3 Players Giants Must Consider Trading for at 2022 NFL Deadline
The New York Giants need to add offensive help to make a postseason push in the second half of the 2022 NFL season.
New York has been able to get by with Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and no receiver with more than 200 receiving yards, but eventually, that will catch up to Brian Daboll's team.
The Giants should have more urgency to attack the trade market in the next week after tight end Daniel Bellinger suffered an eye injury in Week 7.
New York's best plan of attack on the trade market should be to target a tight end used to seeing a high volume of targets so that Jones has a reliable option across the middle to rely on.
The offense still will not be a perfect product, but if the Giants can make one or two smart additions, they will find themselves in better position to contend with the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys for the NFC East crown.
Mike Gesicki
Mike Gesicki is the ideal trade target for any team looking for a tight end because he will be a free agent at the end of the season.
Gesicki has so far found a way to make an impact inside the Miami Dolphins offense with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle taking up a majority of the targets.
The fifth-year tight end had seven targets in each of his last two games, and he had a two-touchdown performance in Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Gesicki would not solve all of the Giants' offensive problems, but he would at least give Jones a large target across the middle, and in the red zone, that he can rely on.
Daniel Bellinger was a pleasant surprise before he got hurt on Sunday, but he only had 16 catches for 152 yards. The Giants can't afford that little production out of their starting tight end if the starting wide receivers are going to continue to disappoint.
New York may not have to send much in terms of draft compensation to Miami because of Gesicki's contract status. The Giants could be an intriguing spot for Gesicki to land because he is a New Jersey native and went to Penn State with Saquon Barkley.
Albert Okwuegbunam
Albert Okwuegbunam needs a change of scenery.
The third-year tight end has not played more than 35 percent of the Denver Broncos' offensive snaps in the last three games.
Denver prioritized Eric Saubert and Greg Dulcich over Okwuegbunam, and he likely will be relegated to a reserve role for the rest of the season if he stays with the Broncos.
The Giants could be turned away by Okwuegbunam's current situation, but they could also see value in a move for him because he would not cost a lot on the trade market.
Okwuegbunam is only making $895,000 this season and just over $1 million next season before he becomes a free agent after the 2023 season, per Spotrac.
The Giants may have to give up one late-round pick to acquire Okwuegbunam from Denver. That may sit better than paying Gesicki for the rest of the season or adding another player with a high salary.
New York is already struggling with a high salary cap because of the bad deals made by the previous regime, so it may have to make some bargain-bin deals before the trade deadline to improve its offense, and Okwuegbunam fits that mold.
Jerry Jeudy or K.J. Hamler
The Giants could look to raid Denver's talent at another position to upgrade its roster.
Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler can both be considered by the Giants because of how cheap their contracts are.
Jeudy is only making $1.9 million in 2022, and his pay rises to just $2.6 million in 2023. That is a manageable deal for the Giants.
Hamler's deal sits at $1.25 million for this season, and he is scheduled to make $1.5 million next season.
An addition of either Denver wideout could help the Giants in their quest for consistency at wide receiver.
Richie James, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, David Sills, Wan'Dale Robinson and Kenny Golladay have all been used over the first seven weeks. None of those players managed to produce over 200 receiving yards, even with some of the competition being down with injuries.
Jeudy and Hamler come with some injury concerns as well, but they could be two of the best options available for the Giants at a cost they can afford to improve the weapons in their passing game ahead of the second half of the season.