The two New York NFL franchises made their very first trade on Monday. And the winner isn’t the one you’d expect.
The Jets reportedly dealt defensive tackle Leonard Williams — the sixth overall pick in 2015 — to the Giants for a third-round pick in 2020 and a fifth-round pick in 2021 that could reportedly become a fourth-rounder if he re-signs with the franchise.
It makes complete sense for the tanking Jets. Williams is an unrestricted free agent this offseason and has been a disappointment since he notched a career-high seven sacks in 2016. Getting a third-round pick — particularly one from a 2-6 team — is a HUGE win for an asset they might have let go next year.
But what are the Giants thinking here?
Here’s one theory:
But the defense has holes everywhere, not just up front. Janoris Jenkins (who could also be dealt) and the secondary as a whole have struggled. Perhaps Dave Gettelman thinks this is a change-of-scenery situation.
But when you’re in rebuild mode — as the Giants should be in with a rookie at quarterback — you don’t make this deal and then presumably hand Williams money (otherwise, why trade a valuable pick or two and then let the free agent walk?).
This report doesn’t help:
I’ve seen a lot of tweets about how Gettelman might not be done making moves. But when you do a deal like this for a player who has struggled, involving a pick that might return better value than what it was traded for, in the middle of down year? It deserves to be panned no matter what the general manager does next.
