Would it even make sense?
The New York Giants have suddenly come up in relation to potential trade talks with the Kansas City Chiefs.
As you may be aware, the Chiefs’ offense has been ravaged by injury. In short, while the Chiefs still have Patrick Mahomes (which counts for a lot), they’re down their WR1 and WR2, as well as their RB1.
- Wide receiver Marquise Brown was lost back in August
- Running back Isiah Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula in Week 2
- Wide receiver Rashee Rice suffered a significant knee injury that’s feared to be a torn ACL.
Speculation has abounded since Rice was helped off the field as to how the Chiefs could replenish their depleted skill positions. As it happens, two Giants’ receivers names have been dropped.
Brandon London and Dan Duggan have speculated that the Chiefs could call the Giants regarding veteran receiver Darius Slayton.
After looking at the Rashee Rice injury news.
This is pure speculation and I’m tweeting from the back of my Uber but I feel like they’re gonna trade for Darius Slayton.— Brandon London (@BrandonLondonTV) September 30, 2024
Another trade of a Giants WR to KC would make a lot of sense. Darius Slayton would be their WR1 immediately https://t.co/WQq1f7uH7Q
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) September 30, 2024
NFL Network’s Peter Schrager, meanwhile, dropped Jalin Hyatt’s name as a potential trade target for the Chiefs.
Names I just mentioned on @gmfb who are at least worth calling on, if you’re Brett Veach in KC:
— Amari Cooper
— Jalin Hyatt
— Cooper Kupp
— Keenan AllenKC’s down their RB1, WR1, WR2 for the forseaable future. Fascinating few days for the 2-time defending champs.
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) September 30, 2024
So what are the odds, and would trading either make sense for the teams (potentially) involved?
From the Chiefs’ perspective, it definitely makes sense.
They wanted to feature a high-speed offense that reintroduced the big play with Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy combining to stress defenses. Slayton or Hyatt would add that speed element back into the offense. Amari Cooper and Cooper Kupp are better receivers, but either would likely be more expensive to acquire than Hyatt or Slayton.
From the Giants’ perspective, it’s a bit thornier.
The Giants absolutely should be pursuing opportunities to add draft capital. They’re already down their fifth-round pick and need to think hard about the opportunity to add young talent if Slayton or Hyatt aren’t in their long-term plans.
On the flip side of that, however, is that the Giants have practical reasons to keep both receivers.
Slayton is the Giants’ longest-tenured receiver and not only has a good rapport with quarterback Daniel Jones on the field, but has been his fiercest advocate off the field. Shipping Slayton away could send a bad message to the locker room. Slayton is also the better receiving option between he and Hyatt at the moment and dominates the snap share between the two.
Hyatt, on the other hand, was just drafted by the Giants in 2023 and has barely seen the field this season. Moving Slayton would allow the Giants to get Hyatt on the field and give him the reps he needs to further his development. However, if he gets those chances with the Chiefs and realizes the potential that had people talking about him as a potential first-round pick, it could be a PR disaster for the Giants.
GM Joe Schoen has already taken plenty of hits on the chin from fans this year. If Hyatt goes elsewhere and becomes a player while the Giants’ offense continues languish, the media firestorm would only intensify. And while John Mara can deal with entertaining mediocrity, he hates to be embarrassed.
To be clear, we aren’t aware of any active conversations between the Chiefs and Giants. However, it’s worth at least discussing.
