremely motivated to move."
That's not a surprise, since Giants GM Dave Gettleman has said multiple times he's "open for business" at 4. And before he did, SNY reported in early-February that Gettleman was "more open to the idea" of trading down in the draft for the first time in his GM career than ever before. The effort to do so has clearly intensified, though, as the draft has gotten closer.
One reason for that is it appears the Giants are setting their sights on an offensive tackle in the first round, according to multiple league sources. And while it's not known exactly how they've graded the "Big Four" -- Iowa's Tristan Wirfs, Alabama's Jedrick Wills, Georgia's Andrew Thomas and Louisville's Mekhi Becton -- scouts and executives generally seem to rate them very closely, and almost everyone believes they are worthy of being picked in the Top 15.
So the Giants know they could trade down several spots and still end up with one of those tackles. Though anything could happen, it seems a safe bet that they'll definitely get one if they stay in the Top 10.
It's also possible, if the price is right, that Gettleman might be open to trading down even farther. He considers this offensive line class to be "thick" and deeper than just the four at the top, and in a conference call with the media on Friday he indicated there isn't a huge drop off between the talent at the top of the draft and the talent available later in the first round.
"You can't put a number on that," Gettleman said. "Are you asking me: Does it really drop off after 15 players? Does it really drop off after 25 players? I can't really speak to that. But, I just know that it's a good draft. You can't say that if you're not picking in the top 15 you're in trouble. You can't say that."
Of course, that depth might also prevent teams from being willing to pay a hefty price to move up in the draft. Much of the speculation has centered around the Miami Dolphins (at 5) and the Los Angeles Chargers (at 6) because of their interest in the top quarterbacks. If either of them do want to move up, the Giants would surely be interested in swapping picks since they likely would land the same player at 5 or 6 that they would have drafted at 4.
If they don't mind dropping further, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at 14), Denver Broncos (15), and Atlanta Falcons (16) all appear to have some interest in trading up in the draft, according to sources. Dropping that far would be a risk for the Giants, since it likely would put them in the second tier of tackles -- like USC's Austin Jackson, Houston's Josh Jones or maybe Boise State's Ezra Cleveland -- unless they were OK drafting a player at another position.
In the end, it will depend on the offer. Gettleman seemingly wants to add draft picks. He does have 10 draft picks to use, but four of those are seventh-rounders and only three picks come in the first two days. And thanks to the Leonard Williams trade, which cost the Giants the better of their two third-round picks, there's a huge gap from when the Giants pick in the second round (36th) to when they pick in the third (99th). That's a gap they would love to bridge.
So the Giants will try to wheel and deal between now and the start of the draft at 8 p.m. on Thursday. Gettleman's preference, though, is to not wait until the last minute. He wants a deal set before the Giants are on the clock.
"I'm going to make calls and anybody that wants to move up I'm going to say, 'Listen, we don't have much time. We can't fool around," Gettleman said last week. "And I'd like to get the parameters of the deal in place before we get on the clock. That would be the best thing."
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