The New York Giants surprised NFL draft enthusiasts on Friday night when they traded up to select Notre Dame wide receiver Malachi Fields with the 74th overall selection in Round 3.
The Giants entered Day 2 of the 2026 NFL draft with just one selection in their pockets, No. 37 overall, which they used to take Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood. The rest of their night was supposed to be spent watching a river of talented players flow past them until they were on the clock again at pick No. 105 on Saturday afternoon.
But general manager Joe Schoen and head coach John Harbaugh aren’t abiding by the Giants’ traditions. They wanted Fields badly. He was one of their top targets coming into the draft, and the likelihood of him being on the board on Saturday was slipping away.
So, they traded up, something Schoen has done many times in his four drafts as the GM. But what they surrendered to Cleveland to get up to No. 74 appeared to be a bit too rich, even for the most aggressive observers.
They gave up their fourth- and fifth-round picks in this draft (Nos. 105 and 145), plus a 2027 fourth-rounder for the right to draft the 6-foot-4 Fields, who they believe is a very special athlete, person, and player.
“Fields is a player we coveted coming into the draft,” Schoen told reporters after making the pick. “As things started to fall and he was still there, and some of the receivers went already, an opportunity to go get him… We thought the value was — we were fine with the value, and we were able to secure the player we wanted at a position we wanted to upgrade, not only the size, length, athleticism, another phenomenal kid that will come in and be a really good addition for us.”
So, they got their man, which is the moral of the story. You like someone, you go and get them. But the math and the cost may not be so damaging, after all.
The Giants could be in line for a fourth-round compensatory selection in next year’s draft as a result of losing star receiver Wan’Dale Robinson in free agency last month. So, the Giants felt they had the capital to make this move.
“We’ll see — I know the comp formula, we’ll see if we’re able to still get one there,” added Schoen. “There’s a chance we can maybe get a comp formula, a pick for Wan’Dale. You may get one-for-one there.”
So, this move up for Fields would not be as costly should that happen. The net result would just be the two picks they surrendered in this year’s draft. And, if the Giants’ feeling about Fields is correct, they’ll have another solid weapon for their young quarterback, Jaxson Dart.
Plus, not every metric supports the “cost too much” narrative.
Then there is a new dynamic that has affected the NFL draft that few are taking into account: NIL. The new college sports paradigm is changing the pro leagues as well. By players staying in college longer, the draft pools are not as bountiful as they’ve been in years past.
The Day 3 picks that teams are stockpiling may not be historically as valuable. The number of “draftable” players is dwindling. The smart teams are seeing this and packaging their draft capital to move up into the first three rounds, just like the Giants did on Friday night.
Former NFL executive Andrew Brandt recently spoke about how NIL is “wiping out” the later rounds of the NFL draft.
So, it’s very possible the Giants, the team that’s been left at the curb the past decade, are now at the forefront of the changing ways the NFL is conducting its business.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Did New York Giants pay too much in trade-up for Malachi Fields?
Reporting by John Fennelly, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
