The Giants are heading into the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline with a pretty clear shopping list, and Jonathan Taylor sits near the top of it.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, New York is looking to buy while sitting in first place in the NFC East, and the team’s interest is not limited to one position. Rapoport said the Giants are “very much interested” in Taylor and are also looking to strengthen the defensive line.
“Jonathan Taylor would make a lot of sense (for the Giants),” Rapoport said. “They are among the more aggressive teams there.”
He added, “The other thing that the Giants have talked about adding is a defensive lineman,” and pointed to New York’s prior pursuit of Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne before Payne broke his foot.
“I expect them to be aggressive at those two spots,” Rapoport said of running back and defensive tackle.
The need is easy to see. Up front, the Giants never really filled the hole left after trading away Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals during the offseason.
DJ Reader has played well, but Shelby Harris has been a liability, and the Giants are giving up the seventh-most rushing yards per game. They have also managed only 1.5 sacks from interior linemen this season.
At running back, the picture isn’t much cleaner. Cam Skattebo has not delivered the sophomore season New York was hoping for, Tyrone Tracy is on injured reserve, and Devin Singletary has been only an OK backup.
That leaves the Giants in need of a back who can change the game and ease some of the burden on J.J. McCarthy and the passing attack.
Taylor fits that description as well as anyone. He remains one of the best running backs in the league, which is why he’s drawing so much attention.
The issue is the price.
Over the weekend, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Rapoport reported that the Colts could be seeking a Christian McCaffrey type package. In the 2022 deal for McCaffrey, the San Francisco 49ers sent the Carolina Panthers second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks.
Whether Indianapolis gets that kind of return is still unknown, but the asking price is already being described as too rich for New York. The New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy wrote, “Jonathan Taylor is Giants No. 1 choice. But my understanding is the asking price is high so they will do due diligence on other offensive playmakers available on the trade market.”
For now, the Giants look like a team with real interest and real ambition - but maybe not the appetite to pay whatever it takes. After all, New York is only in Year 1 of the John Harbaugh era and still in the early stages of building out the roster, which could make a major draft-pick commitment hard to justify.
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