Giants GM Joe Schoen Reveals Bad News Before NFL Trade Deadline

The New York Giants are 4-2-1 and sitting atop the NFC East heading into their bye week, so chances are, they will be buyers before the NFL trade deadline.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen spoke to the media about potential moves on Tuesday, and while Schoen said New York would "canvas the league" for options, he also revealed the harsh reality about the situation: the Giants don't have much draft capital.

“In some situations, that may rule some players out,” Schoen said. “Maybe that’s what their value is. Maybe a third is too rich or a sixth isn’t enough, so then you start looking into future picks and contract status, where we are depth-wise."

New York has traded its fourth, fifth and seventh-round draft picks this year. The Giants moved their fifth-rounder for J.J. McCarthy last month.

As Schoen noted, New York could always move future draft choices, but that is a bit of a dicey proposition for a couple of reasons.

First of all, teams generally want picks now, and the 2027 NFL Draft class is slated to be one of the more loaded groups we have seen in quite some time. So if the Giants are offering future picks, they're already playing from behind.

And No. 2, New York needs to be very mindful about how much draft capital it is surrendering.

We're already seeing the dangers of trading too many picks, as the Giants are very thin on flexibility heading into the 2027 draft. If New York moves a 2028 pick for a player who may just be a half-year rental, that could have devastating long-term effects.

That's another thing to keep in mind: the Giants are clearly not Super Bowl contenders this season. They could very well make the playoffs, but I don't think anyone expects this team to compete for a championship. Not with all of the injuries it has.

Any move New York makes should have 2028 in mind. So that means looking for players who are either a.) under team control beyond this year, or b.) players the Giants think they can/will re-sign in free agency.

And in the case of the latter, wouldn't New York just be better off waiting until the offseason where it can just sign the player outright rather than unnecessarily parting with a draft pick?

The Giants should take a very cautious approach between now and Nov. 10. This is still a rebuilding ballclub, and while it's one that has made significant progress this year, it must still take the long view.