Poll results: The Giants should sell at the trade deadline

We’re at the halfway point of the 2024 season and the New York Giants are currently sitting at 2-6. Barring a remarkable turnaround, it seems very unlikely that the Giants will make the postseason or do much more than tread water for the remainder of the year.

With that in mind we asked the Big Blue View community whether the Giants should be sellers, buyers, or stand pat at the upcoming trade deadline.

Giants fans voted overwhelmingly in support of selling at the trade deadline in exchange for draft capital.

A full 71% of Giants fans voted to trade players for draft assets, while 23% voted to stand pat and neither trade players away nor acquire them. Meanwhile, only 6% of fans voted to trade for players by the deadline.

The names most frequently bandied about as likely trade assets are Darius Slayton and Azeez Ojulari. Both are useful players for the Giants, though for different reasons. Slayton has an undeniable rapport with Daniel Jones and (in part because of that) is their most dangerous downfield target.

Ojulari, meanwhile, has been the Giants’ most dangerous edge rusher. He has an even more effective speed rush than Brian Burns and has racked up five sacks since becoming a starter following the injury to Kayvon Thibodeaux.

However, there are also reasons to consider both players expendable. Slayton’s rapport with Jones forces him onto the field, potentially limiting the development of Jalin Hyatt or the Giants’ use of 12 or 21-personnel packages. Slayton is also Jones’ staunchest defender outside of the locker room, a fact which could convince him to leave anyway after the season if the Giants cut or trade Jones and he feels his friend was done wrong.

Ojulari, meanwhile, is a great pass rusher, but has been an ineffective run defender, which could limit his usefulness when the more well-rounded Thibodeaux is available. Likewise, Ojulari has struggled with injury in the past and carried an injury red flag that knocked him into the second round coming out of college. It’s possible that Ojulari could get injured again and lose much of his value.

There’s also an argument to be made for the Giants to keep both through the end of the season and hope they continue to boost their value with compensatory picks in mind. However, those comp picks wouldn’t be awarded until the following year, and that’s only if they aren’t cancelled out by the Giants’ own free agent acquisitions.

For instance, the Giants are only predicted to get a single fourth-round comp pick in 2025 despite letting both Xavier McKinney and Saquon Barkley go.

OverTheCap

We should also consider that GM’s typically discount future picks by a round. So even if the Giants managed to get fourth- or fifth-round picks in 2026 for both Slayton and Ojulari, they might be be weighed the same as a fifth- or sixth-round pick in 2025.

Mike Garafolo is reporting that both players are valued by the Giants front office, and the Giants would have to be “blown away” by a trade offer for either. However, considering the moving parts going forward, “blown away” might not mean a blockbuster deal.

Part of the reason for the overwhelming support for trading assets for draft capital is likely due to a drop in fan confidence following losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Giants fans are more confident in their team after the loss to the Steelers than they were the previous week, but that’s not saying much. Just 36% of fans are confident that the team is headed in the right direction heading into Week 9.

Fan confidence hit an all-time low following the Giants’ brutal loss to the Eagles, with just 20% of fans believing the team was headed in the right direction. The Giants were at least competitive against the Steelers, and that heartened some fans. However, it’s still well down from the season high of 78% confidence.

Finally, the Giants enter Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders as 3.5-point underdogs at home per FanDuel Sportsbook. Just 9% of people believe the Giants will cover.

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