Getty The New York Giants are a team "to monitor" in trade rumors involving a Pro-Bowl linebacker.
Linebacker remains a need for the New York Giants ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, but the team can solve it by returning to the veteran market and becoming a player for Pro Bowl linebacker Devin White, who wants to be traded by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
According to Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus, White is one of five defensive players who might be traded during the draft. Spielberger believes the Giants are a team “to monitor” because of White’s fit in the pressure-based schemes of defensive coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale:
“One particular aspect of White’s game that generates a lot of value is his pass-rush prowess, with his 88 quarterback pressures over the past three seasons 30 more than the next-highest player. Teams that like to send linebackers on blitzes, such as the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, are perhaps teams to monitor here,” Spielberger
Martindale’s scheme would suit White after the Giants led the league with a 39.7 blitz percentage last season, per Pro Football Reference. White has 20.5 career sacks to his credit and has spent four seasons playing for Bucs’ head coach Todd Bowles, a defensive-minded play-caller almost as aggressive as Martindale.
Pairing White with Bobby Okereke, signed from the Indianapolis Colts during free agency, would complete a high-profile and necessary overhaul of what was a problem position for the Giants last season.
Devin White Is the Playmaker the Giants Need
A lack of genuine playmaking talent at the inside linebacker level undermined an otherwise loaded Giants’ front seven. It’s a problem general manager Joe Schoen hopes he’s solved by acquiring Okereke and re-signing Jarrad Davis.
Both can be thumpers against the run, but neither offer the range or dynamism White possesses. The 25-year-old has made creating pressure his forte, a talent Bowles used by blitzing White 65 times last season, blitzes the player converted into 5.5 sacks, seven hurries and nine quarterback knockdowns, per Pro Football Reference.
He opened his account against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, getting to Dak Prescott after overpowering running back Tony Pollard.
Devin White with a Week 1 sack! #GoBucs @DevinWhite__40
📺: #TBvsDAL on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/xlZm1YHXQD
White’s a mismatch against most running back staying in to block, so he has to be accounted for by bigger bodies, including offensive linemen and tight ends. The problem is bulkier blockers struggle to react to his downhill speed.
Quickness and timing are what makes White so effective on the blitz, like when he got to Geno Smith against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10.
.@DevinWhite__40 came in like a freight train. 😳
📺: #SEAvsTB on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/M32DOvVAld
Martindale would turn White into a lethal weapon capable of taking attention away from edge-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II.
That’s where White would be an asset, but the Giants would need to coach some bad habits out of his game. Habits that led to 11 missed tackles and allowing a 104.9 passer rating in coverage last season.
White’s value on the blitz can outweigh those concerns, but the potential cost of this trade is something the Giants couldn’t ignore.
Devin White Trade Would Be Expensive for Giants
White’s about to play on his fifth-year option, but ESPN’s Jenna Laine quoted an anonymous source revealing the player is “fed up” with his contract situation. Laine also relayed a clip of Bucs’ general manager Jason Licht telling reporters he has “no intention” of trading White.
Bucs general manager Jason Licht said there are no plans to trade Devin White. He said they do not hold his request for a trade against him. “We all have all the respect in the world for Devin,” Licht said.
Changing Licht’s mind would likely require offering top-end draft capital. The Giants could maybe offer their second-round pick, the 57th overall.
It would be similar to the price the Baltimore Ravens paid to acquire Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears midway through last season. The Giants packaging their second-rounder with one or two of their three seventh-round selections could offer the Buccaneers further inducement to do a deal.
Adding to their draft haul makes sense for a Bucs team just $1,871,398 under the salary cap, according to Spotrac.com. Taking all or at least part of the $11.7 million White is due this year off the books would clear more room, but the Giants would first have to find space of their own to accommodate an extra salary.
That won’t be easy when Schoen is hoping running back Saquon Barkley signs his franchise tag, while Lawrence remains in line for a lucrative contract extension. Yet if Schoen could make it work, trading for White would be a coup for the Giants and make their front seven the envy of most of the league.