NY Giants' Three Worst Recent Trades Over Last Decade

Joe Schoen's intention was good, if just a bit misguided, given how he underestimated the roster after just one year on the job.

Still, he sent the third-round pick (one of two) he received in the Kadarius Toney trade to the Las Vegas Raiders for proven pass-catching tight end Darren Waller with the hopes of giving Daniel Jones a viable weapon in the passing game. 

The problem with this trade was two-fold. One, Waller had developed a recent injury history that followed him to the Giants.

Gambling on injured players is always a risk, and sure enough, Lady Luck wasn't on the Giants' side when they brought Waller over, as in his lone season in New York, he landed on IR, missing five games. 

But an even bigger problem, as Waller has said in the past, was that the Giants didn’t exactly deploy him to his strengths, one of several reasons why he apparently grew disenchanted with the franchise and stepped away in retirement, only to later come out of retirement so the Giants could trade him to Miami. 

If you’re going to trade for a player, doesn’t it make sense to deploy him to his strengths?

P.S. Waller’s injury history is still a real thing as he’s currently on IR.  

WR Odell Beckham Jr. to Cleveland

Remember how former Giants general manager Dave Gettleman said he didn’t sign Odell Beckham, Jr. to trade him?

Yeah, we do too. 

Yet somewhere along the line, after signing the receiver to a five-year extension worth $95 million, the Giants apparently grew tired of Beckahm’s off-field antics and decided to ship him over to Cleveland in what was a mixed-bag type of trade. 

The Giants acquired safety Jabrill Peppers (who had been a first-round pick), and two 2019 draft picks, Cleveland’s first-rounder (turned into Dexter Lawrence) and third-rounder (turned into Oshane Ximines). 

While one might argue that the Giants ended up with two first-round picks in exchange for Beckham (Peppers and the pick that turned into Lawrence), the flipside is that with the Giants having drafted quarterback Daniel Jones that spring with the sixth overall pick, wouldn’t it have helped the rookie to have a proven playmaker like Beckham on the roster?

DT B.J. Hill to Cincinnati

In 2021, the Giants found themselves in need of offensive line help (what else is new, right?) So to fill that need, they sent defensive lineman B.J. Hill, a homegrown product they had drafted in the third round of the 2018 draft, to the Bengals for guard/center Billy Price, the Bengals’ first-round pick (No. 21 overall) in 2018.

Price, whose option year wasn’t exercised by the Bengals, ended up allowing 24 quarterback pressures, the fourth most allowed by a Giants offensive lineman that season, and two sacks in his lone season with the Giants.  

Price’s stint with the Giants was short-lived — after the 2021 season, he split the following year between the Raiders and Cardinals. In 2023, his final season, he was with the Saints and Cowboys before retiring due to health concerns. 

Hill, meanwhile, is still with the Bengals, where he has been a solid contributor and starter on the Cincinnati defensive line.