Kadarius Toney goes to KC
Joe Schoen is making moves!
There you have it, folks. The oft-injured, former 2021 first round pick Kadarius Toney has been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for one of their 3rd round compensatory picks and a sixth round pick. At first glance, it’s tough to be upset with this if you’re a Giants fan. They traded a player at what must be his peak value this season, and got back a top-100 pick and an additional pick on top of that.
Yes, I understand the fact that he was the 20th overall pick a year ago, and trading him for those two picks feels like a loss in a vacuum. But he was a Dave Gettleman pick, one who was selected after the Giants had already traded down to gain the pick that would become RT Evan Neal in the 2022 draft.
We have to view this trade through the lens of the current situation surrounding the Giants. Toney barely played this year — whether because of injuries or off-field concerns — so getting this kind of value back for him feels like a win to me. What’s done is done, and Joe Schoen can only work with the roster he has and the picks available to him.
People want to say “the Giants JUST used a first rounder on him” and “the Giants traded down instead of taking Micah Parsons, this is still a loss!”
To those people I say: relax. Toney was clearly not favored by this regime — as evidenced by the trade rumors that circulated during draft season — and had barely touched the field this season. Additionally, I will NEVER be upset with a GM trading down to accumulate picks; this is a good process. Nobody knew Parsons would instantly become one of the best pass rushers in the entire league.
The Giants, even with their 6–1 record, are still a team with a roster that needs a lot of improvement. They’re playing this well due to sound coaching and building the right culture throughout the organization. But at some point, the deficiencies in talent will catch up to them. Schoen is doing this the smart way by building up their draft capital as much as possible.
I completely understand being bummed because of the potential Toney had shown in his brief stint in the Meadowlands. I wish it worked out, especially considering the Giants had other WR options at 20 (Elijah Moore, Rashod Bateman), but oh well.
The Giants are 6–1 with essentially no contributions from Kadarius Toney. They are still a team in rebuild, albeit one that has FAR exceeded expectations so far this year. In the end, be glad we have a GM and coach who understand it’s about the process over time, not just the results. And when it comes to the process for this trade, this was a no-brainer.
We’re onto Seattle.
