Selecting a marquee quarterback is an opportunity too good to ignore for the New York Giants in the 2024 NFL draft. Especially if Big Blue can earn the top pick by trading Darius Slayton to the Chicago Bears, then using the selection to choose USC’s Caleb Williams.

That’s the ambitious trade scenario mapped out by CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso. He has the Giants striking a deal with the Bears to move up from No. 5 to the first-overall pick.

The trade would cost “New York’s second-round pick in 2024 (No. 39 overall), a fourth-round pick (No. 105 overall), a 2025 first-round selection, a 2025 third-round pick, and wideout Darius Slayton.”

It’s a hefty trade haul, but Trapasso thinks “the Giants swing for the fences at quarterback to land Williams.”

Landing Williams would give the Giants some much-needed star power at football’s most important position. His arrival would also likely prompt a tough decision about the future of incumbent Daniel Jones.

Draft Trade Worth the Risk for Giants
Giving up five picks and a proven deep threat like Slayton would be a tough sell, but it’s worth the risk for the Giants. The franchise is long overdue a genuine solution at quarterback.

Williams could provide it based on his electric career with the Trojans. The 22-year-old has thrown 72 touchdown passes the last two years, per Sports Reference.

He’s made a speciality of making plays on the run often via unorthodox throws. One of the best was this 74-yard scoring connection with wideout Brenden Rice.

FIELD VIEW CALEBS TD PASS🔥🔥

Awesome field view of Caleb Williams 74 yard touchdown pass to Rice. The jump / off balanced throw is next level 😱🤯 pic.twitter.com/1ZOMi4xLJP

— Trojan Football fan (@TrojanFBx) November 19, 2023

Giants head coach Brian Daboll knows how to develop a mobile quarterback who ad-libs out of the pocket. It’s what he did as offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills, when Daboll turned Josh Allen into a star.

Daboll also coaxed a career year out of Jones in 2022. Jones has regressed since, amid a slew of turnovers and injuries this season, but the Giants needn’t stay tethered to No. 8.

There’s an out in his $160-million contract that can be activated after 2024, according to Spotrac.com. Keeping Jones around as veteran insurance while Williams takes his lumps as a rookie would be an ideal scenario for the Giants.

Jones has suffered because of a lack of premium targets, but Slayton has been one of the best. It’s why he makes sense as trade bait for the Bears.

Darius Slayton Would Thrive With the Bears
The Giants might be prepared to give up on Jones, but the Bears may not feel the same way about Justin Fields. He’s improved this season, throwing for five touchdowns and 1,213 yards in his last six games, per Pro Football Reference.

Fields has made strides because the Bears have some genuine field-stretchers playing wide receiver. The best of them is D.J. Moore, who’s been making big plays like this spectacular catch against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17, for fun.

This angle of D.J. Moore's unreal over-the-shoulder catch is 🤌 pic.twitter.com/Nk3hOzMyco

— NFL UK (@NFLUK) January 4, 2024

Slayton would fit right into Fields’ supporting cast because he’s averaging an impressive 15. 7 yards per reception. The veteran has also made three catches of 40 or more yards this season.

One of those long-range grabs was this 80-yard touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams last week.

TYROD 80-YARDS TO SLAYTON 🎯

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/DEJwosN0cB

— New York Giants (@Giants) December 31, 2023

Williams would make this throw, but he could just as easily connect with a younger burner like Jalin Hyatt. Meanwhile, Wan’Dale Robinson and Darren Waller would give the first-year signal-caller a pair of capable underneath playmakers.

The Giants have enough talent to field an explosive offense in 2024, provided they are bold enough to make a dramatic shift at quarterback.