The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Wide receivers on front burner of Joe Schoen’s sweeping Giants offseason plan
Publicly, Giants GM Joe Schoen has played down the team’s glaring wide receiver need at every turn.
“I know people want to talk about offense and the receivers a lot, but we’re still building a team in all three phases: we’re gonna look to upgrade offensively, defensively and our special teams unit,” Schoen said Wednesday.
And he’s telling the truth: the Giants don’t have a one-track mind.
Sources say the team is in the market for inside linebackers, defensive linemen, corners and interior offensive linemen approaching next week’s start of free agency and April’s NFL Draft.
There is even optimism, per sources, that the Giants will be able to re-sign safety and captain Julian Love. They’ve already started talking with defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence’s reps about an extension, too.
But don’t be fooled: especially after paying Daniel Jones $82 million over the next two seasons, upgrading the wide receiver position is a front-burner priority.
Sources say the Giants have poked around on the veteran wide receiver trade market. The first place to look is always to the familiar.
In free agency, it sounds like the Giants might have their eyes on slot receiver Cole Beasley. They nearly reunited Beasley and his former Bills offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, last season to resume their productive pairing.
Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis, meanwhile, could be a potential trade target if Buffalo can’t reach an extension with its No. 2 wideout who has shown No. 1 ability.
Davis, a former fourthround pick, is due to make $2.9 million in the final year of his rookie contract. And the Bills already are paying Stefon Diggs big money.
It’s no secret that Schoen and Daboll have a high affinity for Davis. Daboll was the play-caller for Davis’ eight-catch, 201yard, four-touchdown AFC divisional playoff outburst in Jan. 2022.
It makes sense to pursue trade possibilities at receiver, given this year’s underwhelming free agent receiver class and a draft crop — that Schoen is also scouting closely — with no obvious stars.
The L.A. Rams have given Allen Robinson permission to seek a trade, per NFL Network. He has two years left on his contract, and the Rams are willing to pay part of his $15.25 million salary in 2023 to get a deal done. Robinson has ties to the East Coast, too.
The Arizona Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins, 30, is the biggest and most intriguing name available, but there has been no noise about the Giants there yet, and his age, injury history and high cost (trade plus salary) wouldn’t track with Schoen’s typical mode of operation.
Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins is not available, as director of player personnel Duke Tobin made clear at the NFL Combine.
Some league sources in Indianapolis thought the Bengals’ Tyler Boyd could be an intriguing trade target, with just one more year at $10.3 million remaining on his deal. But it sounds like Cincy doesn’t have any appetite for breaking up their current top three.
Schoen, of course, was aggressive at last fall’s trade deadline in pursuit of Denver Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy. So that’s worth remembering. Like Davis, Jeudy is still young, with both proven production and room to grow.
However, Denver eventually made clear last fall that he was unavailable.
And the Broncos could pick up Jeudy’s affordable fifth-year option for 2024 on top of this year’s $4.8 million salary. So something would have to change under new coach Sean Payton for a trade to happen.
It’s not believed the Giants’ door is closed to free agent Odell Beckham Jr., whom they spent a lot of time recruiting this winter. He was reportedly holding a workout in Arizona on Friday for interested suitors. Still, that would have to be a low-risk contract for the team.
The point of pursuing OBJ in December was the opportunity to bring him back into the building at minimal cost, with the upside of rehabbing him in New Jersey for a chance at a productive 2023. So it remains to be seen how that’s evolved.
Internally, here’s an encouraging piece of news: a source said career Giant Sterling Shepard is planning on playing again in 2023, which would be his eighth NFL season.
Shepard is rehabbing from a torn ACL in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys last season, but he’s part of the heartbeat of the team.
Assuming the Giants again see the value in a low-cost deal, he would provide a shot in the team’s arm whenever he gets healthy, and maybe his and Saquon Barkley’s presence would keep the OBJ reunion hope alive.
Meanwhile, word is the Giants expect Darius Slayton’s freeagent price to be high, and it’s likely he will sign elsewhere. The Giants already re-signed Isaiah Hodgins.
And Richie James’ situation seems like it could go either way. He had a strong 2022 season, which makes him attractive both to the Giants and to the rest of the league.
Wan’Dale Robinson is rehabbing from a torn ACL sustained in November, too, so even if the Giants signed Beasley, they
would need reliability and depth in the slot.
It’s likely Schoen also will eye both the wide receiver and tight end positions in April’s draft. That might mean in the first round. It might not.
Regardless, the Giants know they need to add more weapons to maximize Jones’ next two seasons under this new contract. And they’re working to make that happen.
Two more picks
The Giants were awarded two
2023 compensatory draft picks: the 38th pick of the fifth round (172 overall) and the 37th pick of the seventh round (254 overall). The formula awarded them those picks by losing qualifying free agents edge Lorenzo Carter, CB Keion Crossen, TE Evan Engram and DL Austin Johnson in 2022 while signing G Mark Glowinski and QB Tyrod Taylor. The Giants now have 11 picks in April’s draft. That includes Kansas City’s third-round comp pick (37th of the round, 100th overall) from the Kadarius Toney trade.