2024 NFL draft: Bill Barnwell outlines a potential Giants trade back
Some NFL draft experts are forecasting a trade-up from the No. 6 spot by the New York Giants come next Thursday night’s first round in Detroit.
As many have stated (including us at Giants Wire), that would not be the best course of action for Big Blue general manager Joe Schoen, who has just six selections in this draft and plenty of holes on his roster to fill and upgrade.
The smart move would be to trade back and get multiple picks in this year’s draft and a few in next year’s, which is what ESPN’s Bill Barnwell is suggesting in his latest all-trade mock draft.
In Barnwell’s scenario, Schoen sends the No. 6 pick up to his old pals in Buffalo in exchange for a first-rounder (No. 28), a second (No.60), a fourth (No. 128), and a 2025 first-round pick (via Texans) and a 2026 third-round pick.
That’s a five-for-one deal that would give Schoen a chance to reel in more top talent both this year and next. The Giants would have six picks in the first four rounds (Nos. 28, 47, 60, 70, 107, and 128) of this year’s draft and eight overall. More opportunities for Schoen to improve the team from front to back.
Brnwell suggests a blockbuster deal for the right to draft a stud wide receiver (such as the one made by the Atlanta Falcons for Julio Jones back in 2011) is not beyond the pale for the Bills, who covet the likes of Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze and Marvin Harrison Jr. — one of whom should be available at No. 6
There’s certainly a need for them at wide receiver after losing Gabe Davis in free agency and trading Stefon Diggs for a second-round pick. And unlike the Giants, who are in somewhat of a rebuilding period given Daniel Jones’ uncertain future and their disappointing 2023 campaign, Bills GM Brandon Beane probably wants someone who can help Josh Allen win right now. Calling up former assistant Joe Schoen to try to make a dramatic move into the top 10 for one of the top wideouts makes sense.
Barnwell does not make picks in this exercise, just trade proposals, so we don’t know what the Giants did with their picks in this mock draft.
The deal, which many feel the Bills would be crazy to make due to the massive draft capital they’d be surrendering, is actually a smart one for both sides.
The Giants would still be able to get some top offensive weapons — at wide receiver, tight end, and running back — and a cornerback and defensive lineman to fortify the defense.
