That is the time of yr for New York Giants followers to be giddy. For the reason that workforce has normally drafted within the high ten since its final Tremendous Bowl look (9 instances up to now 12 years), the Giants normally get a big-name first spherical decide that has everybody excited. Generally they get two: In 2022 (by buying and selling down in 2021), 2025 (by buying and selling again up into the primary spherical), and now in 2026 by buying and selling Dexter Lawrence. As soon as that they had three (in 2019, once they traded Odell Beckham Jr. after which traded again up into the primary spherical). They’ve additionally had years with greater than two picks in Rounds 2 and three (2018 and 2022).
By now, they need to be an incredible workforce. But solely twice in that point have they even made the playoffs, and solely as soon as have they received a playoff sport. One way or the other the thrill of draft weekend hasn’t carried over to the precise video games. A reminder of all these Day 1 and a pair of picks:
2015: Ereck Flowers, Landon Collins, Owa Odighizuwa
2016: Eli Apple, Sterling Shepard, Darian Thompson
2017: Evan Engram, Dalvin Tomlinson, Davis Webb
2018: Saquon Barkley, Will Hernandez, Lorenzo Carter, B.J. Hill
2019: Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence, Deandre Baker, Oshane Ximines
2020: Andrew Thomas, Xavier McKinney, Matt Peart
2021: Kadarius Toney, Azeez Ojulari, Aaron Robinson
2022: Kayvon Thibodeaux, Evan Neal, Wan’Dale Robinson, Joshua Ezeudu, Cor’Dale Flott
2023: Deonte Banks, John Michael Schmitz, Jalin Hyatt
2024: Malik Nabers, Tyler Nubin, Andru Phillips
2025: Abdul Carter, Jaxson Dart, Darius Alexander
That’s 37 Day 1 and a pair of picks. I’ve subjectively highlighted draftees in boldface that I feel have been not less than productive and even good NFL gamers, even when not nice ones. There are 20 of these in 11 seasons – that’s a 54% “hit” price.
Be happy to quibble with me on a few of them. Giants followers beloved to hate Evan Engram, however he’s been a starter on three completely different groups over 9 seasons and has by no means been focused fewer than 64 instances a season. Likewise Will Hernandez, who by no means fairly made the grade as a Big however has began for eight NFL seasons when he wasn’t injured. Similar for Lorenzo Carter, who has largely began for Atlanta since leaving the Giants. And naturally Daniel Jones…however he’s received a playoff sport, was on observe to take the Colts to the playoffs final yr earlier than his damage, and is now on his second $40M AAV contract.
The newer draftees are tougher to judge given the smaller pattern measurement. I feel we will all agree that Evan Neal, Joshua Ezeudu, Deonte Banks, and Jalin Hyatt haven’t been value their draft slots…but for the second not less than they continue to be Giants within the John Harbaugh period. I gave thumbs-up to JMS and Dru Phillips and thumbs right down to Tyler Nubin, all of whom have began since changing into Giants with out solidifying their place as long-term starters, however time will inform. Darius Alexander’s physique of labor continues to be too small to judge although he started to indicate promise as a rookie.
The purpose is that when folks say that the draft is a crapshoot…it truly is. A 54% hit price signifies that you might flip a coin 4 instances and consider in addition to any draft knowledgeable which of Arvell Reese, Sisi Mauigoa, Colton Hood, and Malachi Fields are going to grow to be good NFL gamers over the lengthy haul.
And if we’re speaking nice gamers, it’s even tougher. Of my checklist above, I’d solely put Saquon Barkley, Dexter Lawrence, Andrew Thomas, possibly Xavier McKinney, and Malik Nabers in that class, and we’ll hope that Jaxson Dart and Abdul Carter be part of that membership. That’s a most of seven in 11 drafts on Days 1 and a pair of, fewer than one per yr.
Possibly that’s a results of poor drafting, or poor teaching, or each, however a few of it’s simply the issue of determining how explicit gamers’ abilities will translate to the NFL. There’s additionally the truth that some gamers modify to the NFL extra shortly than others. So what can we count on of this yr’s Day 1 and a pair of Giants picks of their rookie seasons given previous NFL historical past?
Reese is without delay the Giants’ most enjoyable draft decide and the one which’s most tough to mission. Few if any folks anticipated him to be on the board when the Giants picked. Harbaugh himself stated that within the “zillions” of mocks the Giants did, he was by no means there at No. 5. ESPN’s 2026 mock draft simulator isn’t fairly that excessive, however the statistics of their very own prediction mannequin gave him a 4.5% probability of going to the Giants:
Courtesy of ESPN Analytics
It’s straightforward to get excited when that occurs. Whether or not Reese’s rookie season matches the hype is a unique query. Many NFL edge defenders started their faculty careers as off-ball linebackers full-time or part-time and moved up entrance full-time as their careers developed. Listed below are a couple of, in comparison with Reese:
Information from Professional Soccer Focus
Micah Parsons solely not often lined up on the sting at Penn State and solely rushed the passer a couple of instances a sport in his first season. That elevated considerably in his second season. When he got here to Dallas, he was initially used lots as an off-ball linebacker, dashing the passer 13 or fewer instances in 6 of his first 9 video games. The Cowboys lastly received the message that he was a deadly cross rusher and solely an sufficient cross defender and eventually made him primarily an edge defender.
Jalon Walker, the No. 15 decide by Atlanta in 2025, adopted a unique development at Georgia. He performed totally on the sting his first two years at Georgia, then break up time off-ball and on the sting his last yr. The Falcons used him nearly solely on the sting as a rookie. Abdul Carter’s historical past began out extra like Parsons’, however he stayed at school an additional yr and made the swap largely to edge, which is how the Giants used him as a rookie.
The large distinction between Arvell Reese and these different gamers is how younger and inexperienced he’s, having performed solely 960 faculty snaps (versus 1,225 for Parsons and 1,836 for Carter). Walker’s 984 faculty snaps are extra comparable. Walker had a superb rookie season however not an excellent one, with 5.5 sacks however solely 29 whole pressures. Carter completed with 4 sacks however 66 whole pressures. Solely Parsons (13.0 sacks) actually made his mark as a cross rusher as a rookie.
We all know that the Giants are going to line Reese up throughout. We don’t understand how the positional snaps are going to be divided up and the way usually Dennard Wilson goes to have Reese rush the passer, a talent that he’s nonetheless growing (though he did have 6.5 sacks this previous season). Don’t be shocked if David Bailey, taken No. 2 by the Jets, makes an even bigger splash as a rookie. Bailey was mainly edge-only throughout his four-year faculty profession and exploded with 14.5 sacks final season. Moreover, the Giants have depth at edge defender (for now, anyway) and never as a lot at linebacker. Reese’s affect could also be seen extra in his run protection and protection (the latter one other talent he’ll have to develop) than in his cross rush this coming season. He’s very younger (20). Give him time.
There was an honest probability that Mauigoa would drop to the Giants at No. 10, however the ESPN predictor had his highest odds of coming off the board at Nos. 6, 7, 8, and 9, with the Giants estimated at a ten% probability to be the decide at No. 10. As an alternative Spencer Fano was the primary OL off the board at No. 9.
The large uncertainty about Mauigoa is that he can be making the swap from proper deal with to proper guard as he enters the NFL. At Miami Mauigoa nearly solely performed proper deal with, however he did get 10 snaps at proper guard in his last season.
Transferring from deal with to protect just isn’t thought of as massive an adjustment as is shifting from one aspect of the offensive line to the opposite, but it surely does take getting used to. A latest instance is Sam Cosmi of the Commanders, who performed at proper deal with his first two seasons after which moved to proper guard for his most up-to-date three. On the floor, the adjustment appears to be like to have been fairly seamless for Cosmi:
Courtesy of Professional Soccer Focus
A number of particulars recommend some variations, each professional and con. Cosmi gave up 4 and 5 sacks his two seasons at proper deal with however has surrendered solely 4 in his three seasons at proper guard. As an alternative, although, he has given up extra hits and hurries at guard per snap, so the full pressures per snap haven’t been a lot completely different (21 in 585 snaps, or 3.6%, in 2022 vs. 31 in 1259 snaps, or 2.8%, in 2023) however they’ve been much less disastrous at guard than at deal with, which one may count on.
Not like Cosmi, who was moved from deal with to protect as a result of he was having some issues with the cross rush, Mauigoa is being requested to maneuver to protect solely as a result of the Giants have a necessity there that they don’t have at deal with. Undoubtedly it can take some getting used to, working in nearer quarters with extra instantaneous contact, however on the plus aspect, he can be dealing typically with gamers with much less velocity there. With a whole coaching camp to regulate, although, it shouldn’t be an issue. In actual fact Dane Brugler of The Athletic in The Beast says that Mauigoa requested guard reps in follow to realize some expertise inside, and that “though his college tape says he can stay outside at right tackle, his skill set would be maximized inside at guard in the NFL.”
At this level there is no such thing as a motive to not count on Mauigoa to make the transition efficiently and to be a plus within the beginning lineup early in his Giants profession…apart from one factor. He’s a rookie. Listed below are the cumulative faculty and NFL rookie yr cross blocking stats for each offensive deal with taken within the high 10 up to now six years:
Information coirtesy of Professional Soccer Focus
Mauigoa’s scenario differs from the remainder since he’ll instantly be shifting to protect, however we will see a couple of issues:
Mauigoa just isn’t the cleanest offensive line prospect to come back out of faculty in recent times. His totals are inflated as a result of he had extra faculty snaps than anybody else on the checklist, however per snap, you possibly can see for instance that he gave up extra sacks than No. 9 decide Fano and lots of greater than Penei Sewell and Joe Alt, maybe the very best offensive line prospects to come back out of faculty in recent times.For nearly all rookie offensive linemen, there’s a interval of adjustment once they attain the NFL. Giants followers will bear in mind rookie Andrew Thomas’s poor rookie play. Even Sewell took his lumps as a rookie, giving up 5 sacks and taking 11 penalties.You’ll be able to solely inform a lot from faculty play. Evan Neal’s faculty stats had been usually higher than these of classmates Ikem Ekwonu and Charles Cross, and his rookie perfomance was not very completely different from theirs. It didn’t work out the identical method within the professionals, the place each weak point is exploited. Brugler sees one in all Mauigoa’s weaknesses as “ends up on the ground too much, especially when dropping eye level and lunging” which is able to revive nightmares of the Neal expertise. However he sees Mauigoa’s foot velocity nearly as good for a guard.
The underside line: Don’t count on Mauigoa to dominate straight away, and think about it a pleasing shock if he does, however in the long run, it’s cheap to hope that he’ll grow to be a strong, or possibly elite, addition to the Giants’ offensive line.
Hood is one other younger man (21) on an general very younger Giants workforce. Technically he has three seasons of faculty expertise, however he hardly performed his first yr (44 snaps at Auburn). He spent a yr at Colorado with Travis Hunter within the secondary, taking part in about half the time, after which he spent a yr at Tennessee planning to be CB2 paired with Jermod McCoy till the latter’s damage pressured Hood into the CB1 position. Hood was a certain tackler at Tennessee (6.6% missed deal with price), surrendered just one TD with a 53.8% completion price, had 5 cross breakups, and allowed solely a 70.8 passer score, taking part in nearly solely on the boundary. There’s each motive to suppose he may win the CB2 beginning job as a rookie, and maybe ultimately grow to be CB1. How usually has that occurred to low first/early second spherical picks, and the way good had been they?
Beneath is an inventory of all cornerbacks drafted within the final 5 picks of Spherical 1 or the primary 5 picks of Spherical 2 within the final 5 drafts. All of them are boundary fairly than slot corners, as we count on Hood additionally to be:
Information courtesy of Professional Soccer Focus
All of those gamers have grow to be common gamers on their workforce’s protection and both part-time or full-time starters. None of them have made a Professional Bowl or been elected All-Professional. Late first/early second spherical has been a little bit of desert for cornerbacks in recent times. Since cornerback is a premium place in at present’s NFL, the actually good ones usually go within the high 10, as we noticed this yr with Mansoor Delane and several other years in the past with Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr. When that doesn’t occur, there may be usually a run on cornerbacks in the midst of the spherical, as we noticed in 2023 when a deep cornerback group left solely Deonte Banks for the Giants to decide on when their flip got here up. However, deeper into Spherical 2, groups start to deal with slot corners. The gamers above are all boundary corners.
That stated, Nate Wiggins is seen as having nice potential, and Joey Porter Jr., who had a tough first two seasons, blossomed in yr 3, whereas Roger McCreary is not less than a strong cornerback although not elite. Usually this group of corners has had barely worse however nonetheless moderately good completion percentages in opposition to as professionals in comparison with their faculty stats, and some of them have had strong passer scores in opposition to. (No usually taking part in Big besides now-departed Cor’Dale Flott allowed a passer score under 75 final season.) That units an inexpensive bar to hope Colton Hood will clear in his rookie season – grow to be a daily a part of the cornerback rotation, defend some passes, make the occasional interception, and stop some first downs. Don’t count on Sauce Gardner or Devon Witherspoon or Quinyon Mitchell and also you will not be disenchanted.
Malachi Fields was the tenth large receiver taken within the 2026 NFL Draft, and the second to come back off the board in Spherical 3 after Antonio Williams (a 5-foot-11 large receiver that the Giants in all probability wouldn’t have taken even when he was there). He was a part of a mini-run on receivers in that spherical. No large receivers had been taken at that time since Germie Bernard went at No. 47 in Spherical 2.
An attention-grabbing factor about this a part of this draft is the variety of massive WRs (6-2 or taller) that got here off the board within the high half of Spherical 3, and the way that compares to earlier years. Listed below are simply the large large receivers:
Information courtesy of Professional Soccer Focus
We’re dealing in small numbers, so it’s harmful to say that there’s a development, however 5 bigs got here off the board excessive in Spherical 3 this yr, vs. three in 2025, vs. solely 4 within the earlier 4 drafts mixed. Indulging myself to interpret this as extra than simply probability, I’d guess that both the will amongst groups for explosive large receivers has triggered groups to seize them on the high of the draft, leaving the poor massive guys more and more to languish till Day 2, or else there’s somewhat resurgence happening that’s convincing GMs to not depart Day 2 with out grabbing their very own attainable future Mike Evans.
Fields’ faculty profession doesn’t stand out amongst this 5 yr group of Spherical 3 massive WRs. He did have probably the most targets and yards, however he performed in faculty for 5 years. The opposite 4 bigs on the checklist all got here off the board inside 10 picks after Fields was taken. We don’t know whether or not Fields was THE man the Giants needed to have, and so they wished to beat the frenzy, or whether or not Cleveland was the one prepared buying and selling accomplice at a value they had been prepared to pay. To some extent he needed to be their highest-ranked massive large receiver for the time being, because the others had been nonetheless on the board. If Cleveland hadn’t been prepared, however Tampa Bay at No. 84 had been, would they’ve made the commerce and brought Ted Hurst? Both method, it will likely be attention-grabbing to see how Fields’ profession performs out in comparison with the opposite 4.
The opposite factor to say about this whole 5 yr group is that for probably the most half, those who’ve already performed within the NFL haven’t significantly distinguished themselves. The large exception is Nico Collins from the 2021 draft. Wanting on the proper aspect of the chart, Collins had a fairly productive rookie season however not something to get you excited. His sophomore season was fairly comparable. Then Houston drafted C.J. Stroud, and Collins has been an elite WR ever since, with three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and 21 TDs after solely three in his first two seasons mixed.
Michael Wilson, drafted two years later, had a equally modest however acceptable rookie season, however by yr 3 he had damaged the 1,000 yard mark as effectively with 7 TDs. What modified? Kyler Murray was misplaced for the season after being injured in Recreation 5. He was changed by Jacoby Brissett. Wilson solely had 52 receiving yards for the season when Murray went down. With Brissett, he broke 100 yards thrice and had two others with 99 and 89 yards.
However, classmate Cedric Tillman, Jalin Hyatt’s route-running teammate at Tennessee, has had nearly as unproductive a profession as Hyatt’s, by no means exceeding 339 yards in any season. In Tillman’s case you possibly can argue {that a} chaotic quarterback scenario in Cleveland has finished him no favors. To some extent the identical has been true for Hyatt (one other third-round receiver however not an enormous one), however he’s proven little to make anybody suppose the QB is the issue. Hyatt was no higher with Jaxson Dart and Jamis Winston throwing to him than he had been in his earlier two seasons.
What all this implies for Fields as a rookie is anybody’s guess, however the potential is there for Fields to place up numbers akin to what Collins and Wilson did as rookies. Something greater than that’s uncertain, given the variety of WR mouths that Dart goes to wish to feed again there and the seemingly heavy emphasis on the run sport below John Harbaugh.
