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With the No. 11 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Giants selected … no one. With their top targets off the board when they were on the clock, the Giants on Thursday night surveyed the situation,...
With the No. 11 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Giants selected … no one.
With their top targets off the board when they were on the clock, the Giants on Thursday night surveyed the situation, realized they were better off moving down and gaining draft capital and, just like that, general manager Dave Gettleman traded down in a draft for the first time in his career.
The Giants sent the No. 11 overall pick to the Bears, who used the trade up to take Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. The Giants got a haul in return: The No. 20 pick, a fifth round pick (No. 164) and the Bears fourth round pick in 2022.
And — wait for it — the Bears’ first round pick in 2022.
This was the ninth time Gettleman ran a draft — five with the Panthers and four with the Giants — and never before did he move down. This time, he did it out of necessity.
The first 10 picks did not go the way the Giants wanted or needed it to go, with their top options gone before they were on the clock. Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle went to the Dolphins at No. 6. Cornerbacks Jaycee Horn (Panthers at No. 8) and Patrick Surtain II (Broncos at No. 9) were off the board. With the Cowboys denied their top option (Surtain), they traded the No. 10 pick to the Eagles in a rare NFC East swap.
The Eagles then took DeVonta Smith, the Heisman Trophy-winning Alabama receiver.
With four top targets off the board, the Giants decided a trade-down was the way to go.
This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Paul Schwartz
