There’s an old saying that posits there’s no one more zealous than a convert and it might apply to Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman’s views about trading down in the NFL Draft.
Gettleman had never done it while running eight drafts for the Panthers and Giants, but he traded down in the first round Thursday night and then did it again in the second round. He traded up in the third round, so every pick the Giants have made thus far has come after a deal in one direction or another.
Gettleman said before the draft that he’d tried to make deals in the past, but they never came together. Now that they have come together, director of college scouting Chris Pettit said that it’s made for an enjoyable draft room.
“You could say that there’s been a little ribbing,” Pettit said in a press conference. “Trader Dave has brought some excitement to the room, so it’s been fun. Trader Dave is hearing it from a lot of people throughout the league, so it’s been fun. There’s been a little ribbing. Like I said, it’s not like we haven’t tried. Dave said it; I’ll say it. It worked out. It’s exciting. It gave a little juice. It’s been different. The room is different without all our people in it. We were limited to only ten people but there was enough ribbing with the ten people to keep it exciting.”
The wheeling and dealing has left the Giants with wide receiver Kadarius Toney, edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, cornerback Aaron Robinson, three picks on Saturday, the Bears’ 2022 first-round pick, and a 2022 third-rounder from the Dolphins.