Giants news, 4/5: Cap crunch not going away, and a draft trade idea

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Why Giants GM Joe Schoen's cap hell continues despite Adoree' Jackson's restructure

This is the somewhat dire situation: The Giants probably need to be about $20 million under the salary cap by the start of the season to be able to operate (barely) like an NFL franchise. They need about $12.5 million to sign their nine draft picks, assuming they make all nine picks, another $3 million to fill out their practice squad, and at least another $5 million for in-season injury replacements, whether they come off the waiver wire or their own practice squad.

The good news is, they don’t need it all right now. The draft money doesn’t kick in until the players sign, and the Giants could delay that right up until the start of training camp in late July if they want. And they won’t need the rest until the start of the regular season.

But they will need it. And they will probably need a little bit more along the way, too.

Ickey Ekwonu visiting Jaguars, Giants, Jets - ProFootballTalk

Betting Market-Implied 2022 NFL Mock Draft: Georgia's Travon Walker goes No. 2 to the Detroit Lions, Liberty's Malik Willis lands in Carolina | NFL and NCAA Betting Picks | PFF

Sikkema: Six 2022 NFL Draft trades I would love to see | NFL Draft | PFF

NEW YORK GIANTS TRADE BACK UP INTO THE FIRST ROUND

The Giants control a lot of what happens at the start of the draft, holding two premium picks at Nos. 5 and 7. While you might read some suggestions saying their best trade option would be to move down from one of them, I would take the opposite approach.

Now, if a team offers a trade they can't refuse for one of those picks, they should certainly keep their ears open. But the Giants already have two third-round picks plus their early second-round pick on Day 2. They don’t really need to move back from one of those top-10 picks to get extra draft capital. Instead, the better move would be using one of those third-round picks in addition to the second-round pick to make a jump back into the first round and pick up a third Day 1 player.

Their targets here all depend on what they do in the top 10. If they go with an offensive tackle and a cornerback at the top, they could move up for a good pass-rusher, say Boye Mafe, George Karlaftis or David Ojabo, with that extra fifth year in their contract. The same could be done if they double-dip in the trenches at the top and move up for a late first-round cornerback, such as Kaiir Elam, Andrew Booth or Trent McDuffie.

In case you missed it

• Eagles deal 16th, 19th overall picks to Saints in huge draft deal
• Takeaways as Giants begin their voluntary offseason program
• Giants “don’t want to make” two top-10 picks — Peter King
• Giants’ QB Daniel Jones says he will “be cleared and ready to go” for season
• ESPN Giants-only mock draft brings New York Evan Neal, Kayvon Thibodeaux
• Making the case: Travon Walker or Jermaine Johnson?

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