Why the New York Giants just won the Tyrod Taylor deal
The Cleveland Brown are set to acquire Tyrod Taylor, but here’s why the New York Giants are the winner of that trade.
Next Wednesday is the start of the new league year for the NFL, but the Cleveland Browns did their part to fill the transaction wire on Friday afternoon. Trades for wide receiver Jarvis Landry, quarterback Tyrod Taylor and cornerback Demarious Randall have been agreed upon. But when it comes to the Taylor trade, the New York Giants have to consider themselves the winners of that deal.
With the acquisition of Taylor, the Browns may go another direction with the No. 1 pick in April’s draft. There was already a strong argument for them to take running back Saquon Barkley with that pick after he was one of the standouts at the NFL Combine. But holding the No. 4 pick allows other needs to be addressed before quarterback, with Taylor to hold down the fort next season.
With an easy assumption Barkley goes to the Browns first overall, the New York Giants are now essentially on the clock at No. 2 overall. They need to find a successor for Eli Manning, and now they’ll all but surely have their pick of the top quarterbacks in this year’s class.
Or if a team below them wants to go up and get Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield or Josh Allen, and get above the Denver Broncos (No. 5) and the New York Jets (No. 6 overall), in particular, the Giants are now in a prime position to move down and add picks.
It’s worth noting that Taylor should be looked as a bridge quarterback, as he’ll become a free agent after next season. So the Browns could still take a quarterback at No. 1 if they really like one, or the No. 4 pick is also an option if they want to circle back to a signal-caller once the Giants and Indianapolis Colts make their picks.
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The intrigue of April’s draft will now pretty much start at No. 2. The Giants will have their pick of the top quarterbacks, or they’ll be able to get a bounty from a team that wants to trade up and get the one they love. It’s easy to overlook, but the Giants are in line to benefit the most from the Bills sending Tyrod Taylor to the Browns.