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By Adam Nardelli @Adamnardelli

Giants Next Move: Trading for a franchise QB

Former Ohio State QB and NJ native Dwayne Haskins has been tied to the Giants in endless mock drafts over the past few months. So why should the Giants trade for Josh Rosen?

Haskins might have the making of a franchise QB, but there’s one problem. The Giants have the 6th pick in the draft, and after a strong showing at the combine, it’s by far from a guarantee that Haskins (or Kyler Murray for that matter) will make it to the Giants at 6.

In order to move up three or four spots (depending on how the draft plays out) to ensure they land one of the two QBs in the draft, the Giants would have to trade away major draft capital.

Just last year the Jets moved up from the 6th to the 3rd pick and traded away three second-round picks in order to do so. The Giants only have two picks in the top 100 this year, and would most likely have to give up high round picks in next year’s draft in order to get to the 3rd spot or higher.

For a team that has glaring (and I mean glaring) holes all over the defense, potentially giving away first and second round picks in future drafts is tough to sell. Thankfully, there may be an alternative to having to trade up in this year’s draft. If the Cardinals are serious about taking Kyler Murray with the first pick, the Giants NEED to be seriously considering trading for Josh Rosen.

Cost Factor:

There have been conflicting reports about the Cardinals shopping Rosen (Charley. Casserly says yes, Adam Schaffer reported the opposite), but some executives around the league have posted that a second or third-round pick would suffice in a trade for Rosen.

If that’s the case, the Giants would potentially trade their 37th overall pick in the second-round for Rosen or if needed the newly acquired 17th pick. The Giants can get who they believe is their future franchise QB, and keep the #6 pick, compared to trading away multiple future assets in order to trade up.

At #6 the Giants would have endless flexibility if they don’t have to use it on a quarterback. This draft is heavy on pass rushers, one of the biggest (if not the biggest) Giants needs. Maybe one of those top pass rushers/defensive lineman (Josh Allen, Quinnen Williams etc.) drops a bit if there’s a run on quarterbacks in the beginning of the draft.

Trading Down: Strategy

Trading down a few picks is another option. The Giants still have a need on offensive line, specifically at right tackle, as well as at cornerback and linebacker. Well guess what? The Giants now have additional picks and endless scenarios are possible.

Therefore, Big Blue could trade down a few spots from 6, and still, have their pick at some of the best prospects at those positions. Cornerback Greedy Williams, linebacker Devin White (both from LSU) and tackle Cody Ford from Oklahoma all could be available in the 10-15 range. Dave Gettleman could also recoup a second-round pick in a trade back scenario if they were to give up #37 in efforts to trade for Rosen.

The dark horse is the newly acquired 17th pick and the coveted 3rd rounder that was missing before last night. And maybe one of the more underrated reasons to trade for Josh Rosen is money. Rosen is on a cost-controlled rookie contract for the next three seasons. During his fifth-year option (if he gets it) Rosen would receive the average of the top ten salaries at the QB position. This is because he was a first-round pick.

Having a quarterback on a rookie contract is a major salary cap advantage. The Giants could potentially follow the Rams formula by trading for Rosen and surrounding him with top tier talent. While many teams are paying their QBs $20 million a year or more, the Giants would be paying less than half of that for Rosen.

This would give the Giants major flexibility in free agency in terms of adding premium players all across the roster, specifically on defense. Trading for Rosen becomes a no brainer.

So why should the Giants trade for Josh Rosen? Seattle won a Super Bowl with Russell Wilson on his rookie contract, and the Rams having Jared Goff on the cheap was a major reason why they made it to the big game in Atlanta. It’s a copy cat league, and the Giants should copy.