There is a certain feeling expressed by a fan base whenever a visit like this takes place. The player arrives, finds who he needs to find, sees what he has to do, the team captures the player’s vibrations and if everything goes well, there is this appeal:
Don’t let him leave the building without a contract.
Does this happen to the Giants and Kenny Golladay?
The talented wide receiver meets Thursday night with the Giants at his team’s facilities, an indication that there is real interest on both sides. Golladay, however, would have been in Chicago on Wednesday to meet with the Bears, and it is rumored that the Bengals have already made him an offer for a year. It is premature to assume that Golladay is highly sought after, since he has been in the open market since Monday and, despite his talent and production, has not yet found a new home in football.
The giants will do due diligence. There will be the COVID-19 test and then Golladay will do a medical exercise. He played just five games last season, dealing with a hip flexor injury, and that should be explored further. Golladay will meet with Joe Judge and the offensive coaches and will also speak with general manager Dave Gettleman.
It is not as if the Giants did not have previous information about Golladay. They recently hired Kyle O’Brien as a senior personnel executive. O’Brien has spent the past five years with the Lions, so he can give the Giants an inside look at Golladay on and off the field.
If all goes well, the Giants – who have already started preliminary negotiations on the contract – should make an offer. The belief in a free agency was that Golladay would cost up to $ 20 million a year. This will not happen. The estimate of $ 15 million a year is closer to the goal the Giants need to reach, unless both sides believe that a one-year deal makes more sense. Will Fuller, one of the other major receivers available, signed a one-year contract with the Dolphins. Miami was considered a possible destination for Golladay.
Clearly, this is not a definitive decision for the Giants, or they would have already been involved in serious contract negotiations and tried to sign Golladay without a visit. Just as clearly, Golladay is not an ace in the league, or someone out there, four days after the start of the process, would have made a deal for him to consider and sign.
Why so much noise for Golladay? The 27-year-old led the NFL with 11 touchdown passes in 2019, has two seasons of receiving 1,000 yards and, at 6 feet-4, would give the Giants the length and breadth they lack in their broadouts. Golladay would be the perfect complement for Sterling Shepard in the slot machine and Darius Slayton out. The Giants this week also took a look at John Ross, signing the speed demon (and bursting with Bengals) for a year.
“This is a total compliment, he is the poor man’s DeAndre Hopkins,” said an NFL source who watches Lions closely to The Post, referring to Golladay. “He doesn’t break up very well, Hopkins can’t break up, but he just catches every ball that comes his way.
Golladay’s 39 contested receptions on passes of 10 or more yards are the largest in the NFL since 2018, according to Pro Football Focus.
This year’s NFL Draft is full of receivers, but the Giants have only six choices and prefer not to be trapped with the 11th overall selection. The need for game creators is solved if they add Golladay and your visit to them can make all the difference.