The 2026 NFL Draft is finally in the books, and it’s been a long time in coming. Now, after three days worth of picks, we now know who the seven newest New York Giants will be.
It’s impossible to not form opinions about these players after spending weeks and months studying them, as well as trying to puzzle how the various prospects might fit into the Giants’ offense or defense.
In something new for the 2026 Draft, I’ve been writing down my thoughts on the Giants’ picks as they make them. This something of a live blog of the draft, as well as what I might have done differently had I been in the Giants’ position — if anything?
5 – Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State
This pick is an absolute surprise, for a couple reasons. First and foremost, I didn’t realistically expect Reese to slip past the Jets, Cardinals, and Titans. But even on the off chance that Reese slipped, I would have expected the Giants to use Reese as trade bait rather than turn in the card after drafting Kayvon Thibodeaux No. 5 overall in 2022, trading for Brian Burns in 2024, and drafting Abdul Carter No. 3 overall in 2025.
Reese’s teammate Sonny Styles graded out just a bit higher for me, mostly due to being a bit bigger, a bit more athletic, and having two years of starting production instead of one. However, it’s really a coin-flip between the two, and I understand picking Reese over Styles considering he’s more of a down-hill player than a space player.
The fact that the Giants admitted that Reese was easily the best player available according to their board reinforces that this just makes sense.
10 – Francis Mauigoa, G, Miami
This is another pick that was a surprise, if only because we didn’t really expect Mauigoa to fall this far. There was word late in the process that Mauigoa may need surgery for a herniated disc at some point, which likely fueled his fall. Fortunately, nobody knows Mauigoa’s medicals better than the Giants after hiring former Hurricane’s head athletic trainer Adam Bennett to be their own head trainer.
Adding Mauigoa solidifies the interior of the Giants’ offensive line for the 2026 season, as well as adding some much-needed mauling for what we expect to be a power running game. We don’t know if the Giants would have leaned on the draft’s depth at guard if a playmaker like Carnell Tate or Jordyn Tyson slipped to 10th overall.
John Harbaugh talked about building a dynamic offense around Jaxson Dart, and there have been multiple reports that they want to add an offensive weapon for their second year quarterback. However, the board hasn’t broken that way, and they’ll just have to settle for getting their fourth-ranked player at 10th overall.
37 – Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
Once again the Giants stand pat and come away with a good player at a strong value, though it might not have been the one they really wanted.
The Houston Texans traded up two spots to draft Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald at 36th overall, possibly stealing him right out from under the Giants. If the Giants intended to draft McDonald, they instead pivoted to the cornerback position, leaving defensive tackles Christen Miller and Lee Hunter on the board, as well as wide receiver Denzel Boston.
Hood, McDonald, and Boston all had roughly equivalent grades from me as later first round (or perhaps “First-Second”) talents. The Giants probably won’t regret drafting Hood, who brings man coverage ability as well as physical play in perimeter run defense. However, they’re also running the risk of the talent pools at defensive tackle and wide receiver running out by the time they pick again (105th overall as of this writing).
The Giants have hosted a trio of veteran defensive tackles who could build a functional defensive line after trading away Dexter Lawrence. That could be the plan if they simply want block eaters while their quintet of pass rushers (including Chauncey Golston) to attack into the backfield.
74 – Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame
The Giants didn’t have a third-round pick when they picked Colton Hood, and it looked like they would have had to cross their fingers that a receiver would drop to them at 105th overall. Instead jumped up from the 4fourth round and into the third to get Fields.
The Giants were impressed by Fields at the Senior Bowl and had a second round grade on him, so this has the potential to be a good value.
Fields possesses a skill set the Giants don’t otherwise have as a big (6-foot 4 1/2 inch, 220 pound) receiver with sure hands (one drop in 2025), as well as solid agility and great body control for his size. The Giants other receivers are either small or prone to drops, and even Malik Nabers is coming off a season in which he caught just 51 percent of his passes and had a 42 percent win rate on 50/50 balls. Jaxson Dart has shown a willingness to take the weight of the offense entirely upon himself if his receiving options aren’t producing, leading to the biggest hits of his rookie season.
Fields should be a dependable option for Dart and help make sure he never feels as though he needs to put himself at risk to will a play into existence or keep a drive alive.
Personally, I think I might have gone for Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst instead of Fields. Hurst is a more fluid receiver with the speed to generate big plays and be a dynamic weapon. That said, Fields’ strengths as a big, powerful receiver are relatively rare in this draft.
I also would have looked long and hard at Missouri DT Chris McClellan at this spot. The Giants still need to address the defensive tackle position, though perhaps veteran additions are the plan here.
186 – Bobby Jamison-Travis, iDL, Auburn
Waiting, waiting, waiting…. Oh, the Giants finally get to make a pick again!
Well, the Giants had to get a defensive tackle at some point. Between the types of defensive tackles they’ve brought in for visits and stating that Arvell Reese will primarily be an off-ball linebacker, I suspect the Giants aren’t planning on getting disruption from their defensive tackles.
The good news is that you don’t have to hunt for athletic traits when you’re looking for a rotational block-eater. That means you can find a wide-body defender later on and don’t have to invest premium capital in them. Jamison-Travis has long arms and plenty of play strength to help anchor the middle of the Giants’ defensive front. Personally, Jamison-Travis wasn’t exactly on my radar and was definitely lower than Tim Keenan III (Alabama), Bryson Eason (Tennessee), or Rayshaun Benny (Michigan).
I might even have taken the opportunity to swing on Georgia Tech’s Jordan van den Berg. He spent three years as a backup at Penn State, so the Giants should be well aware of him after scouting Theo Johnson and Abdul Carter. Van den Berg didn’t have a great year for Georgia Tech, but he did throw down a legitimately elite workout at his pro day.
192 – J.C. Davis, OT, Illinois
This one wasn’t a surprise as the Giants had Davis in for a ‘30’ visit. I like Davis and he has the potential to stick and at worst be a four-tool backup at offensive tackle and guard.
Davis is a big, long, offensive tackle who has enough athleticism to hold up against athletic pass rushers (when his technique is clean) as well as create movement in the run game. He’s played every snap at left tackle over the last three years, and he should fit well in a more down-hill power oriented blocking scheme under John Harbaugh.
I can’t complain about the pick, but I also might have taken these three picks to swing on high-upside guys like Jeff Caldwell (WR, Cincinnati), Deion Burks (WR, Oklahoma), Damond Claiborne (RB, Wake Forest), or Josh Cameron (WR/PR, Baylor).
193 – Jack Kelly, LB, BYU
Well, speaking of a high-upside swing… Kelly definitely fits that.
Kelly was highly productive for BYU last year and has been a team captain each of the last two years. He needs to clean up his tackling, but he’s also highly disruptive behind the line of scrimmage and a rangy coverage linebacker. He’ll likely be a special teams player thanks to his athleticism and toughness, but he could also earn some snaps on defense as a blitzing or coverage linebacker in long-yardage situations.
I don’t have a problem with the Giants selecting Kelly, though I might have gone in another direction considering Micah McFadden has a nearly identical profile as a player. Depth and redundancy are good, particularly if the Giants want to have an undersized blitzing linebacker in Dennard Wilson’s defense. However, they could have used this pick to add another dynamic playmaker on offense or another defensive tackle. Perhaps the Giants are confident that they’ll be able to get those guys in undrafted free agency and wanted to make sure they got Kelly’s skill set.
