It’s without question that the New York Giants have been the biggest surprise in the NFL through the first seven weeks of the season.
After five consecutive years of double-digit losses and a rookie head coach installed, few could have fathomed that the team would be 6-1 as they prepare to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8. But head coach Brian Daboll has shown the leadership qualities of a veteran coach and has his team playing smart and fundamentally sound football.
Saquon Barkley is an MVP candidate as his 906 all-purpose yards lead the NFL. Daniel Jones’ turnover woes are a thing of the past as he’s playing the best football of his career. Plus, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has his unit clicking on all cylinders as they’re giving up just 18.6 yards per game — which is sixth-best in the NFL.
With 10 games remaining in the season, the Giants seem poised to make their first playoff appearance since 2016. However, there is one area that’s preventing them from being a legit Super Bowl contender and that’s the absence of a true number-one receiver. That’s what Big Blue’s passing game has lacked all year, as they currently have the 30th-ranked passing attack in the league.
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Following trading Kadarius Toney to the Chiefs, there’s a heightened emphasis to acquire a number-one receiver. Rookie Wan’Dale Robinson has established himself as Jones’ go-to guy since returning from his sprained MCL in Week 1, but at 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds, he doesn’t have the physical presence of a true number-one receiver.
Fortunately for New York, there are a few players on the trade market ahead of the November 1 NFL trade deadline. Let’s take a look at three talented wide receivers the New York Giants could target in the next week.
DJ Moore
At 2-5, the Carolina Panthers are clearly in a rebuild mold and are trading away offensive talent. They’ve already traded receiver Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals, and last week they moved their best player Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers for three 2023 draft picks and a 2024 fifth-round draft pick. This is why people feel it’s only a matter of time before they trade their top wide receiver, DJ Moore.
Moore was the Panthers’ first-round pick (24th overall) in 2018, and for his career, he’s caught 328 passes for 4,586 yards and 16 touchdowns. From 2019-2021 he had three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, but so far this season he hasn’t produced at the level he and the Panthers have grown accustomed to as he’s averaging a career-low 10.1 yards per reception.
He’s still under contract for the next three seasons, with a potential out following the 2023 season. At 25, he still has several years of his prime remaining and he could be a valuable piece to the Giants’ roster for the next several seasons.
Michael Thomas
Thomas was arguably the best receiver in the league from 2016 to 2019 as he had four consecutive seasons of over 90 catches, for over 1,100 yards. This is why he was voted to the Pro Bowl from 2017-2019 and was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 when he set the record for most receptions in a season with 149.
Thomas isn’t a burner that typically beats defensive backs downfield, but when healthy he’s as good as it gets running intermediate routes. Unfortunately for Thomas, he has seldom been healthy since 2019 as he’s only appeared in 10 games from the start of the 2020 season.
He’s been sidelined since Week 3 of this season with a foot injury, but there’s optimism that he’ll be able to play this week when the New Orleans Saints host the Las Vegas Raiders.
With Thomas out, rookie Chris Olave has established himself as the team’s number-one receiver which might make Thomas expendable for the 2-5 Saints. Thomas’ base salary for this season is just over $1 million but is scheduled to make over $38 million in the next two seasons when the Giants will have an enormous amount of cap space.
The question is would Joe Schoen want to pay a receiver that will turn 30 in March that has a hard time staying on the field?
Chase Claypool
Claypool was the Steelers’ second-round pick in 2020 (49th overall) and although has never been the number option in Pittsburgh, he did show potential that he could be a top wideout when he scored nine touchdowns as a rookie.
Since his rookie season, he’s found the end zone just three times, and this season he has just 28 receptions for 266 yards and one touchdown. This can be attributed to that he has yet to get in sync with quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and rookie Kenny Pickett.
But Claypool is also slowly being relegated to the third receiving option as Diontae Johnson leads the team in receptions with 38, and rookie George Pickens leads the Steelers in receiving yards with 338.
What makes Claypool an attractive option is that he’s only 24 years old and still in his rookie contract. He’s under contract through the 2023 season which would give the Giants time to evaluate how well the 6-foot-4, 238-pound Claypool fits in their offense.
So far this has been a sensation season for the Giants as they have exceeded all expectations from people outside the organization. But if they want to put themselves in a position at making a long playoff run, then they need to acquire one of these receivers.
Jerry Jeudy
Another receiver that could be available to Big Blue at the trade deadline is Denver Broncos talent Jerry Jeudy. The third-year wideout and the rest of the Broncos receivers haven’t produced as expected with Russell Wilson. With teams in desperate need of a young receiver, Denver May unload the talented Jeudy to recoup some of the draft capital they lost in trading for Wilson.
Rumors have circulated for the last few days that Denver could be big-time sellers if a loss on Sunday moves their record to 2-6.