Getty The Giants made trade calls involving 3 WRs before the deadline.
Joe Schoen didn’t get Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones a new wide receiver before the NFL’s trade deadline on November 1, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The New York Giants actually “reached out” to three teams about a trio of dynamic wide receivers.
Only one of those receivers was traded, being sent to the NFC North rather than the East. The other two were left in limbo, with one wideout who was heavily linked to the Giants already expressing his anger no move materialised.
Giants Were on the Phones for WR Help
Schoen couldn’t get a deal over the line, but the general manager at least “reached out to the Denver Broncos about Jerry Jeudy, the Pittsburgh Steelers about Chase Claypool and the Houston Texans about Brandin Cooks,” according to Dan Benton of Giants Wire.
The Giants were also credited with making “several calls” by CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo. None of those calls bore fruit, not after Chase Claypool left the Steelers for the Chicago Bears for the cost of a second-round pick.
Claypool got his move, but Jeudy and Cooks stayed put. Jeudy was on the Giants’ radar, along with Cooks, ahead of deadline day, per Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports, but “the Broncos wanted a lot,” according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
The price may also have been prohibitive for Cooks, who remains a member of the Houston Texans, much to his chagrin:
Don’t take a man’s kindness for granted. Covered for the lies for too long those days are done. Crossed the line with playing with my career 🏹
It’s unclear whether Cooks is referring to any promises made by Texans’ GM Nick Caserio or false hope provided by a potential suitor like the Giants. What is clear is the type of receiver the Giants were making calls about.
Giants Trade Targets Have One Thing in Common
All three of Cooks, Claypool and Jeudy share one trait in common. Notably, the ability to stretch the field vertically.
You only need to glance at the Giants statistics to see why they’d want a wideout with this attribute. Only two of the team’s most-used receivers, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard (24 targets each), are averaging more than 10 yards per catch, according to Pro Football Reference.
The fact Shepard produced his numbers in three games before tearing his ACL against the Dallas Cowboys, speaks volumes about the pedestrian nature of the Giants’ receiving corps.
Contrast that with Cooks averaging 11.1 yards per reception, while Jeudy tallies 15. Claypool has underperformed, but the 6’4″, 238-pounder would offer Jones a big-bodied target, something different from Richie James and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson.
The lack of physically imposing pass-catchers is why Schoen is still willing to pin his hopes on Kenny Golladay, per Giants beat reporter Art Stapleton:
Joe Schoen on Kenny Golladay: “Fingers are crossed that he’ll be back for Houston.” Says he’s hopeful he returns.
Golladay hasn’t been able to stay healthy or avoid the bench during his stop-start career with the Giants, but he’s a 6’4″, 214-pound target with two 1,000-yard seasons on his CV. There’s still potential for Golladay to add another dimension to head coach Daboll’s offense, the way Slayton has with his speed on the outside.
The latter was oft-mentioned as somebody Schoen could trade. That he’s not only stuck around but also become one of Jones’ go-to targets, only underlines how much the Giants needed an infusion of talent at receiver.
Schoen’s decision to ultimately make-do without a new arrival can be sold as prudent in the long term. Yet, it could also derail the promise the 6-2 Giants have shown this season.
At the very least, no trade surely puts eligible wide receivers near the top of the Giants’ board for the 2023 NFL draft.