New York acquired linebacker Bill Swain from Minnesota before…
New York acquired linebacker Bill Swain from Minnesota before the 1965 season for a 1966 sixth-round draft choice. Swain played 28 regular-season games for the Giants across 1965 and 1967, starting 19 of them and recording an interception in 1967. The pick became No. 83 overall, tackle Wilbur Aylor, who never appeared in an NFL regular-season game. The Giants therefore received the only meaningful on-field return from the exchange.
Minnesota Vikings Received
- pick 1966 sixth round pick (#83-Wilbur Aylor)
New York Giants Received
- player Bill Swain
Trade Analysis
The clean archival version of this trade is simpler than the legacy row. Minnesota's official draft history identifies its 1966 sixth-round selection at No. 83 as a choice acquired from the New York Giants for linebacker Bill Swain. The Giants' 1966 media guide independently states that Swain came to New York in a trade for a draft choice before the 1965 season. There is no support in those club records for additional undisclosed consideration on either side, so the duplicate placeholder assets are removed.
Swain immediately gave the Giants usable linebacker depth. NFL and Pro Football Reference records show him playing all 14 regular-season games for New York in 1965 and starting five. He did not appear in the 1966 regular season, but returned in 1967 and started all 14 games, recording one interception. Across his Giants tenure he therefore appeared in 28 games with 19 starts. That is solid multi-season value for the price of a future sixth-round selection.
Minnesota used the acquired choice at No. 83 overall in the 1966 draft on Wilbur Aylor, a tackle from Southwest Texas State. The Vikings' own all-time draft record explicitly labels the pick as coming from New York for Swain. Pro Football Reference's draft history shows no NFL regular-season career for Aylor. He did not become a roster contributor for Minnesota or another NFL club, so the Vikings' direct return produced no game value.
The team outcomes are therefore straightforward. New York exchanged a sixth-round choice for a veteran linebacker who gave the club one partial-starting season and one full season as a starter. Minnesota converted Swain into a draft selection, but the player chosen with that pick never appeared in an NFL regular-season game. There is no downstream pick chain to complicate the accounting and no later club production that should be reassigned to Minnesota.
The Giants win the hindsight evaluation by a clear margin. Swain's 28 games and 19 starts represent meaningful realized value from a modest draft cost, while Aylor never reached the regular-season field. A B+ for New York and D for Minnesota reflects that gap without overstating Swain's career as star-level production.