The Nov. 4 NFL trade deadline is less than a month away. The 1-4 New York Giants are, once again, reeling. Should the Giants be sellers at the deadline in an effort to build future draft capital? Buyers in an effort to find pieces to held the development of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart? A combination?
We know all about the Russell Wilson trade rumors. We keep being told that the Giants would trade the veteran quarterback. They just haven’t been willing to initiate those conversations. They are said to be waiting for GM Joe Schoen’s phone to ring.
What else might be on the menu?
Pro Football and Sports Network has proposed a couple of ideas in a piece proposing trades for every NFL team. There are two proposed trades involving the Giants. Let’s discuss each.
Giants get WR Chris Olave
Proposed Trade: WR Chris Olave for WR Darius Slayton and a 2026 second-round pick
PFSN says:
After another tough loss for the Giants, it may be time to turn the page to next season after a tough start. The Russell Wilson experiment was a failure, Malik Nabers is out for the season, and now, at least, Jaxson Dart is showing flashes of what I will come for them at quarterback. But without Nabers, he is working with arguably the worst wide receiver core in all of football, and bringing in a guy like Chris Olave would help there. The financial investment for this season would be minimal, which is why it makes sense to make this move even while rebuilding. It would also allow Dart and Olave to build their real-time connection. Then, when the 2026-27 season comes around, the Giants will suddenly be loaded on offense, able to focus on adding the finishing touches to their secondary and offensive line, and be positioned to make a run.
Valentine’s View
This isn’t the first time I have seen Olave’s name connected to the Giants. The Saints appear likely to be sellers at the trade deadline.
The Giants are clearly in need of wide receiver help after the season-ending injury to Malik Nabers. Sunday’s game against New Orleans, in which Slayton struggled and neither Jalin Hyatt nor Beaux Collins looked like trustworthy NFL wide receivers, showed that.
The Giants chose not to upgrade the wide receiver position during the offseason, with their only big move being to retain Slayton in free agency. They banked on what they believed would be improved quarterback play making the receivers they had perform better.
Even with Nabers, thus far that hasn’t been the case. Without him, the glaring need for reliable receivers is apparent. The Giants are committed to Dart, and for the sake of his development he needs to have wide receivers he can trust.
Clearly, right now the Giants only trust Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson. Slayton let them down against the Saints and Robinson, while reliable, is not a consistent big-play threat.
Olave is 25, had 100-yard receiving seasons in 2022 and 2023, his first two NFL seasons, and with 33 catches in five games this year he is on pace for a career-high 112 receptions. Olave had seven catches for 59 yards Sunday against the Giants. He could absolutely help the Giants.
I do not, though, see the PFSN package as being realistic. Why would the Saints want the 28-year-old Slayton, who has $9 million in guaranteed salary next season? Even though that is $6 million less than the $15.493 million in guaranteed salary Olave has next season, I’m not sure that makes sense for New Orleans.
I am also not sure that makes sense for the Giants. Yes, Slayton had a terrible game Sunday. He is, though, a good player. Wouldn’t the Giants want to try to add Olave to Slayton and Robinson?
There is another consideration. The Giants already do not have a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. They sent that to the Houston Texans in the Dart trade. Can they also give up their second-round pick, which means they would miss out completely on Day 2 of the draft? I don’t think so.
Maybe the Giants could build a package for Olave around Hyatt and something else. As competitive as the Olave market might be, Hyatt-plus might not be enough. Still, giving up Slayton and a second-round pick does not seem like something the Giants should do.
Evan Neal to the Vikings
Proposed Trade: OT Evan Neal for a 2026 seventh-round pick
PFSN says:
The Minnesota Vikings’ offensive line has seen better days, and while they seem to weather any storm under coach Kevin O’Connell, they could use some depth with upside at the position … the Giants have clearly moved on from [Neal], and he has been a healthy scratch for all [five] games, so the investment would be minimal to acquire his services.
Valentine’s View
Each week when I put together the Big Blue View mailbag there are a number of Neal-related questions. Most of them boil down to “why won’t the Giants give him a chance at guard?” I believe PFSN’s assessment is correct — the Giants have clearly moved on.
Yes, Neal might be a capable run blocker at guard. The Giants, though, clearly do not trust him more than starter Greg Van Roten or backup Aaron Stinnie. I am not privy to everything that has gone on over the four seasons Neal has been with the Giants, but I have the impression the relationship between player and team has not been an easy one. The misdiagnosis of Neal’s ankle injury might be part of that. So, too, might his initial refusal to consider a move to guard.
If Neal had been so good at his new position this summer that he had forced his way into the lineup, he would be playing. The organization clearly did not think that was the case.
I would be in favor of a move like this. Neal is dead weight on the Giants’ 53-man roster, and they might as well get something for him.
Maybe Neal goes on to be a useful player somewhere else. So be it. At this point, it seems almost certain that isn’t happening with the Giants.
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