Another New York Giants Trade Should Still Be on the Table

The New York Giants rocked the football landscape by trading defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft over the weekend.

It was a shocking return for Lawrence, who wanted a new contract and was coming off of a 2025 campaign in which he registered just 31 tackles, a half of a sack and eight quarterback hits.

Nevertheless, the Giants were able to squeeze a high first-rounder out of the three-time Pro Bowler, and now, they have two top-10 picks this Thursday.

But could New York add even more draft capital to its growing arsenal?

While it's nice that the Giants have three picks in the top 37, that is the extent of picks they have in the top 100. New York does not own a third-rounder, which is problematic for a team that still has so many holes.

A simple solution could be trading edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, but Ian Rapoport of NFL media reported on Monday that the Giants seems likely to hold on to the former first-round pick now that they moved Lawrence.

But I don't think the Lawrence deal should have any bearing on whether or not New York trades Thibodeaux.

Yes, I understand that the Giants do not want to keep sapping their defensive talent, but at this point, Thibodeaux is essentially a backup behind Brian Burns and Abdul Carter. He'll still see significant playing time, yes, but he's really more of a luxury than anything else.

If Big Blue can find a way to extract a Day 2 pick out of Thibodeaux, it should absolutely pull the trigger. That's especially considering New York also has Chauncey Golston, who it signed to a three-year contract last offseason.

Of course, the bigger question may be whether or not any team would actually trade a third-round draft choice for Thibodeaux at this juncture.

While the University of Oregon product racked up 50 tackles and 11.5 sacks in his second NFL season back in 2023, he has accumulated just eight sacks the last two years and has missed 12 games due to injuries during that span.

On the plus side, Thibodeaux is still just 25 years old, and he has shown that when healthy, he has star potential. So perhaps a team desperate for an edge rusher would be willing to move a Day 2 pick in exchange for Thibodeaux.

A lot can still change between now and the NFL Draft, which begins this Thursday.

The overarching point? The Giants should not be entirely ruling out a Thibodeaux trade just because they jettisoned Lawrence.

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