The New York Giants appear to be targeting running back and defensive tackle help at the 2026 NFL trade deadline.
The top two defensive tackles, DeForest Buckner and Jeffrey Simmons, are already off the board. So, the Giants will likely have to look for more incremental, short-term help there.
The top running back, and probably the biggest fish remaining in the trade market pool, is Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts. Taylor doesn’t sound like a player who wants to be traded, and the price might
be prohibitive for a team like the Giants that is not in a championship window.
So, when it comes to running backs, where should the Giants turn for an upgrade?
Potential trade target: RB Tony Pollard
If the Giants want to upgrade their running back room and a Taylor trade isn’t going to happen, the view here is that Pollard should be the next target.
Why it would work
Pollard is not the bell-cow back that Taylor is, and he would not give John Harbaugh the “Derrick Henry or Saquon Barkley circumstance” he would like to have. He would, though, give Harbaugh an upgrade over Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary to team with Cam Skattebo in a two-headed timeshare.
Pollard, 29, has never averaged fewer than 4.0 yards per carry in eight seasons since being a fourth-round selection by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2019 NFL Draft. He is currently averaging 4.3 yards per carry for the Tennessee Titans and is on pace for a career-best 1,171 rushing yards, which would be his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season.
Pollard is also a useful receiver, having caught at least 30 passes in each of the last five seasons.
Pollard is in the final year of a three-year, $21.75 million contract with the Titans. The Giants would only be responsible for the prorated portion of his $6.74 million 2026 base salary. Over 10 weeks, that would be $3.74 million.
Why it wouldn’t work
The 1-6 Titans are terrible. It would seem to make sense for them to get something in return for a 29-year-old running back who is likely headed to free agency at season’s end. Maybe, though, it doesn’t.
As bad as they are, the Titans are still trying to develop 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward into an effective NFL quarterback. That is not going well. Trading away their best running back and more or less neutering their run game isn’t going to help their young quarterback.
If the Giants make a bid for Pollard, they would likely want the cost to involve one of the two sixth-round picks they have in 2027, or a fifth- or sixth-round pick in 2028. With the potential to create a bidding war, and the idea of supporting Ward for the remainder of the season, the Titans could hold out for better picks. Or, not trade Pollard. The only currently tradeable mid-round pick the Giants have in 2027 is a third-rounder. They have no fourth-rounder (traded for Malachi Fields) and no fifth-rounder (traded for J.J. McCarthy).
The locker room might be another factor. We saw how tight-knit the running back group of Skattebo, Tracy, and Singletary is at the end of the victory over the Houston Texans. I don’t believe the potential for disrupting that chemistry would prevent the Giants from making a trade for Pollard, but it is something they should consider.
