APRIL 12: Executives who spoke with La Canfora predicted a mid-round pick could be enough to finalize a Thibodeaux trade. Adding a third- or fourth-round selection would allow the Giants to immediately target a rookie replacement in the event a deal were to be made in the near future.
APRIL 9: Dexter Lawrence has requested a trade as a sign of frustration with the status of his extension talks. No trade is expected in his case, but calls will no doubt be made as the draft approaches.
Interest is also likely to increase with respect to Kayvon Thibodeaux. The former first-round edge rusher has previously been linked to a trade, with calls being made leading up to the 2025 deadline. No agreement was reached then, but this year’s Combine presented another opportunity for a deal to be discussed by the Giants and interested teams. A report from last month indicated New York’s preference would be to work out a trade in this case.
SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora confirms Thibodeaux is still viewed as being open to a change of scenery, something which could yield a full-time starting role. Brian Burns has thrived since the Giants acquired him via trade, while 2025 third overall pick Abdul Carter is in line to handle a large workload for years to come. Thibodeaux is set to earn $14.75MM in 2026 as a result of the Giants’ decision to pick up his fifth-year option. The Oregon product would no doubt be expected to sign an extension with an acquiring team in the event of a trade.
To no surprise, La Canfora reports the Giants are unlikely to move on from both Lawrence and Thibodeaux this offseason. Efforts to work out a compromise with the former could take place, although a new big-ticket deal does not appear to be in store. Replacing Lawrence could also prove to be challenging given his production (aside from the 2025 season, of course). With Burns and Carter in the fold, though, dealing Thibodeaux and drafting a replacement later this month could be seen as feasible. A trade at any time would take Thibodeaux’s 2026 salary entirely off the books and create considerable cap room for New York.
Injuries have led to Thibodeaux playing a full season only once to date in the NFL. The 25-year-old notched 11.5 sacks in 2023, but in general he has not developed as expected given his status as a former fifth overall selection. Per La Canfora, a mid-round pick could be offered by interested teams leading up to the draft. That would obviously represent an underwhelming end to Thibodeaux’s Giants tenure, but it will once again be a scenario worth watching for.
They could also slow down
NYG DL was supposed to be their strength. So much talent on that line. They finished with the same amount of sacks as the Raiders did. That’s sad.
This may be received poorly but……as a Cowboys fan, I see players that don’t want to play for a team and become cancerous in the locker room. When its gets that way, ship them out. Bring in players that want to win for you and your teammates. NY is in a total rebuild from the inside out. Harbaugh is exactly what the G-Men needed.
It’s a balancing act. Every team has issues with a few players given the size of each roster. Just human nature. You also don’t want to open the floodgates of honoring every trade or extension request.
Maybe deal him to the Chargers for Quentin Johnston?
Interesting trade, but I think that L.A. wants Johnston more than they want Thibodeaux.
Hmmm….to the Bengals Niners for Aiyuk?
I *love* Sonny Styles, but I don’t think an off ball LB at 5 is the best use of draft capital. If they can trade Thibodeaux for a LB and take one of the WR at 5, I think that would be a solid set of transactions.
Lol I so hope the Giants go that route. I don’t need my Eagles dealing with Styles in the NFC East for years to come.
Yeah, I’m sure you would love them dealing with one of the WR though, especially with Riq Woolen as your #2 and no more Blankenship lol
But given your love for even bad LBs (i.e. Patrick Queen), this comment is unsurprising.
Considering that none of these WRs are worth a top five pick, I absolutely would love it.
Not having an impact LB like Styles means the Eagles can always outscore you and beat you in the middle over and over.
There are two players worth a top 5 pick this draft. Three more still have to go top 5. The Giants aren’t going to get a player worth a top 5 pick.
Styles is a top 5 talent in this class, but the Giants have a million holes, so going off ball LB isn’t going to put them in a contention window while he’s there. There’s a reason LB in the top 10 has gone down dramatically in the last couple of decades. Same with RB. They are involved in way fewer meaningul plays and have less of an impact on the final score by far. The data shows this. So while he’s better/healthier than Tate, Lemon, Tyson, he’s less worthwhile. LBs don’t raise the floor of bad teams enough. He’s a perfect fit for the Giants, but any team picking top 10, minus the Chiefs, are not in position to draft non-impact position players. They need someone who will change their trajectory. You talk about how the Eagles beat the Giants without Styles. Well if they take Styles, then the Eagles beat them defensively because what playmakers are going to allow them to score on your D? Nabers can’t do it in his own. You trust Skattebo, who isn’t a home run threat, and Likely to beat the Eagles? I don’t.
I don’t have a perfect scenario, but if they could trade Thibodeaux to a desperate team like the Lions and return Jack Campbell (obviously pick compensation would be involved) since the Lions are reportedly hesitant to pay him, then you can gamble on WR. I prefer Lemon to Tate, but Tate would complement Nabers. And he would eat Woolen alive.
The reason it’s gone down is because the quality has gone down.
Too many teams reached in the past for LBs only to draft tweeners (now known as edge players) or guys who were drafted based on their athleticism. Simmons is a perfect example because he played against weak competition and was never really tested either as a safety or LB. Styles is the opposite. Any team would gladly take Dont’a Hightower or CJ Mosley or Lavonte David to name a few. If Styles has a chance to be even a fraction as good as those guys, you draft him. Period. Those guys impact the defense in a way few other players can.
Also, that’s a hilarious take. Nobody impacts the offense more than the RB other than the QB, and the teams who build strong defenses all have top LBers. This is the kind of take somebody who doesn’t know football makes. If you can’t hold teams to third and long, your defense is in for a long day game after game, and if you can’t cover TEs or the middle of the field in general, you won’t win anything. That doesn’t mean that non elite RBs or LBs should be drafted top five but the elite ones absolutely should be.
Tate is very good. Lemon is very talented and shifty. Tyson is supposedly a great blocker on top of being sure handed. None of them are worth a top five pick imo. Tate is probably the closest to being worth that, and he’s no sure thing himself.
I agree Tate would probably give Woolen serious problems but Woolen is only on a one year deal, and WRs come out every year. LBs like Styles are incredibly rare. True he could be Simmons but he could also be a generationally good cover LB, and those are worth their weight in gold.
“Any team would gladly take Dont’a Hightower or CJ Mosley or Lavonte David to name a few.”
Yeah, but the variance is so high and has been proven time and again. So many things have to break right for a 1st round LB to end up worth their value. Break down all LBs who have gone top 10 since 2000 and look at the success rate. Talent around them, usage, etc. matters too much. Look at Zaven Collins for instance. He had the tools and college production to be a stalwart LB and then Arizona asked him to be a sideline to sideline guy and he failed because it wasn’t his forte and the Cardinals didn’t surround him with the right personnel. It’s so easy for a LB to fail if the rest of the defense isn’t quality. And that’s tough for a player who really only has a major influence on 10% of defensive snaps.
“Nobody impacts the offense more than the RB”
This is a whole different argument that I won’t spend too much time getting into, but the data shows RB success is highly correlated to OL success and scheme, hence why so many starting RBs don’t come from round 1 and are rarely top 10 picks, while there is a WR in the top 10 nearly every year. I’m not saying RBs aren’t valuable. I actually think I value them more than the league as a whole (Love is my #1 player, not adjusted for positional value), it’s just hard to justify them as a top 5 pick because bad teams have so many holes and need to build their premier position groupings to make RBs more valuable.
Also, you don’t have to sell Styles to me. I’m on board with him. He’ll end up as either my #3 or #4 rated player. The tape doesn’t lie on him. I think he’s very safe but still carries a high ceiling.
No Wideout, even a healthy Tyson, is worth an overall #5 pick in this years draft……if they sour on Styles, then it should be Downs….or the possibility of trading back into the 8-10 range in the draft and acquiring more draft capital in the 2nd and/or 3rd rounds to improve the overall roster this season….and please no DB’s….the Giants absolutely suck at drafting DB’s with low first round picks…..
Who in their right mind would “sour” on Styles? It’s more about playing the statistics/odds. The overall 1st round bust rate by position is led by off ball LB and it’s not particularly close.
Maybe “sour” was too strong as change their mind is probably a better choice….but there is a huge difference between a combine workout warrior and the tape of his actual play in games and how that may be best employed in the Giants defense……still like him a lot, but we as fans don’t make that decision….Harbaugh will and does….
Yes, of course, but FOs can be wrong (and sometimes horribly wrong) when fans are right, and this is a platform where we can debate and criticize those choices.
Styles is a fantastic player, and maybe with the talent of the Giants DL (so long as they keep Lawrence), NY can utilize his strengths and he’ll be the effective and correct choice at a draft slot in which that’s usually not the case. But I’m weary of where the Giants are in their build. I think they need upgrades at WR2 and 3, all 3 iOL spots, true #1 RB, off-ball LB, CB1, and both safety spots. And while TE looks promising, it’s still unsettled. Given all that, is off-ball LB the best position to address at 5 in what will likely be another sub-.500 season? I’m apprehensive of the positional impact, not the player talent. Harbaugh may not be. We’ll find out in a few weeks. Then in a few years, we’ll find out if he was right.
My overall point, though, is while you may not think any WR is worth #5 (I beg to differ, based on the tape, for this specific class), given the perceived relatively weak top of the class, not a lot of these guys are worth a top 5 pick in a usual year. Per usual, you’re shooting for upside and potential win/loss impact that high, but maybe even moreso given that perceived weakness. If Tate/Lemon/Tyson end up being even just high-end WR2s in New York, the Giants’ offense improves tenfold. Teams will no longer be able to bracket Nabers at the same rate or exclusively assign safety help to him, etc. It’s an impact/cost debate. Play it safe at LB and maybe not see the playoffs during his rookie contract or go for broke in an offensive league in which your offense is improving but still needs help.
I could see him on the Niners, but I think if Aiyuk is traded rather than released, his valuation is going to be lower than that.
They can get something for him
I’m assuming Thibodeaux is worth at least a third. I doubt Aiyuk is, if he can even be traded.
Kyle has to do something for him
Don’t think Harbaugh would want Aiyuk in his lockeroom….too much of a disruptive character who is always going to feel is underpaid…..
I remember thinking Thibodeaux was their next Lawrence Taylor, now he’s one of the reasons I’ve stopped stockpiling football cards of guys I have high hopes for. I’ve had way too many misses to keep doing it.
Yikes. How could you think he’d be that after watching how lazy he was at Oregon?
He was indicative of the bad picks Schoen has made low in the draft…..between he and Gentlemen, it will take a couple three drafts to for Harbaugh to get a roster he feels can consistently win with…..
starting to sound like rebuild time
Just say no, Howie.
I called it with this kid after watching him in college.
He doesn’t care enough to be the player people want him to be. He takes plays off and has going back to Oregon.
His effort isn’t even consistent from one game to the next!
That was exactly the knock on him at Oregon yet Schoen still drafted him….just another reason Schoen can’t be trusted as a GM drafting players and needs to be shown the door after this season…..Saquan should have been strike 3 on this guy…..
He’s the poster child for why the NIL is a problem.
He got his money in college based entirely on potential and has no real need to earn a big contract in the NFL. He knows he’ll get paid based on potential alone.
Likely true….
Technique can be taught yet enthusiasm to produce comes from within and if this cat doesn’t have that spark he might never build fire enough to excel.
Makes one curious his motivation to show up and don a uniform! Money or attention?