Three players the Giants need to trade for in the 2025 offseason to fill out their roster ahead of training camps
So far, the New York Giants' 2025 offseason has gone nearly according to plan. After making multiple splashes in free agency, general manager Joe Schoen had one of the best drafts of his career in April. With training camps on deck, the Giants' roster is nearly complete, with just a few trade targets around the league who can tie up loose ends.
After not-so-subtly taking the second half of their 2024 season, the Giants were forced to make major changes in the offseason. Shockingly, despite the relatively bare market, Schoen managed to land some of the biggest fish in the sea. New York ended free agency with Jevon Holland, Paulson Adebo, Russell Wilson and Chauncey Golston on its roster.
Schoen rode the momentum into the draft, where he hauled in seven more players, led by No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter. The highly touted edge rusher topped the class, but the Giants also traded up for Jaxson Dart, their presumed quarterback of the future. Potential late-round gems Marcus Mbow and Cam Skattebo rounded out an exciting crop of talent that managed to get many skeptical fans back in on the team.
Even with the stellar offseason thus far, New York still has a couple of areas to address. A 4-13 team is not fixed by a handful of free agents and a solid rookie class. Schoen has a couple of months remaining until training camps begin, giving him time to compile a list of trade targets to complete the Giants' roster.
CB Cobie Durant, Los Angeles Rams
The Giants had easily one of the worst secondaries in 2024, but addressed that dire need in free agency by bringing in Adebo and Holland. Adebo gives the team a lockdown cornerback for the first time in years, alleviating pressure off former first-round pick Deonte Banks. However, behind Adebo and Banks, New York lacks depth at cornerback.
Rookies Dru Phillips and Tyler Nubin were the lone bright spots in the team's secondary during 2024. With Phillips locking down the slot and Nubin displaying elite pursuit, both showed the ability to develop into premier players of their respective positions. Holland pairs nicely with Nubin on paper, making outside cornerback the biggest question mark.
In theory, Adebo's inclusion will help Banks, who took a significant step back in his second year. His supposed locker room issues led to a surprise benching in Week 8 after Brian Daboll criticized his effort on a missed tackle. Ideally, Adebo gives Banks the luxury of covering the opposing No. 2 wideouts instead of the best pass-catchers in the league.
However, with Adebo's below-average shadow rate and his recovery from a broken femur, he is still not an automatic solution to New York's issues. The Giants still need more veteran depth at cornerback, making the Los Angeles Rams' Cobie Durant a viable trade target.
Durant started 14 games in 2024, posting an above-average 63.7 player grade on Pro Football Focus on 449 coverage snaps. Yet, despite his improvements, he remains buried on the Rams' depth chart behind Derion Kendrick, Darious Williams and Ahkello Witherspoon. His services are expendable and should be available for a mid-to-late-round pick.
The Giants want to see improvements in Banks, but he was statistically one of the league's worst cornerbacks in 2024. They need to give themselves insurance in what is otherwise a potentially elite defense.
TE Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks
The Giants will likely need to see what their offense looks like before making any further offensive judgments, but tight end remains one of the biggest question marks on their roster. New York is slated to begin the year with Theo Johnson, who showed promise as a rookie but had his season cut short by a foot fracture.
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Behind Johnson, the Giants have veterans Daniel Bellinger, Greg Dulcich and Chris Manhertz on their roster, in addition to seventh-round rookie Thomas Fidone II. Fidone is the most intriguing of the group, but is much closer to beginning his career on the practice squad than being a day-one contributor.
The declining state of tight end gives Schoen options, but his best might be Seattle Seahawks' Noah Fant. New York needs a temporary solution more than a permanent one, which is the role Fant serves at this point in his career.
A former first-round pick, Fant was once viewed as a potential game-changer. However, ahead of his seventh season, the Seahawks are evidently ready to move on. One year after taking A.J. Barner in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Seattle used its 2025 second-round pick on Elijah Arroyo.
With Fant on the outskirts of the roster, Seattle would gladly field any offers. His asking price will not be high, and Schoen could lower it even further with the right offer. The Seahawks desperately need interior offensive line help, making one of Aaron Stinnie, Greg Van Roten or Jon Runyan a valuable addition.
S J.T. Gray, New Orleans Saints
The Giants made many notable offensive and defensive additions in the offseason thus far, but have not done much to address their special teams issues in 2024. The often overlooked area of the game has been a blind spot on the team for multiple seasons. New York does not have to be ultra-aggressive in that aspect, but trading for an asset or two over the summer would pay dividends.
Perhaps mental fatigue was to blame, but New York has hardly been adept at kickoffs or punt coverage. They ranked in the bottom 10 in kickoff yards allowed and punt return yards allowed in 2024, making them one of the worst special teams units in the league. The Giants acquired special-teams savants Chris Board and Ty Summers in free agency, but could still use one more piece.
Consistent special-teams aces are harder to find in the modern NFL, but J.T. Gray is one of the few remaining. While hardly seeing the field as a safety, Gray recorded 19 special teams tackles in 2024, the third-most in the league. With the only two players ahead of him on the Washington Commanders, Gray is the best special teams player the Giants can realistically target in a potential trade.
Gray will be difficult to pry from the Saints as a special teams captain, but he is not untouchable. Schoen could prey on New Orleans' dysfunctional quarterback situation by offering either Jameis Winston or Tommy DeVito. Winston, who played for the Saints from 2020 to 2023, is well accustomed to the organization. Offering a trade of that magnitude would likely give the Giants additional draft capital in return.
New York plans to sit Dart behind its veteran quarterbacks in 2024, but potentially trading Winston or DeVito still allows them to do so. The historically durable Russell Wilson is still locked in as the starter, giving Dart the pseudo-redshirt season Daboll envisions.
