The New York Giants would be “compelled” to trade edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux if they could get a second- or third-round draft pick in return, according to well-connected insider Ian O’Connor of The Athletic.
Thibodeaux, the fifth overall pick by the Giants in the 2022 NFL Draft, has been the subject of trade speculation since the Giants selected edge defender Abdul Carter No. 3 overall in the 2025 Draft. The Giants also have Brian Burns on the edge.
Thibodeaux will play the 2026 season on his fifth-year option, and could to free agency after the season.
“Everybody’s tradeable,” Giants head coach John Harbaugh said earlier this week.
Valentine’s View
Of course the Giants would move the 25-year-old Thibodeaux if the were offered a Day 2 pick in return. The common belief has been that Thibodeaux would be unlikely to fetch more than a fourth-round pick in return.
The Giants seem unlikely to give Thibodeaux a mega-deal like the four-year, $110 million one Travon Walker signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The likely scenario should they not trade him would be losing him in free agency and hoping for a 2028 third-round compensatory draft pick.
In my view, a 2026 fourth-round pick might be more valuable than that. A second- or third-round pick in 2026 rather than a tack-on compensatory pick at the end of the 2028 draft? Taking that in exchange for Thibodeaux and also gaining $14.75 million in 2026 cap space seems like a no-brainer.
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