The Eagles’ return in a potential Dallas Goedert trade could be shaped by a couple of other tight end deals from the past.

During his “Giants After Dark” monologue on Instagram, old friend and ESPN’s New York Giants beat reporter Jordan Raanan revealed that the Giants had explored a trade for Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert.

Raanan was clear to note that he didn’t think Goedert would ultimately get traded to the Giants (I don’t see that either), but it did remind me of the trade the Giants made for Darren Waller a couple of years ago and got me wondering about Goedert’s value.

In March of 2023, the Giants traded a late third-round pick (100th overall) for the then-30-year-old Waller, who had an $11 million base salary, plus up to $1.275 million in per game roster bonuses and $200K in workout bonuses. The immediate reaction to the trade was something to the effect of “The Raiders are idiots,” and “Holy crap what a steal for the Giants.”

I never saw it that way. Waller had 197 catches for 2,341 yards and 12 TDs in two seasons in 2019 and 2020, but he was an injury-prone player in 2021 and 2022 who had 83 catches for 1,053 yards and 5 TDs over those two seasons. They were getting a player who used to be good, not one at the top of his game.

As it turned out, Waller played one forgettable season with the Giants in 2023, making 52 receptions for 552 yards (10.6 YPC) and 1 TD, before retiring the following summer.

All told, he cost the Giants a third-round pick and a little over $12 million.

Goedert is a better player now than Waller was two years ago.He actually has pretty similar numbers as Waller did in the two years before they were each on the trade block

The difference is that (a) Goedert is among the best blocking tight ends in the league, while Waller was more of a glorified big slot receiver, and (b) Goedert was also a beast in the 2024 playoffs, leading the Eagles in receiving, and helping them win a Super Bowl.

As noted above, financially, Waller cost the Giants $12.1 million. Goedert should cost ~$15 million for a team trading for Goedert and his contract, as is.