Should Giants Try to Trade a Receiver?

We say yes...but not the one that seems to be the popular choice to trade.

Nov 19, 2023; Landover, Maryland, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton (86) celebrates with Giants wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins (18) After catching a touchdown pass against the Washington Commanders during the second quarter at FedExField. / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

If there’s one thing that can be said about New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen, he’s not afraid to engineer a trade, even when most people think there is nothing to be gained.

Witness how Schoen, in a rare division trade, sent defensive lineman Jordan Phillips and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick. The trade of picks becomes official if Phillips is on the Cowboys' regular-season roster for at least two games.

That deal doesn’t have the blockbuster characteristics of the Brian Burns trade, but Schoen's ability to potentially get a pick for a guy the team was planning to cut anyway is a feather in his cap.

But why stop there? With the Giants having an abundance of receivers, why not see if a team that needs a receiver and who is down low on the waiver wire order (which reflects this past spring’s draft order) might not be interested in acquiring a receiver the Giants aren’t planning to keep?

Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler agrees with our thinking, but he has proposed the Giants look to move veteran Darius Slayton, who is in the final year of his contract this season, to another team. We, on the other hand, don’t think Slayton is the receiver we’d try to move in a trade if we were in Schoen’s seat.

The receiver we would look to move is Isaiah Hodgins. Before going into the why, we understand that Slayton, who has led the Giants in receiving yardage in four of his five seasons as a pro, will be an unrestricted free agent after this year and could be a longshot to re-sign with the team. 

(But it should be noted that if he leaves in free agency, there’s a good chance the Giants will receive a 2026 comp pick.)

Hodgins, whom we didn’t think the Giants would re-sign–and they resigned him late in free agency, remember–will turn 26 in October, making him two years younger than Slayton. 

After coming on strong midway through the 2022 season, Hodgins saw his role reduced last year, receiving only 21 targets versus the 37 he received in the 2022 season.

Still, Hodgins has been productive. He has seven touchdowns in the last two seasons and has experience in the slot. His yards-after-catch (YAC) average (2.9) isn’t great, but an underrated part of his game is his downfield blocking, which was the best among the Giants receivers last season.

Hodgins, who doesn’t offer much on special teams, is likely to lose his roster spot, with Allen Robinson II and Isaiah McKenzie both making strong pushes for the last spots at the bottom of the unit’s depth chart. 

Even if the Giants got another sixth-round pick for Hodgins, that’s another bargaining chip for Schoen to use in a future deal.

If the San Francisco 49ers end up trading receiver Brandon Aiyuk to the Steelers, as has been reported, they will certainly be in the market for receiver depth. And while no one will confuse Hodgins with Aiyuk, it would also be shortsighted to rule out such a possibility as Hodgins can give a team quality snaps at the position. 

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