Giants nab Zietler in Trade

by Spiro Kasabien @nyspawstsguy_spi

Zietler for Vernon Swap: A Win for Gettleman

Dave Gettleman is under fire folks.  Between the Landon Collins decision and the Odell Beckham Jr. trade, the New York Giants GM is being heavily scrutinized.  However, The Giants nabbed Guard Kevin Zietler from Cleveland in a trade for Olivier Vernon. Zietler is one of the best in the league.

It was rumored that the Giants were shopping Olivier Vernon at the NFL Combine a couple weeks back.  It was also rumored that there weren’t many takers due to the enormous salary that was owed to the talented, yet oft-injured, Edge Rusher.  Most Giant fans were resigned to the fact that the team was either going to have to cut Olivier Vernon or trade him for a very low draft pick.

Enter John Dorsey, the Cleveland Browns GM.  The Browns came to the Giants savior, offering their high-priced Right Guard Kevin Zeitler and the 155^th pick in this year’s draft for Olivier Vernon and the Giants’ 132^nd pick.  The trade can be considered a Win-Win for both teams, but as a Giant fan, I can’t help but be elated about this trade.  (Update: Since the Odell Beckham Jr. trade, these picks have been swapped back)

Kevin Zietler is one of the best Right Guards in the business.  The only reason why the Browns are moving on from Zietler is because they drafted a Guard last year (a few picks ahead of where the Giants drafted Wil Hernandez) and they believe he is ready to take over the starting role for a lot less money.  This allowed the Giants to swoop in and acquire the best pass-blocking guard in the business in Zietler.  Coupled with Hernandez, the Giants now have their best Guard duo since Snee and Seubert back in the mid-2000’s. 

Brown to Zietler Impact:

While I love what Jamon Brown did for the team last year when inserted into the starting lineup. He recently signed with Atlanta. The upgrade from Brown to Zietler is significant.  New York Giant Right Guards last year let up 39 pressures, and Brown was guilty of giving up a good amount of these as his specialty was run-blocking.  Zietler gave up only 11 pressures all year. 

Zietler, who just turned 29 a few days ago, will be a part of this Giants rebuilt offensive line for at least the next 3 years.  His salary is about $8 million dollars cheaper than Vernon’s for the next 2 years, and you can argue that the Giants could receive a lot more bang for their buck with Zietler. 

Vernon played hard and was a decent player for the Giants when he was on the field.  The problem was, he was not on the field consistently.  When he was on the field, he produced, but nowhere near the level of what the Giants were paying Vernon for.  In the end, the Giants and Dave Gettleman made a great move for this year and the future.  Chalk this one up as a W for an organization that was badly in need of one.