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Trade or Cut Bradberry. $+12M Trade Barkley. +$7M There's your money to afford two veteran OL. 1) OG Laken Tomlinson, 4 years $50M. 2022 cap number of $10M 2) OC Matt Paradis, Billy Price, or 2 years $8M. 2022 cap number of $3M. OR OT Morgan Moses, 3 years $22, 2022 cap number $7M. Stop insisting on heading into each draft and each season with a sub-par offensive line.

Man I really love what the Chargers and building over there. First, you gotta love the investment in the OL they've made the last two years. OT Bryan Bulaga OC Corey Linsley OG Matt Feiter, who was real good for them last year Drafting T Rashawn Slater Now Mack. Mack was injured last year, is on the wrong side of 30, and carries a big cap number, but it's a low risk contract for the Chargers (if he doesn't pan out, they can cut him next season or in 2024 and have $0 dead cap because the Bears take that all on). Only had to give up a 2nd and a 2023 6th (not bad, they have many other picks this draft). Mack and Bosa, if he stays healthy, are going to be headaches for OCs. I also like how they didn't blow their load on RB contracts. 4 yrs and $24M for Ekeler, which seems appropriate and not breaking the bank on an RB.

To me this is the key factor. If Barkley had, say, 2 more years on his contact, I'd be fine with keeping him around. He just happens to be in the last year of his contract on a team that's currently trying to turn over the roster (in transition) in 2022...and by the looks of it, unless Schoen pulls a rabbit out of his hat and goes all in on the OL, it looks like we won't have an adequate OL in 2022 to block for Barkley. I too am fully confident that if Barkley were to leave for like the Ravens, Chiefs, or Dallas as you pointed out etc...He'd totally put up 1,500 - 2,000 yards there.

I honestly haven't followed the combine fully. What are the thoughts on Evan Neal and/or Kenyon Green as well? I think I saw Kenyon Green's stock fall. My understanding of Cross...isn't he more of a pass blocking LT, only average at run blocking, probably not suited to switch to the right side? Although with coaching and a training program, anything is possible I guess. Linderbaum looks like the real deal. I'd be fine if we take him at #5 if we think he's the next best OL available, I suppose. Either way we go, I mean.... these are the perils of years of mal-investment in the OL, and leaving your OL to the whims of the draft.

What new and improved OL? If you bring in at least one good veteran OL (such as Laken Tomlinson) and TWO top 50 draft picks, the giants have a chance at a somewhat okay OL... but we won't get the solid veteran OL...because $7.2M is tied up in Barkley, plus others. (Plus I don't expect Schoen will invest big in the OL in free agency. I strongly doubt Schoen uses two out of their three top 50 picks on OL and trades Barkley...so we won't have a good OL next year. 2022 is a transitory year. Here's what I expect to see from Schoen, based on what we've seen so far from him. He'll sign 1 - 2 cheap free agent OLs (below average-average players), and draft 1 OL in the first two rounds (probably 1 in the first round). We won't get the premium free agent OL we need, and we'll get only one premium draft pick invested in the OL. He may use later round picks on OL as well for depth. So at best your OL looks like this LT Thomas LG Bredeson/Wes Martin, Lemeuix (i.e. garbage) C cheap below average free agent OL RG cheap below average free agent OL, OR top draft pick RT Peart, or cheap below average free agent OL, OR top draft pick (remove top draft pick from RG and place here). In other words, we're filling in 4 out of 5 open OL spots with 1 premium rookie, 1-2 cheap free agents, and the shittiness that is Bredeson, Wes Martin, Lemeuix, and Peart. Trust me. The OL won't be good next year.

More or less a 4th round pick or cheap free agent will do about as well if not better than Barkley. As the 4th round pick (Gallman) did in 2020 And as the cheap free agent (Booker...who interestingly was also a 4th round pick) did in 2021 When they both outperformed Barkley. And we have a better record without Barkley than we do with him, in the last four years....so why are we keeping him when he doesn't help us win any games?

Yes, this is what I would advocate for. Using two out of our three draft picks in the first 2 rounds on OL, and then bringing in at least one decent FA (perhaps Laken Tomlinson). Then at the other guard position, you just have to live with/get by with guys like Bredeson, Wes Martin, and/or Lemieux competing for that remaining OL spot.

He's not going to produce 1,500 yards behind this offensive line even if he stays healthy, especially not with $7.2M of precious cap resources tied up.

All these reasons, plus especially the part here in bold...if some team is dumb enough to trade for Barkley, you take it. Take whatever you can get. There's no point to retaining him.

Take the 4th rounder honestly, bring in a cheap veteran backup (is Gallman available?) and draft Dameon Pierce out of Florida with that 4th round pick. This kid Dameon Pierce pretty close to a Rodney Hampton style player, or for more modern reference Frank Gore. He's not super flashy/fast, but he has excellent vision, plants his foot in the ground, runs north/south, bounces off tacklers with good contact balance, and keeps grinding forward. He can also catch the ball (is a remarkably good route runner), and pass block. And he's #27...sooo

Yes, that's what I meant. Trade only. I'm good with that plan for the OL.

What about Bo Melton. Local kid, WR from Rutgers. Ran a 4.34 40. I realize the 40 yard dash isn't everything, but he was also a very skilled receiver, good route runner as well. He had been considered a late round pick, but now maybe 3rd or 4th round?

I just don't get the Giant fans who are like "Well we don't know what Daniel Jones is because he's never had a good OL to block for him" As if we're going to magically get a good OL to block for him in 2022. Spoiler alert: unless Schoen pulls a rabbit out of his hat with trades/cuts, and brings in at least 4 good, starting capable veteran lineman and/or premium draft pick lineman, we're not going to have a good OL this year). We're going to be asking ourselves the same questions about him a year from now as we are now "Well what would he have been if he had a good OL???"

That would be awesome if it happens.

I would take a 4th in a heartbeat. Take whatever you can get. A 3rd for Bradberry is good as well.

The trade value on Barkely I agree must be poor, but just get him off the roster any way you can. Heck take a 5th-6th rounder at this point just to get that $7.2M cap number off the books. This is an all too familiar script with the giants over the last several years. Going into the season with a decrepit OL....then turning around and being shocked when your offense can't move the ball, despite having decent skill position players...and then turning around and being even more shocked when an offensive coordinator "can't figure out how to turn shit into diamonds" with the shitty offensive line he's been given ("Ahh it's the playcalling that's bad!"). Like Clinton with "It's the economy, stupid" from 1992, so to it is with the Giants in 2022 "It's the Offensive Line, stupid!"

I just don't understand the logic that this is a "prove it" year for Daniel Jones. 2022 is going to be a transitory, roster turnover year for the Giants. It's probably the worst environment for a Quarterback to "prove themselves" in. We have 4 out of 5 OL starter spots currently unfilled, and only 1 reliable starting OL Andrew Thomas. Given Schoen's insistence on keeping Barkley, we're likely going to have little cap firepower to invest in OL in free agency (maybe bring in one starter?), and will have to rely on the draft for the rest...meaning, at best, we get maybe MAYBE a below average OL this year (as opposed to a bottom of the barrel OL last year). Depth on the OL will be an issue as well. Even three backup caliber players we had, Hernandez, Solder, Price, are now free agents and gone. In three seasons, he's proven he can't stay healthy. He missed 6 games last year, and played injured (when he shouldn't have) in at least one more. Missed 3 games the year before and was clearly injured in a few more. Also, injured and missed a few games his rookie season. Plus this latest injury might be more significant. I can already tell you his 2022 season is unlikely to be a great one, and we'll likely still be left with the same question marks when he hits free agency in 2023...and then what? You're not going to sign him to any kind of big deal. He'll likely walk. Maybe you can retain him on the cheap, as you draft and develop a 2023 QB draft pick, on like a 1 yr $7M deal or some shit like that, or he'll go elsewhere and MAYBE have a semi-okay career, or be a career backup.

The $7.2M you would save by cutting Barkley can be put towards getting us a solid veteran offensive lineman (a position where we have 4/5 starters to fill). Again, the guy's injury prone, plus 2022 is a transitory year (we won't be on contention), and Barkley's last season. What's the point of keeping Barkley? Without a competent OL, the guy doesn't make a difference...and we're not getting a competent OL in 2022 along with him at this rate. Who's going to start on our OL next year besides Andrew Thomas? Lemieux didn't even play a snap last year, plus is only a backup. Gates has a potentially career ending injury; can't count on him. Peart is clearly nowhere near starting materials. Bredeson is a backup at best. Price, who played sorta okay down the stretch, is a free agent. Hernandez who blowed is also a free agend. We have one starting OL on this current roster, lol. I presume we use ONE premium draft pick (top 2 rds) on an OL...maybe two. But even then, the OL won't be competent this season. There's really no point to keeping Barkley.

I can't believe we cut Booker, and are planning to keep Barkley this year. Completely dumb move that wastes $8M in precious cap space, and leaves us with an undependable injury prone back, rather than a solid back who outperformed the injury prone back.

I'd love it if there we some kind of analysis done on all the mid-season 2021 cap moves DG made (i.e. he scrambled to restructure a lot of existing contracts to push salaries out of 2021 into 2022). E.g. Bradberry, Leonard Williams, Martinez, heck he was even trying to restructure Riley Dixon and Kyle Rudolph if I recall correctly. I wonder what the total $ value of that stupidity is. It's gotta be above $10M. Probably closer to $20M. DG really fucked over his successor.

He's a ~$14M cap hit, and if we cut him ~$5.5M dead cap, therefore the cap savings of cutting him is ~$8.5M. Purely for health reasons I'd cut him. Do we know he'd return to full form and his prior form in 2022? I don't think we do. I don't think you commit this level of cap space on this chance. They need to bring in a defense that doesn't rely on him being the MLB.

One would have to hope the fact that there's a new front office regime and new coach in Daboll in town running the show, that this would entice some to want to be a part of this. But yeah, the giants are a depressing franchise right now, with 2022 likely to be a transitory year. Realistically I don't see Schoen trading Barkley, so 2022 is a year where we're turning over the roster and finally figuring out that Jones and Barkley aren't the future here; I already know that aren't the future, but it hasn't dawned on giants management yet.

Schoen's decisions in terms of cuts/trades shouldn't be complicated: Cuts: (+$38M): Bradberry, Martinez, Shepherd (post June 1), Rudolph, Slayton, Dixon, Ximines (possibly Love +$2.5M too) Trade: (+$7.2M): Barkley That gets you to about $34-35M under the cap, and more than enough to invest in an actual OL with one upper tier OL (e.g. Laken Tomlinson) and one decent veteran (e.g. Brandon Shell, Morgan Moses).

I account for that in the current cap space of -$11M (it factors in 1st round picks) plus leave +$5M leftover after free agency. Also keep in mind, the money baked into the current cap space is based on the active roster, i.e. top 52-53 players. Many players currently counting towards the cap will be replaced by draft picks, resulting in only a small net hit on the cap. So for instance. Say we draft a LB in the 6th round who we decide we like better than Carter Coughlin on the active roster (i.e. we keep the pick, and cut Coughlin). The Rookie cap hit is something like $850k, but that simply replaces Coughlin who's at $922K, so that draft pick doesn't add to the cap; it's essentially a wash. In other words, you have to subtract the active players that are likely to be cut from the draft pool. For instance, I doubt we hang on to the likes of scrubs like Brian Lewarke, Davis Webb, Omari Cobb, Niko Lalos, Alex Bachman, etc. Their spots on the active roster are likely replaced by draft picks (or free agents). For example, if Bo Melton in my mock draft replaces Alex Bachman, the resulting cap hit is probably minimal or just a wash. At minimum, say draft picks in rounds #2 - 6 (7 players) replace 7 players on the active roster, you have to sum up the cap hits of the draft picks (maybe it's ~$8.5M or something) but also subtract out cap savings of the 7 players you're cutting (maybe 7x ~$800k = $5.6M), so the resulting cap hit is minimal. It's only $2.9M in this example.