The New York Giants have not exactly looked great over the first three weeks of the season.
Following a 40-0 loss at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, the Giants needed to rally from a 21-point deficit to defeat the Arizona Cardinals. Then, last week, they were hammered by the San Francisco 49ers to the tune of a 30-12 score.
To be fair New York, the club has had a pretty unforgiving schedule thus far, but even still, losing by 40 one game and then by 18 in another is terrible regardless of who you are playing.
It’s clear that the Giants could use some help, and with the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline looming, they are a team that could (and should) be pretty active in trade talks in the coming weeks.
Here are two ideal trade targets for Big Blue to pursue.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came crashing down to earth in Week 3, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 25-11 to end their undefeated start.
It seemed like only a matter of time before the Buccaneers started showing their warts, and it happened against the Eagles on Monday night.
Could Tampa Bay ultimately trade Evans over the next month?
Evans is in the final year of his deal, and the Bucs hardly resemble Super Bowl contenders. He is 30 years old, so if the Buccaneers want to go with a rebuild, Evans probably won’t be sticking around.
The Giants are in desperate need of a true No. 1 talent at wide receiver, and Evans certainly fits that bill. He would make Daniel Jones‘ job a heck of a lot easier, and he would also open up the rushing attack for Saquon Barkley (whenever he returns for high-ankle sprain).
Evans would transform New York’s entire offense. The Giants should do everything in their power to try and acquire him if he becomes available. Other names include wide outs like Las Vegas’ Davante Adams and Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins, but Evans is probably a more realistic trade candidate at this juncture.
Historically, the Giants have prided themselves on housing dominant pass rushers.
Lawrence Taylor. Michael Strahan. Osi Umenyiora. Justin Tuck. Jason Pierre-Paul.
Taking that into consideration, it’s especially embarrassing that the club ranks second-to-last in the NFL with just two sacks through three games. As a matter of fact, New York didn’t register its first sack until Week 3.
Brian Burns is in the final year of his deal with the Carolina Panthers, and the Panthers don’t seem willing to pay him what he wants (reportedly $26-28 million annually). While that is certainly a hefty price, Burns is developing into one of the league’s best edge rushers and would be a major boon to a Giants defense that is sorely in need of someone who can get to opposing quarterbacks.
New York’s defense is also in dire need of elite talent overall. Adding Burns into the mix would alleviate some of the problems that it currently faces.
Much like Evans would change the direction of the offense, Burns would do the same for the defense.
