Why New York Giants’ latest trade is one of the best roster moves we have seen from GM Joe Schoen
New York Giants GM Joe Schoen is often criticized for his roster building. But this time, he cooked with the team’s latest trade ahead of the 2026 NFL regular season.
The New York Giants made a shrewd roster move, trading offensive lineman Daniel Faalele to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick.
Schoen somehow flipped a player who was never going to crack the starting lineup into draft capital, and it couldn’t be more evident that this Giants offensive line room is in a much different position than anyone expected heading into the 2026 season.
Faalele signed with the Giants in free agency and was supposed to provide depth along the offensive line. He had starting experience with the Baltimore Ravens, which presented some value in the event of injuries.
With that being said, there was no path for him to start once New York selected Francis Mauigoa in the 2026 NFL Draft. To flip him for a sixth-round pick is pretty good value. Especially for a player who had zero expectations of contributing as a starter.
J.C. Davis is the biggest winner of this trade
The biggest takeaway from this move is that this feels like a strong indicator that J.C. Davis is making waves during training camp, having one of the best preseasons out of any non-starting offensive lineman.
Davis is the perfect sixth offensive lineman to have on this team. He can play guard; he can play tackle. He played well against the Minnesota Vikings, and things are trending in a direction where he could become an important piece for this offensive line.
I wonder if there is an eventual path for him to start and take over Jon Runyan’s role after this year. The fact that the Giants were willing to move on from Faalele, even with the Harbaugh connection, means they would have had to feel great about who that next offensive lineman would be.
Being a sixth-round pick who makes a significant leap this early in camp is an indication that Davis is better than anticipated and playing at a level where he could step in and start a game if needed.
I really liked Davis coming out of Illinois. His name was nowhere to be found on so many offensive line rankings, yet he was on my top-10 guards list when I evaluated offensive linemen heading into this draft.
This is mostly me patting myself on the back, which I don’t do enough of. I am intrigued to see whether this Faalele trade has any connection to Davis, who has been generating plenty of buzz throughout camp.
