New York Giants should trade for Joseph Fauria

Before I begin, I want to reiterate the fact that this is purely hypothetical.

With that being said, we’ve seen some very, very crazy moves this offseason — I’m looking at you, Chip Kelly — , so the Giants trading for Detroit Lions tight end Joseph Fauria isn’t completely out of the question. Not by a long shot.

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Fauria, 25, is a very talented tight end who could very well be the odd man out in Detroit. I’ve been high on Fauria for a while now, and I wanted the Giants to trade for him prior to the 2014 season.

The 6-foot-7, 267 pound player is an incredibly dynamic red-zone threat, and he would provide the Giants with another weapon to utilize. The UCLA product missed nine games last year due to injuries, but he scored seven touchdowns in his rookie year.

He is a matchup nightmare and tough to deal with. Pairing him with Larry Donnell would give the Giants an incredibly dynamic tight end tandem. I’ve already talked about how talented Donnell is, but the fact is that he isn’t really a great blocker.

Despite the team’s faith in Donnell, it’s also very possible that he turns out to only be an athlete in the NFL. What does that mean? Well, it means he’ll provide some big plays, but he’ll also make a lot of mental mistakes and fail to become a truly game-changing player (see: LaRon Landry, Terrelle Pryor and Taylor Mays).

Fauria, on the other hand, is a better blocker, and he has a tremendous work ethic, which is why he landed on the Lions roster, despite going un-drafted.

Team leader and running back Rashad Jennings recently spoke about his expectations for the Giants’ offense in 2015.

“I think we’re going to have a dominant offense,” Jennings said, according to NJ.com. “Eli (Manning) is really comfortable in the offense now — being able to control a lot from the line of scrimmage.”

Nov 24, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions tight end Joseph Fauria (80) celebrates after catching a pass for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Obviously, Jennings is speaking about the team without a possible Fauria trade. Acquiring the talented tight end, though, might be what the Giants offense needs to go from good to great. Providing Manning with another big-bodied weapon would be almost too much for opposing defenses to handle.

Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle, Larry Donnell, Shane Vereen and Fauria would cause a bevy of headaches among NFC defensive coordinators.

Honestly, how would you defend that combination? Let’s say the Giants line up with a two wide receivers, two tight ends and Vereen. That’s nearly impossible to defense, especially when you consider Eli Manning‘s running ability (I’m kidding).

What would the trade look like? The Giants would probably have to surrender a fourth, fifth or sixth-round pick and maybe a defensive back or defensive lineman. However, that’s not too much for the Giants to give up in exchange for a player like Fauria.

To be fair, Fauria might be the most likely player to get shipped away from Detroit’s high-powered offense. Golden Tate had a breakout year in 2014, and the Lions are expecting a lot more from Eric Ebron in 2015, according to multiple outlets’ reports. That could very well be the writing on the wall for Fauria’s career in Detroit. Unfortunately, he might be expendable.

Calvin Johnson, who wasn’t entirely healthy last year, should return to his MVP-caliber form in 2015, and with the team expecting Ebron’s emergence, Fauria could very well be jettisoned.

I’ll be honest, I understand this trade probably won’t happen, but if it did, the Giants would be killing two birds with one stone. If the team thinks they need another weapon, Fauria would fill that need, and he would give the team another all-around, young tight end.

I think a trade for Fauria would benefit both teams, and plus, Fauria has some dance moves that would rival Victor Cruz‘s.

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