Why it’s smart for the Giants to trade down from the 4th pick

The New York Giants have a plethora of needs to fill on their talent-poor roster and a trade down from the fourth pick would be a sensible move.

When it comes to possible teams who could benefit from the clamor for quarterbacks and strike a trade down in the 2020 NFL Draft, the New York Giants have not been mentioned enough.

The Giants sit at number four in the draft order and the consensus appears to be that, given their needs on both sides of the trenches, general manager David Gettleman will use the pick on a top offensive tackle or the draft’s premier defensive lineman, Auburn’s Derrick Brown.

However, the Giants needs extend well beyond the offensive and defensive lines and trading down would be an astute move by an organization that has made too many missteps in recent times.

Gettleman has 10 selections to work within this draft, but four of those are in the seventh round.

The Giants’ roster is a talent-poor one, a fact evidenced by their run of three consecutive losing seasons. Wide receiver and edge rusher should both be on the radar of Gettleman, as should the secondary despite considerable investment in the defensive backfield in recent years.

If the Giants can strike a trade to move back a few spots, they would likely still be in a position to select a top defensive prospect like Brown, Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons or even Ohio State cornerback Jeffery Okudah.

Still being able to land one of those top-tier prospects while picking up some extra capital with which to attack the later rounds should be a no-brainer for Gettleman.

The Giants need to be honest about where they are as a franchise, they are not close to contention, and need as many opportunities to add to a bottom-half roster as they can get.

Taking advantage of the potential desperation of the quarterback-needy teams to make a favorable deal to move back is the best way to do that.