I got tons of questions for this week’s mailbag, so we’ll go lightning round on a bunch of these. Let’s roll …
From Eli (@EliTooCold): Do the Giants like Hunter to the point they would trade up with the Browns for the 2nd pick?
Eli, that’s a good question. Taking Travis Hunter would be much cleaner for the New York Giants than taking Abdul Carter, just because they have needs at both of his positions, whereas they invested picks and a big contract in Brian Burns, and the fifth pick in the 2022 draft in Kayvon Thibodeaux. If the Cleveland Browns are set on Carter, then they might be O.K. sliding down a slot for a reasonable give back. In this case, the draft value chart says the Giants giving up their third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks to swap spots is a fair exchange.
Generally, in the upper reaches of the NFL draft, you’re going to pay a bigger premium than that, but that’s normally driven by quarterback value. Because of the unique dynamics in this class—where it’s Carter and Hunter, then a big drop-off—where the Browns would still be able to get one of the two blue-chip guys, they might be willing. The question, in that scenario, would be whether the Giants would be willing to drain their supply of capital to three picks.
It’s an interesting idea, anyway.
From organix (@0rganix): Would the Giants really take Carter with Burns and Kayvon? Would they trade Kayvon? Look to trade down?
Organix, it’s an interesting question that I wanted to dive into last week, so I did ask around to try to figure out exactly where the Giants would be on that.
The question, of course, would be on getting Burns, Thibodeaux and Carter on the field together all at once—since the best place for all three is probably at the end of the line, on the line of scrimmage. And my guess would be, at first, you’d probably rotate the three throughout the game to keep them fresh. But Carter was an off-ball linebacker as a freshman and sophomore at Penn State, and you could have packages on early downs where he’d be playing an inside linebacker spot (and Burns has some of the flexibility, too).
Now, the benefit would be how creative you could get with it. Remember, this is the franchise that, in 2007, drafted Mathias Kiwanuka in the first round despite already having Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck on the roster; then took Jason Pierre-Paul in the first round in ’10, despite having Tuck, Umenyiora and Kiwanuka on hand. And they won Super Bowls in ’07 and ’11, largely as a result of having overwhelming defensive fronts.
So I think John Mara might get a little glimmer in his eye with the idea of lining up Burns, Carter, Thibodeaux and All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on third down. And I wouldn’t blame him. Travis Hunter would be the cleaner pick, of course, based on the Giants’ needs. But if I’m Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, Carter would be no consolation prize.
From davey zayas (@DZ2255): Will Giants go QB or best available?
And Davey, to that, I say, best player.
Want some more logic? The Giants signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to incentive-laden one-year deals. Both have their viability as starting quarterbacks on the line this year, so they’re competing for dollars and their respective futures. The two have been in the league for a combined 23 seasons. Never has either of them had a highly drafted rookie behind them. So, to me, that’s not how you’d build a quarterback room for a rookie who is going to be playing a lot in his first NFL season.
So let’s say, then, that you plan on taking a quarterback and redshirting him. Would that make sense with Mara having already acknowledged that Daboll and Schoen are fighting for their jobs? In other words, if you had one year to prove yourself, would you spend that year’s most valuable asset on a guy who wasn’t even going to play?
I’d bet Hunter or Carter will be a Giant.
From Curtis Allen (@curtis93969): There is a lot of confusion about the Sam Darnold contract. Did the Seahawks guarantee his $15m 2026 roster bonus this year? And if so, why did they break from their practice of not guaranteeing second-year money up front?
Curtis, in short, they didn’t.
Right now, Sam Darnold has $17.5 million in 2026 that’s guaranteed for injury only—a $15 million roster bonus due next March and $2.5 million of his $12.3 million base salary. That $17.5 million vests as fully guaranteed on Feb. 14, six days after Super Bowl LX. So the Seahawks have to make a decision on keeping Darnold in mid-February, but as of right now, barring major injury, Seattle can bail after a single year without much penalty.
That, of course, was one of the deal-breakers in the Geno Smith negotiation.
From Come & Take It (@1776USAForever): Should the Niners look to trade CMC for draft capital now, since this draft RB class is loaded with talent and the Niners need to pay Purdy?
Come & Take It, if there was a suitor willing to give up big capital, I might actually say yes.
But given that Christian McCaffrey’s already gotten his $14.245 million roster bonus for 2025, which you can’t run the clock back on (that was earned on April 1), and that he’s coming off an injury-riddled season, it seems like there’s almost no scenario where the Niners would entertain trading him and then get value that would make it worth walking from one of the best players on their roster.
Now, if the question is whether you use this year’s draft to start your exit strategy, with plans to move on from the star tailback after 2025 (his ninth NFL season), then that’s something I could see happening. But making any sort of final judgment on that is tough to do until we see how he looks this fall after turning 29 in June.
From Michael Balderas (@Micbalderas277): How true are the rumors of Hampton going in the top 15?
Michael, top 15 is probably a little rich. I like Omarion Hampton. But I think what’s going to hurt him a bit is that there’s so much depth in this year’s running back class, that a needy team could look at him and say, We can wait until Friday and land … Quinshon Judkins, Kaleb Johnson, R.J. Harvey, Trevor Etienne, Cam Skattebo … and not be much worse off.
So if you’re one of these teams picking in the teens, I can see where you’d look at it and say it might be better to go with an offensive or defensive linemen, or a corner or receiver, and then double back at running back.
Ashton Jeanty, to me, is sort of separate from this, because I think he is viewed as worthy of being seen in the Zeke Elliott, Todd Gurley, McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley tier of guys that go that high. I’m not sure Hampton’s quite there.
From Sizzerb (@sizzerb23): Where is Jokic gonna play next year? Could it be the Broncos?
If you’re the Broncos, you gotta make that call. Can’t hurt to ask.
From ZachLaymansNFL (@ZachLaymansNFL): Is there any chance that the lack of a deal between the Chiefs and Trey Smith could lead to a draft day trade?
Zach, I can’t imagine that will happen. I think they’ll get a deal done with Trey Smith. As it stands now, they’ve got Jaylon Moore and Jawaan Taylor at the tackles, they’re hoping Kingsley Suamataia develops at guard, and they’ve got an anchor at center in Creed Humphrey. And the line was their fatal flaw last year.
Bottom line: They’re really not in any position to take a Pro Bowl–level player out of that mix. So Smith has leverage here, for sure. But I also don’t think you’d trade Joe Thuney, and leave yourself with the above, if you have any sort of designs on trading Smith.
From K Harrington (@harringto54524): Who do you think will be a surprising 1st round pick?
Surprising? I don’t want to sound like an Ohio State homer, but TreVeyon Henderson is the one name that comes to mind. He’s pristine from a character perspective, is an incredibly well-rounded back (go look at his pass-protection reps for evidence of that), and will remind a lot of folks of Jahmyr Gibbs.
Given the makeup of this draft class, and some of the weaknesses at receiver, I could certainly see where some playoff team would look at Henderson and see a guy who could juice an offense in a way other guys available at that point of this particular draft can’t.
From David Kromelow (@dkrom59): Do you think there will be less trades in the first round than usual given the quality of this draft class?
David, off-hand, I’d say less early, but there could be some action starting in the teens.
Just looking at it logically, I think the separation of Carter and Hunter from the rest of the class, quarterbacks aside, will probably keep the Browns and Giants where they are at Nos. 2 and 3. After that, you probably have a dozen players who are in the same category of prospect, which might kill a team’s motivation to go up from, say, No. 12 to Nos. 6 or 7.
Where the action would begin is when supply is starting to run low at certain positions, and that could happen in the teens.
From P-Mac McGruder (@ChiefsFan4Lyfe): Thank you for answering my last question about BPA for the Chiefs; I wondered what defensive backs and linebackers would fit the Chiefs that fans should look for?
Good question. I’d love Texas corner Jahdae Barron for them, personally, because of his versatility. Ditto for Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell. But I don’t think that’ll happen—both will be long gone by the time the Chiefs get on the clock at 31.
I do think tackle would be the first thing they’d look at, so if Ohio State’s Josh Simmons or Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr. were there, it would be hard for the Chiefs to pass on them. If it’s a defensive player, I think Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison would be an interesting one to look at, maybe in the second round. He’s big, smart and versatile, and he will go a little later than he should because of injury.
From Exarmy (@Exarmy116291): Will Campbell or Jalon Walker at 4?
From The Notirious Patriot (@brien1277): What do that Patriots do with #4 and will they trade back into the first round for a 2nd pick?
Exarmy, I’m not a scout. But in talking to those who are, I’d probably chase the ceiling of Walker, and what he can be as a Swiss Army knife for your defensive front, over Campbell, who is going to be a really good pro—but might be a guard.
And Patriot, I think if they don’t take Campbell or Missouri’s Armand Membou, I could see the Patriots trading back into the first round to get someone such as Conerly or Simmons.
From Ryan Lan (@Cvee23): How many trades do you expect in the 1st round? And do you expect more movement in the 2-9 range, 10-22 range, or last first range.
As I said before, I could see movement in the late teens and early 20s, when high-end supply at certain positions starts to run dry.
From Matthew Lownes (@LownesMatthew): Good offseason question: Will the league ever expand past 32 teams?
Matthew, the only way it would happen, in my mind, is if they’re going overseas.
The crux of it is that the NFL is making a certain amount of national revenue, and that money is cut up 32 ways. So, to add a 33rd and 34th piece to that pie, the new teams would have to add enough value for it to be worth the owners’ financial while to do it. I don’t think there’s an open city domestically that would accomplish that.
London? Munich? Then, we’re talking about potentially adding something game-changing.
But that, of course, can’t happen before a lot of the logistical challenges associated with having teams five and six time zones away from New York (and seven and eight time zones away from Los Angeles) are worked out.
From Richard Ito (@rich_ito): Graham seems to be who everyone mocks to the Jags. I feel like it’s rare for a pick to stay this consistently chalk throughout the majority of the process. Do you also think it’s Graham? And if it’s not Graham who are some surprise names we could see at pick 5?
I’ll get back to you on that. But I do think Mason Graham would be in play for the Jacksonville Jaguars there, especially with a couple of former Los Angeles Rams guys who were around Aaron Donald running the show
From #1 FIN Fan (@EliteMarino): Is there any chance the Dolphins select Shedeur Sanders at #13?
I’d be stunned. They just did the Tua Tagovailoa contract, and that’s a contract that would be very, very difficult to trade, if Sanders were to become your starter in a year. The timing just doesn’t make sense on that idea.
From Jimmy T (@jimmy_tomredle): If Hunter goes to the Browns and Abdul Carter is on the board at #3, would the Giants listen to offers on the pick or take Carter right there at #3?
Jimmy, the problem with that would be that the Giants might view the guy available to them at picks four, five or six as having similar value to the 15th or 20th pick last year. So how do you get proper value back in walking away from someone such as Carter if you see the picks right behind you that way?
Now, if we’re talking about a lower first-round pick, and maybe a 2026 first-rounder coming back from someone, I’d listen.
From L.A.N.K (@DatDamn_DOMO): Hunter vs Carter. Who you think the #2 will be?
I’d guess Carter. But I’m far from 100% on it right now.
From Tommy Norris (@TNorrisAZ): Are there any teams that like a player (outside of the top 3-5 guys) so much that they are worth watching as trade up candidates? (ex the Campbells, Walker, Barron etc.)
I’d say Jeanty’s an interesting guy to watch in that regard, just because he probably is in the Hunter–Carter category, if you take positional value out of it. I’d be surprised if any of these guys, though, provoke some massive move into the top 10 from a team.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mailbag: Will Giants End Up With Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter or a Trade.
