Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer touted the Brian Burns trade as the “best acquisition of the offseason” during a mailbag article on June 26.
On July 2, HBO’s Hard Knocks and the New York Giants organization gave fans a closer look at the origin of the maneuver while promoting the first episode of the new five-part docuseries via the NFL. “How did the trade for [Burns] happen?” The NFL’s social media team teased. “It all started with this conversation… 👀”
How did the trade for @Fire_Burns99 happen? It all started with this conversation… 👀
#HardKnocks Offseason with the @Giants premieres tonight at 9pm ET on @StreamOnMax. #Giants100
“You guys want to move up to [No.] 6 [in the draft], from 33?” Giants general manager Joe Schoen asks Carolina Panthers GM Dan Morgan jokingly at the start of the clip — which appears to have been recorded at the 2024 Senior Bowl.
After first answering “no,” Morgan later retorts: “You wanna give us two ones for Burns?”
The back-and-forth continues on from there — including an interlude from narrator Liev Schreiber — and ends with more of a realistic offer from Morgan. “Or a one and something [else]?” The Panthers executive adds, which leads Schoen to reply: “You’re heading in the right direction.”
Of course, we now know that the Burns negotiation ventures even further in Big Blue’s favor from there. In the end, the Giants sent zero first rounders for the star pass rusher and instead awarded Morgan and Carolina a 2024 second rounder, a 2024 fifth rounder and a 2025 conditional fifth rounder.
Based on the Panthers’ starting point, that’s some shrewd negotiating from Schoen and his team.
NFL Insider Calls Giants Super Bowl ‘Dark Horse’ After Brian Burns Trade
During the same mailbag article where Breer praised the Burns addition, the NFL insider settled on Big Blue as his “true” Super Bowl dark horse from the NFC. And the trade appeared to have a lot to do with his decision.
“They need development from 2022 first-rounder Kayvon Thibodeaux. They need to figure it out at quarterback, whether it’s Daniel Jones or, if things break wrong for him, Drew Lock. But their rookie class looked dynamite in the spring, I think Brian Burns might be the best acquisition of the offseason, and they were really good two years ago,” Breer reasoned.
He also made it clear that, to him, dark horses have to be longshots that very few — if anyone — are picking to win it all. On the AFC side, he chose the Indianapolis Colts.
As of July 2, the Giants (+15000) are tied with the Tennessee Titans for the fourth-worst Super Bowl odds in the NFL on FanDuel Sportsbook. The Colts have better odds, according to the betting site, at +5500.
‘Hard Knocks: An Offseason With the New York Giants’ Begins on July 2
It’s no coincidence that the NFL’s X account dropped this look behind the curtain on July 2. Being that it’s the date that the first ever Giants-themed Hard Knocks season begins.
“Hard Knocks Offseason with the Giants – Part 1 is tonight [July 2] at 9 p.m.,” WFAN NYG beat reporter Paul Dottino chimed in on X. He also noted that “each of the other four parts [are] coming on July 9, 16, 23 and 30.”
It’s a long time coming for both the Giants franchise and the HBO series. Not only has Hard Knocks never filmed the G-Men in any capacity, but they’ve never focused on free agency and the draft either.
That marks a dual-first for the successful documentary production team, and what better time to do it than at the start of the Giants’ 100th NFL season.
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Giants Pull Back the Curtain on Insider’s ‘Best Acquisition of Offseason’