Giants are 'open for business' in terms of offers to trade down from No. 4 overall pick, Dave Gettleman says

INDIANAPOLIS — The Giants have the fourth overall pick in the upcoming draft.

For now.

General manager Dave Gettleman declared his organization “open for business” when it comes to offers for that selection, and head coach Joe Judge trumpeted its value as “beachfront property.”

“We’re looking for the best move for the New York Giants at this point,” Judge said. “We’re open to listening to anything. We don’t have to do anything, but we’re willing to listen to anything.”

That’s a far cry from the Giants’ position two years ago, when they held the second overall pick in a quarterback-heavy draft and decided to cover their ears to trade offers because they were intent on selecting Saquon Barkley. And it also is a break in the apparent philosophy of Gettleman, who never has traded back — in the first round or in any round — in his career as a GM.

Gettleman joked that he might have “the Trade Back Blues,” but admitted this could be the year he cures that affliction.

The value of the Giants’ real estate likely hinges on the status of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. If the Alabama product is healthy enough to satisfy NFL teams who are looking for a quarterback and want to jump ahead of the quarterback-needy Dolphins, who have the fifth overall pick, the Giants might make for an enticing partner. Tagovailoa suffered a serious hip injury during the 2019 season and is not participating in any activities at the Combine, but said on Tuesday he hopes to be cleared by doctors on March 9.

The Lions, with the third overall selection, also have stated their openness to trade down. That could complicate matters for the Giants. It also could mean that their fourth overall pick improves to the second overall non-quarterback pick in the draft, which would be a fine consolation if they use it to select an immediate impact player on defense.

“What they do will affect what we’ll do,” Gettleman said of the Lions.

Despite being open to the idea, Gettleman said he still has reservations about the possibility.

“Trading back is fraught,” he said. “It has danger. What happens if you trade back . . . to eight and there are only four players we like and they’re all gone? Now what are you going to do? Are you going to trade back again? You can trade yourself back out of good players.

“I’ve seen teams trade themselves away from really good players, and while it hasn’t scarred me, I’ve seen what it’s done to those teams and it’s something I just have in my head.”