3 New York Giants players the Detroit Lions could trade for before the deadline

3. DL Leonard Williams

The Lions have had no issues with their interior defensive line play this season, as evidenced by having the NFL's No, 1 run defense so far (64.7 yards allowed per game). But Williams would add a different level of talent to the mix. His numbers are down over the last couple seasons, but an 11.5-sack season in 2020 remains in memory as a sign of what he can do.

Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports has a trade proposal sending Williams to the Lions.

"Detroit's defense is on the rise, and with a legit playoff push in sight thanks to a 5-1 start, Williams could be a bonus addition next to Aidan Hutchinson, giving them a more fearsome front. New York's own "D" is staying relatively competitive, but at 1-5, the G-Men should be selling, and their former prized trade acquisition is on an expensive, expiring contract."

The big caveat to any idea of trading for Williams is his contract. Yes he's in the last year of his deal, which makes him an optimal trade candidate for the Giants and there are other ideas out there for where he could go in a deal. But his cap hit for this year is over $32 million. So unless the Giants are willing to retain a fair chunk of that, and they very well could be willing to do that just to move on, trading him will be difficult.

The Lions could have some broad, however very preliminary, interest in Williams. If the finances can be worked to fit better, and the resulting draft pick that would be sent to the Giants isn't unreasonable (say a third-rounder or later), there's a non-zero chance a deal gets done to bring the former top-10 pick to Detroit.