National Football League

Giants eyeing Jerry Jeudy, Brandin Cooks ahead of trade deadline?

Updated Oct. 31, 2022 11:47 p.m. ET

Brian Daboll understood what he had to work with in his first year coaching the Giants, which is why his philosophy for the team was simple. As safety Julian Love said last week, their entire strategy has been "Bring (opposing teams) to the deep end and see if they can swim … and then drown them."

In other words: Do whatever it takes to drag opponents to the fourth quarter and take your chances.

But that only works if the Giants are strong enough to swim.

So far they've stayed afloat with a surprising, 6-2 record, putting them in line for their first playoff berth since 2016. But that success has also created a huge dilemma for new Giants GM Joe Schoen ahead of the NFL's trading deadline Tuesday at 4 p.m. The flaws in his team were crystal clear in their 27-13 loss in Seattle on Sunday and with the way they've struggled to throw the ball all season.

Geno Smith leads Seahawks with 212 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in the victory over the Giants

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith led the Seahawks with 212 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in the victory over the New York Giants 27-13.

But they're still contenders, and as the Giants well know, those opportunities can be rare.

So will Schoen stick to his long-term rebuilding plan, knowing a championship run this season is probably a fantasy no matter what he does? Or does he seize the moment, be bold and make a deal for a receiver such as Denver's Jerry Jeudy or Houston's Brandin Cooks, even if it costs him draft picks or salary cap space he'd rather use next season?

It's a tough call for a GM of a team that has had remarkable but completely unexpected success which he must know is unsustainable the way they're playing. The Giants had just 225 total yards of offense Sunday. They're averaging only 159 passing yards per game. One player — Saquon Barkley, with 968 yards from scrimmage — has accounted for nearly 40% of their offense all year.

If they keep playing like that, hoping to catch a break in the fourth quarter, the winning can't possibly last — even if Daboll thinks it can.

"I'd say most games come down in this league to one-score games," Daboll said. "A lot of games are won that way. It's not like coaching in some colleges where it's over in the first quarter. Most of these games are back and forth."

That might be true, but it only adds to Schoen's problem. Just think of how much easier life in the fourth quarter could be for the Giants if they had a receiver they could rely on in the clutch. Teams are loading up to stop the Giants' rushing attack, just like the Seahawks did Sunday, when they held Barkley to just 53 yards on his 20 carries and limited quarterback Daniel Jones to only 20 yards.

They can do that because, as the entire NFL knows, the Giants can't throw, mostly because they have one of the NFL's worst receiving corps. But there are fixes available. The Giants have called the Broncos about the 23-year-old Jeudy and Houston about the 29-year-old Cooks, according to an NFL source, and have serious interest in both of them. They particularly like Jeudy, a source said, and Daboll knows him well since they were together at Alabama in 2017.

But Jeudy could be costly, perhaps a second-round pick, one source said. The price for Cooks could be less — maybe a fourth-round pick, some sources suggested — but that's only because he comes with $18 million in guaranteed salary next season, unless they can entice the Texans to pick some of that up.

Some other options, such as Carolina's D.J. Moore or Pittsburgh's Chase Claypool, might even be more costly in draft picks. There are also potential bargain options that league sources say are available, such as Denver's K.J. Hamler or New England's Kendrick Bourne.

So will Schoen go get one of them? The GM, according to those who know him, is realistic about what this Giants team is and has made it clear he won't mortgage any part of the future to make some sort of fantasy run at a championship. But he's still looking because he knows that one receiver could do a lot for his team. It would be a huge boost to the young quarterback he's still evaluating. It would also ease some of the pressure on Barkley, which might make him impossible for defenses to stop.

And that could be big for a tough, gritty team, especially when they get to those pivotal fourth quarters. But big enough for what? They are almost certainly not going to overtake the undefeated Eagles in the NFC East race, even if they add a receiver. And they're in great position to earn a wild-card berth even if they don't.

So that's the question Schoen is wrestling with: Is what he could gain by adding a top receiver worth the price?

Daboll wasn't dropping any hints Monday, saying only, "We'll do whatever we think is best for the team." And for what it's worth, the guy who runs the offense on the field said he feels comfortable with what they have.

"I do," Jones said. "I think we've got guys across the board who can make plays. I've got a lot of trust, a lot of confidence in the guys we have in the locker room."

That's nice, but he surely knows their limitations. Keep in mind, their best receiver right now is Darius Slayton (16 catches, 232 yards), who began training camp as their fifth receiver only because they couldn't trade him. Their second-best receiver is 5-foot-8 rookie Wan'Dale Robinson (12-107). Their third receiver — the one who played the most snaps on Sunday — is Marcus Johnson (6-63), a journeyman who has played for six teams in seven years.

And Jones also knows that help probably isn't coming from within. Veteran Kenny Golladay could be healthy soon, but at this point nobody thinks he'll be the player the Giants hoped when they gave him a four-year, $72 million contract a year ago. The electric Kadarius Toney probably could've helped, but the Giants dumped him and his attitude on Kansas City last week for third- and sixth-round picks.

Which leaves Schoen looking to the outside for the one thing the Giants need more than anything else. Whether he'll get it all depends largely on the cost.

It also depends on just how bold the first-year GM wants to be.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.