Getty The Giants can trade for a 5-time Pro Bowler to replace Kenny Golladay.
Kenny Golladay hasn’t become the go-to wide receiver the New York Giants thought they were getting when they handed him a contract worth $72 million in 2021. It’s time for a change, and Giants’ general manager Joe Schoen can make one by trading for Golladay’s replacement this offseason.
Ideally, that replacement will be a “physical perimeter receiver” who has been named a first team All-Pro three times and made five Pro Bowls. The Arizona Cardinals want to trade DeAndre Hopkins, and Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton believes the Giants are a natural landing spot for the 30-year-old because of their need to equip quarterback Daniel Jones with a dynamic No. 1 receiver.
Trade Can Net Perfect Kenny Golladay Replacement
Although Moton didn’t mention price, the inclusion of Golladay could help the Giants land his perfect replacement. Hopkins is no longer the force he was during his prime with the Houston Texans, not after a season in the desert that begin with him serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s PED policy.
When he’s available and healthy, Hopkins can still make plays few other receivers can match. Plays like this one-handed touchdown catch against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8:
Yeah @DeAndreHopkins is BACK.
📺: #AZvsMIN on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/Tc7CqisiVw
Despite plays like this, the Cards are still ready to move on from ‘Nuk,’ per Jordan Schultz of the Score: “He’s owed about $34 million over the next two years, I’m told he’s seeking a new deal.”
Here’s the very latest on DHop and what we should expect moving forward from #AZCardinals owner Michael Bidwill – who needs to hire a new GM and HC as well. 🏈
A new deal will be a tall order for the Giants to meet, although general manager Joe Schoen is projected by Spotrac.com to have $54,342,062 worth of space under the salary cap. It’s a hefty sum, but Schoen needs funds to resolve the futures of free agents quarterback Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley.
Schoen also has to find solutions for the status of free safety Julian Love, as well as a possible contract extension for All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II. It’s a fairly big to-do list, but shedding Golladay’s contract would help boost the coffers, with Moton noting how “the front office can designate him as a post-June 1 cut and save $13.5 million against the cap.”
Paying Hopkins more than what Golladay would earn is worth it for the Giants, even though the latter has shown signs of improvement recently.
Giants’ Passing Game Still Needs Go-To Weapon
Hopkins may not be the force he once was, but the veteran can still dominate defenses the way he did against the Vikings, per Pro Football Focus:
DeAndre Hopkins vs the Vikings:
♦️ 12 catches
♦️ 159 yards
♦️ 1 TD
Welcome back 🙌
The Giants haven’t had a wideout produce these kinds of numbers in a game this season. Instead, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has had to cobble together a functional receiving corps with unheralded pass-catchers like Darius Slayton, Richie James and Isaiah Hodges.
Unfortunately, all three are set to be free agents, meaning the Giants are likely to see their options thinned at the position. It would help if Golladay finally made the grade and showcased the talent that made him a Pro Bowler who led the NFL in touchdown catches as a member of the Detroit Lions in 2019.
There’s been precious little of Golladay’s best form since he joined the Giants, but the 6’4″ target did finally reel in his first scoring grab in Week 18 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Golladay followed the clutch catch with a decisive block during the 31-24 Wild Card Playoff win over the Vikes, a play that earned praise from head coach Brian Daboll.
Making room for Hopkins would finally give the Giants the legitimate dominant wideout they need. His presence would also be an extra incentive for Jones to agree a new deal and return to build on the breakout season he’s enjoyed under Daboll and Kafka.
Those things have to be worth the extra third-round pick Schoen earned after trading Kadarius Toney to the Kansas City Chiefs. Packaging the third with one of the Giants’ potential two fifth-rounders should at least get the Cards talking about a player they want to deal.
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Giants Urged to Trade for ‘Physical’ Kenny Golladay Replacement