FAQs About Gettleman And the Full-On Giant Rebuild
Giants GM has agreed to trade away the franchise’s best player since Lawrence Taylor but may have acted too late
“No.”
Those were the only words Max Kellerman of ESPN’s First Take could mutter when the news broke yesterday evening. Actually, it was pretty much the reaction of New York Giants’ fans everywhere.
It was impossible. The front office wouldn’t be crazy enough to do something like that would they? Would they be foolish enough to agree to a trade like this?
Sadly, it wasn’t some cruel joke or a dark prank. It was real. The Giants actually did it. They traded Odell Beckham Jr.
Yes, the same Odell Beckham Jr. — one of the best wide receivers in the NFL — arguably the most dynamic athlete the Giants ever had since legendary linebacker Lawrence Taylor, was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft (#17 overall), a second 3rd-round pick this year, Safety Jabrill Peppers, and Guard Kevin Zeitler.
What does this mean for Cleveland Browns?
As if it wasn’t clear, the Browns are going all in on being competitive next season. With Baker Mayfield being the best young QB in the 2018 NFL Draft class, Jarvis “Juice” Landry and Odell Beckham as legitimate playmakers, and an improving defensive squad, the Browns are going to make their presence known in the NFL next season. It also helps that the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, and the Cincinnati Bengals have taken some losses during this free agency period. This gives the Browns the much-needed advantage to win their division.
Will Beckham be comfortable in Cleveland?
Oh most definitely. For once, he actually gets to play with a younger, more athletic (and dare I say “better”) quarterback in Mayfield. He also gets to team up with his old LSU pal Landry again, has better protection with an improved offensive line, and will not be the sole playmaker on the team where he has to do everything. It’s the perfect situation for a generational talent to be in since he can now be on an actual playoff team that could possibly challenge the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship.
What does this mean for the Giants?
This means they’ve fully embraced the rebuild. Now that all of the draft picks from 2011 to 2015 are gone this essentially means that Gettleman can create the team to his image. The Giants are relieved from Beckham’s childish tantrums and no longer have to worry about him tainting their perfect image as a leading organization that has exceptional success over the years. There’s just one problem that the Giants need to answer: what exactly are they building? Unlike the situation in Carolina where Gettleman let go of players like DeAngelo Williams and Steve Smith but still had promising key players like athletic quarterback Cam Newton, the Giants have no real building blocks to effectively build a team. It doesn’t help that the trade they’ve made equates to receiving a Deluxe Quarter Pounder with cheese, six piece chicken nuggets, and a Hi-C orange. It sounds good in theory when in reality it’s not.
For whatever reason besides sentimentalism, Eli Manning is going to be back next season as the Giants’ quarterback. He’s far removed from his Pro Bowl/Super Bowl winning days. He’s older, slower, and no longer a capable starting quarterback in the modern NFL. It’s not his fault though. “Father Time” caught up with him like every other professional athlete and he can’t perform at a competent level like he used to. It also doesn’t help that the Giants have failed to capitalize on his success (along with former head coach Tom Coughlin) since February 2012 when they beat the immortal Tom Brady and the Patriots (again) to win Super Bowl XLVI. Since then they had multiple errors that have put them in the unfortunate circumstance that they are currently in right now.
Heck, even after drafting Beckham and realizing he’s a legit playmaker they probably should’ve started the rebuild right then and there. Instead they tried to rally behind Manning in hopes for a breakthrough appearance in the postseason and they did (once) but ultimately failed against the Green Bay Packers.
If the Giants knew they wanted to go into a rebuild, what’s the point of drafting Barkley last year?
Drafting Rookie of the Year Saquon Barkley isn’t as a big of a crime as people make it out to be. He was viewed as a secondary playmaker next to Beckham so that would ease the pressure off of the quarterback. The problem is that the Giants decided to get rid of Beckham too little, too late and that means Manning’s days are numbered. If they knew they wanted to part ways with Manning this early, they should have taken Sam Darnold — who seems to be in good hands with the New York Jets now that they are adding legitimate talent around him to improve the roster — and made smaller trades during the season last year. Instead, a midjudged roster, poor coaching decisions, and an unhappy Beckham led to brash trades that ultimately raises more questions than providing answers and hope.
Why would the Giants wait until now to trade Beckham?
Nobody knows to be honest. It’s no secret that the Giants’ front office has never been a fan of Beckham’s personality and impudent actions on AND off the field. They even wondered if bringing him back was worth it at some point but realized the team had a better chance of winning with him staying here as opposed to letting him walk. However, last season pretty much killed that relationship after his infamous interview on FOX that threw both Manning and Pat Shurmur under the bus. Not to mention, the lack of progression would’ve more than likely caused Beckham to pull an “Antonio Brown” after witnessing his shenanigans that ultimately led to his exit from Pittsburgh. The Giants more than likely didn’t want to be in the same boat so they parted ways before it could come to that.
As far as Beckham’s relationship with his former teammates, it’s always been mostly positive. He’s never been detrimental to his team as far as play style goes. Even when he’s critical of his team he’s been an excellent teammate and served as the backbone of the team’s morale along with other former Giant Landon Collins (who by the way joined division rival team Washington Redskins). When he wasn’t playing, the Giants offense stagnated. Sterling Shepard is a solid slot receiver but that’s pretty much what he is: a solid playmaker who can occasionally make some key catches and plays to get the first down or a touchdown. Barkley was the only other phenomenal playmaker who would’ve served as a piece of a great wide receiver/running back duo combo that most NFL teams dream of having on their roster. Sadly, it was never meant to be.
So what’s going to happen now?
Well Gettleman needs to strike hard this summer to showcase Giants’ fans that even though he lied to the faces of millions of people saying that they wouldn’t trade Beckham and him misjudging the talent doesn’t mean that the Giants cannot find a path to victory. Analysts have every right to be cynical as to what the Giants willdo next. Does this mean they will take a QB and a defensive pass rusher with the two first round picks? Maybe the Giants will get DK Metcalf as Beckham’s replacement and make other critical moves to save this team.
Regardless how you feel about Gettleman, it’s his team and fans have to see how he builds it from his image. The downside is that there’s no clear cut direction as to what he wants to do. For all any of us know, this rebuild has a chance to be a major failure as opposed to a positive, effective one.
The Giants are about to enter the void and there’s no guarantee that anyone will find any sort of light down there.
Now here’s NFL Network Reporter Kim Jones’ personal story about the time Odell Beckham checked on her after her life-saving emergency surgery. It’s a heartwarming tale that showcases that there are layers to Beckham’s character that’s not often shown and people making the assumption that he’s a selfish person have no clue the kind of person he truly is.
*additional content from SNY, The Ringer, NFL Network, ESPN, FiveThirtyEight
