Getty What would it take for the New York Giants to acquire the right to draft Caleb Williams via trade with the Chicago Bears?
If the Chicago Bears elect to stick with Justin Fields at quarterback and trade the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL draft, the blockbuster deal will likely occur ahead of free agency according to S.I. insider Albert Breer — and former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum outlined what it might take for the New York Giants to jump up and acquire it.
During the February 20 edition of ESPN’s Get Up, Tannenbaum detailed a Giants trade package for Caleb Williams — the expected No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft:
- Giants get No. 1 pick in 2024 (select Caleb Williams).
- Bears get No. 6 pick in 2024, 2024 second rounder, 2025 first rounder, 2025 second rounder & defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux.
.@RealTannenbaum‘s Giants-Bears trade proposal has New York receiving the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft 👀
Yes, that’s a massive haul including both draft capital and a key foundational piece on defense, but keep in mind that Chicago has already hinted that they won’t trade the pick for anything that falls short of “historic” compensation. Something like this would probably qualify, considering Thibodeaux — a proven former first-round talent — would up the Giants’ ante to three firsts and two seconds.
If this offer were accepted, the Giants would still have one second rounder left in 2024, but zero firsts or seconds in 2025.
Tannenbaum’s co-panelists Harry Douglas and Jeff Darlington appeared to like the deal for the Giants, but neither believed the trade would end up happening. Douglas felt the Bears are locked in on selecting Williams themselves, while Darlington voiced that Big Blue has already committed too much to Daniel Jones to replace him in such a franchise-altering move.
NFL Network Writer Offers Alternative Giants Trade Proposal With Bears for Caleb Williams
It turns out that Tannenbaum wasn’t the only media member thinking Williams to the Giants on February 20. NFL Network senior director of content and editorial Ali Bhanpuri suggested his own trade package for the Giants and Bears during an article on Tuesday morning.
And although it was somewhat similar to Tannenbaum’s, there were one or two major differences:
- Giants get No. 1 pick in 2024 (select Caleb Williams).
- Bears get No. 6 pick in 2024, 2024 second rounder (No. 39), 2024 third rounder (No. 70), 2025 first rounder, 2026 first rounder.
Bhanpuri also included the point valuation for each piece of draft capital that was traded in his proposed deal. This year’s No. 1 selection is worth 3,000 points, while the Giants’ haul of picks is worth 3,840 points.
There’s a reason for the 28% difference that Bhanpuri referred to as a “premium.”
“The trade packages below are based on recent moves into the top five picks for QBs, which have required teams to ‘overpay’ by approximately 20 percent on the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart,” the NFL Network director informed within his introduction. “The deals also assume the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 is more valuable than the average No. 1 overall pick and will require at least a 25 percent ‘overpay,’ with the cost increasing for potential suitors the farther down the board Chicago will have to move.”
Since they would be moving to No. 6 in a swap with the Giants, Big Blue’s 28% premium felt justified according to Bhanpuri.
Compared to Tannenbaum’s package, this deal moved an extra 2026 first rather than Thibodeaux. It also only took a 2024 third rather than an extra 2025 second.
NFL Insider Explains ‘Premium’ Value of a Top 3 selection in 2024, Expects Talks to Begin at Combine
During an article with S.I. on February 19, Breer broke down the idea of a top three selection being traded, how much it might cost and when it would happen.
“In the last 10 drafts, seven teams traded up into, or within, the Top 3,” the insider noted. “Six of the seven moves were for quarterbacks. The seventh was the [Houston] Texans’ trade up last year for Will Anderson Jr., and a quarterback was part of that equation, since Houston had just taken C.J. Stroud with the second overall pick. So, in this era, teams really only trade into that range if it involves landing a young, potential franchise quarterback.”
There are three premium QB prospects in 2024: Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye.
As for the cost, Breer informed that “five of the seven [recent trades] involved a first-rounder the following year.”
“In one of the two that didn’t, the [Indianapolis] Colts got two current-year second-round picks (37th and 49th overall), plus a second-rounder the following year from the Jets, while only dropping three spots in the draft order,” he went on. “In the other, the [San Francisco] Niners got two thirds (one current year, one the following year) and a fourth from the Bears for dropping one spot.”
Breer predicted that the Bears and Washington Commanders will keep their picks, and the New England Patriots will consider trading down.
“Regardless, those three picks have very real, premium value right now,” he concluded. “And my guess would be there’ll be at least some preliminary trade talks on them, whether it’s coming from the teams holding the picks or teams looking to get them, in Indianapolis [at the combine] next week.”