For the first time in a long while, the New York Giants might just have the problem of having a surplus of assets.
Could those assets might just be valuable to other teams?
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell proposed 10 potential trades on Monday morning, one of which involves the Giants sending former first round tackle Evan Neal to the Los Angeles Chargers.
We already looked at some potential scenarios in which QB Tommy DeVito could be traded. Flipping a former UDFA you may have to cut anyway for draft capital would (and also controlling where he goes) would be a good outcome. But what about a player with significantly better pedigree than a former UDFA?
It isn’t just a regular trade, but a three-way trade. As such, I’ll just be posting the Giants’ part of his explanation of the trade.
Giants get: 2027 seventh-round pick (from Chargers)
Chargers get: OL Evan Neal, 2026 fifth-round pick (from Cardinals)
Cardinals get: WR Quentin JohnstonA three-way trade involving two disappointing first-round picks? Sure, why not?
Neal has been wildly disappointing since the Giants drafted him at No. 7 in 2022. The 24-year-old lineman has struggled with injuries, has insulted local fans and hasn’t played well enough when he is on the field. He spent the first half of 2024 on the active roster without playing snaps, and the Giants preferred street free agents and replacement-level options to him at left tackle after Andrew Thomas went down injured. They eventually gave Neal snaps on the right side to finish the season, and he has spent training camp at guard, where he hasn’t been impressive.
Raptor’s thoughts
C’mon man.
When Ed asked me to look at an Evan Neal trade scenario, I was intrigued. Then, when I read the proposal I did a Marge Simpson groan.
First and foremost: This is fanfiction.
Three-way trades do happen in the NFL, but they’re ridiculously rare. Team would much rather execute direct self-contained deals where they both try to extract as much value as possible. Adding a third team complicates everything and adds far more variables than with which GMs are typically comfortable.
IF this trade happened (and it’d be a big “if”, which we’ll get to in a minute) it would be two separate trades. It would be the Giants trading Neal to the Chargers. Then, in a separate transaction, the Chargers and Cardinals would execute a trade.
So, looking at THAT trade… Why would the Giants move Neal for only a seventh-round pick? He’s a former first rounder who has looked at least as good at right guard as Greg Van Roten did a year ago. In fact, I’d argue that his play strength, footwork, and ability to recover are superior to Van Roten’s. He has upside considering he only has about 60 snaps under his belt at the position.
That isn’t to say that Neal is a guaranteed starter and untouchable. The fact that Josh Ezeudu looked good at guard once he was finally able to play his natural position makes Neal relatively expendable. But it should take significantly more than a seventh-round pick to move.
If Neal is as terrible and big a bust as Barnwell says, why would the Chargers even want him? Desperation could be the answer, but we’re about to see a bunch of fringe players hit the waiver wire. If Neal is worth no more than a seventh-round pick, then the Chargers could pick up a comparable player for nothing. Unless, of course, there is an actual belief that Neal still has untapped upside and could legitimately help the Chargers. So then why would the Giants get rid of him for a 7th?
One of the biggest weaknesses of Schoen’s tenure has been seeing contributors leave to help other teams. Evan Engram, James Bradberry, Julian Love, Leonard Williams, Xavier McKinney, Saquon Barkley… There are obviously different circumstances for each one and some of them were unavoidable. But those are still good, useful players who have contributed to other teams and not the Giants. Why potentially add Neal to the list for a pittance? The Giants shouldn’t be a farm team for the rest of the NFL.
Secondly, the Giants play the Chargers on Sept. 28th — Week 4.
WHY would they possibly want to help out an opponent in the first month of the season? The Giants may not want to face their opponents at less than full strength, but they don’t need to help that opponent out of a jam, either. We didn’t see anyone send the Giants a replacement for Andrew Thomas or Dexter Lawrence a year ago.
Also, there will still be elements of the Giants offense that aren’t on tape at that point in the season. Why would they possibly want to give away knowledge of their blocking schemes and overall offense to an opponent in what could be an important game.
As I said, Evan Neal shouldn’t be untouchable, though I don’t think he’ll be cut outright. There are always surprise moves around final cuts. We certainly could see Neal or Tommy DeVito traded and we could even see Jalin Hyatt cut or traded in favor of a player like Gabe Davis (if he’s healthy).
But I’d be legitimately surprised if the Giants made a trade with an early-season opponent, or (essentially) give away a player who could be a contributor.
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