Could the New York Giants trade former first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux? It's possible, especially if they select Penn State edge rusher Absul Carter with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Thibodeaux is entering the final year of his rookie contract and the team has yet to exercise his fifth-year option. They have until May 1 to do so, but as of now, they haven't moved on it.
That has given way to speculation about whether or not they plan on doing it at all. The fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of Oregon has shown flashes of becoming a force but overall, he's been mostly inconsistent.
If the Giants land Carter, they would have to play him somewhere. He's not going to displace Brian Burns, and the team just invested in Chauncey Golston, so that makes Thibodeaux potentially expendable.
Veteran NFL reporter Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports recently identified one player from each NFL team that could be traded at draft time. For the Giants, it was Thibodeaux.
Trading a 25-year-old pass rusher who had 11.5 sacks two years ago wouldn't make a lot of sense for a rebuilding team … unless it knows it's got a replacement ready. So, this really depends on whether the Giants end up drafting Penn State's Abdul Carter with the No. 3 pick. If they do, they might conclude that they're not going to pay Thibodeaux big money when his contract expires after the season (or after 2026, if they pick up his fifth-year option), especially when they've already got huge money committed to DE Brian Burns and DT Dexter Lawrence. It might hurt them in the short term, but a deal could be a long-term help because a player like Thibodeaux could bring multiple premium draft picks in return.
If the Giants trade Thibodeaux, it would further demonstrate how the team feels about general manager Joe Schoen's first two drafts with the club. In 2022, Thibodeaux was just one of Schoen's first-rounders. The other was right tackle Evan Neal, a player the Giants are also prepared to move on from.
Throw in the 2023 first-rounder, cornerback Deonte Banks, and the troubles he's had, Schoen's rocky early tenure with the club is being slowly erased as time progresses. Of the 18 players the Giants selected in the 2022 and 2023 drafts, only six will be starters this coming season.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Kayvon Thibodeaux named a player who could be traded before NFL draft