The Giants have already seen two big-name defensive tackles move elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean Joe Schoen should jump at the next one just because the fit looks familiar.
Dalvin Tomlinson is the obvious name in the mix. Drafted by the Giants in 2017, he signed with the Chargers in March, and Athlon’s Pat Pickens floated him as a possible New York deadline target. That was speculation, not a report that the two teams are actually talking.
What makes Tomlinson appealing is pretty straightforward: he knows the interior, and the Giants could use help there. New York traded Dexter Lawrence in April and has every reason to take a hard look at its front while sitting atop the NFC East at 4-2-1. A veteran run defender would let the Giants target a specific role instead of paying premium money for someone they wouldn’t need to play every snap.
Still, the recent trade market should keep them honest. Chicago sent two first-round picks and a fourth to Tennessee for Jeffery Simmons and a fifth, while San Francisco landed DeForest Buckner for a fourth. Those are different players on different contracts, so neither deal really sets Tomlinson’s price.
The only way this makes sense is if the Chargers are open to a modest return and New York is comfortable after the medical review. Tomlinson showed up on the injury report earlier this month with a hamstring issue before getting back to full practice.
And if a reunion doesn’t happen, the Giants have other paths. They can look for a cheaper rotational piece or simply ride with the group they have for now. That matters because New York is already down its 2027 fourth- and fifth-round picks, which makes getting dragged into a middle-round bidding war a lot tougher to justify.
Tomlinson’s ties to the franchise make the idea easy to imagine. Whether he’s actually available, healthy enough, and affordable enough is a different story entirely.
In Other News...
Giants Suddenly Have A Jonathan Taylor Debate Fans Can't Ignore
Jonathan Taylor has suddenly become one of the biggest names on the trade market, and the Giants are right in the middle of the conversation. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Colts are willing to deal the running back, and New York is among several teams with reported interest. For a Giants team always looking for ways to raise the ceiling of its offense, the idea of adding a proven back of Taylors caliber is the kind of possibility that naturally gets attention.
The harder part is figuring out what it would actually take to make it happen. A player of Taylors profile is not the kind of target teams usually land cheaply, and any pursuit would likely require serious draft capital along with some salary-cap maneuvering. For the Giants, that creates the real debate: whether the upgrade at running back would be worth the cost in assets and flexibility, especially with other roster needs still demanding attention. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Suddenly Have A Linebacker Problem They Can't Ignore
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What makes the situation harder is that the Giants do not just need bodies there, they need reliability and communication. The depth chart is unsettled enough that a veteran addition before the trade deadline is at least on the table, even if no move has been made yet. For a defense that has already had to adjust on the fly, the next decision at linebacker could say plenty about how urgently the Giants view the problem. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Deadline Approach Could Say Everything About This Playoff Push
The Giants enter Week 8 in a spot they have not occupied often enough in recent years, sitting atop the NFC East and staring at a deadline that could help define whether this start turns into something more. For Joe Schoen, the question is less about making a splash than about whether this is the time to be a little bolder than usual, especially with a roster that could use help without requiring the kind of heavy price tag that usually comes with deadline shopping.
Schoen has generally been cautious in-season, and the organization has not exactly built a deep reservoir of impact from late-round draft picks. That is why the most practical path may be the simplest one, using modest draft capital to bring in a veteran who can strengthen the roster right away and fit a team trying to turn first-place positioning into staying power. [Read more 🡒]