Everything you need to know about the Giants’ 2026 draft before Thursday night
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 NFL Draft is just hours away. Finally! The New York Giants, with two picks in the top 10 after trading Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals, are hoping for a draft haul that will jump start the John Harbaugh era and catapult them toward contention in the NFC East.
Let’s review everything you need to know to be ready for the next three days.
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What picks do the Giants have?
The Giants have eight selections in the draft after the Lawrence trade:
- Round 1 (No.5)
- Round 1 (No. 10 … from Cincinnati)
- Round 2 (No. 37)
- Round 4 (No. 105)
- Round 5 (No. 145)
- Round 6 (No. 186)
- Round 6 (No. 192 … from the Miami Dolphins)
- Round 6 (No. 193 … from the Dallas Cowboys)
Team needs
Whenever I get asked what the Giants need most in the draft, my answer is that they need more difference-making players, regardless of position. That remains true.
While head coach John Harbaugh said the Giants don’t want to go to the draft buffet hungry, he also acknowledged that the Giants have needs and those will impact what they do over the next three days. Let’s look at those needs.
Defensive tackleAfter the trade of Lawrence, this is the biggest need on the roster. The Giants also watched defensive tackles Rakeem Nunez-Roches and D.J. Davidson leave in free agency. They have had free agent vists recently from D.J. Reader, Bonito Jones, and Shelby Harris. The only signing, though, has been journeyman Sam Roberts.
Unfortunately, there are no defensive tackles considered worthy of being top 10 picks, and few considered to be all-around impact players. Still, at some point you have to expect the Giants to add one or more defensive tackles in the draft.
Below, links to Chris Pflum’s Prospect Profiles on several of the top defensive tackles:
McDonald is likely the best defensive tackle in the class, but he is considered a late-first to early-second round pick. Without a trade down with one of their first-round picks, likely No. 10, the Giants probably won’t be in position to draft him. He would be a major reach at No. 10.
Wide receiverThe need here is probably bigger than the Giants want to admit, especially after all of the high draft capital GM Joe Schoen has invested into the position.
Malik Nabers, the 2024 first-round pick, is coming off a serious knee injury. His availability for the start of the 2025 season is in question.
Wan’Dale Robinson, the leading receiver in Nabers’ absence, signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency.
The Giants added Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin on one-year contracts, and still have Darius Slayton. All three of those players, though, may not be Giants after 2026. There is a need for high-level reinforcements, especially with a second-year quarterback the team is trying to build around.
There are, of course, also rumors that the Giants might sign Odell Beckham Jr. He, though, is a 33-year-old receiver with a long injury history who did not play last season. Expectations for what the Giants might be able to get from Beckham if he signs need to be tempered. He is not the answer to the team’s wide receiver need.
The Giants have been connected to wide receivers Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson at the top of the draft, with attention focusing heavily on Tyson as the draft approaches.
If the Giants don’t land Tate or Tyson there should be some options available on Day 2.
Prospect profiles:
Interior offensive lineThe offensive line has been an almost constant issue for the Giants dating back to their last Super Bowl victory in the 2011 season. The 2025 line was better than most have been during that time, but Giants should understand by now that keeping a quality offensive line is always a moving target.
The Giants re-signed veteran right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who had the best year of his career in 2025. They have yet to re-sign Greg Van Roten, who started at right guard the past two seasons. Left guard Jon Runyan Jr. and center John Michael Schmitz are in the final years of their contracts.
The Giants did sign Daniel Faalele, Lucas Patrick, Aaron Stinnie, Evan Neal, and Josh Ezeudu. All have started NFL games, with Faalele starting at right guard for Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens the past two seasons. Even though the Giants might be able to get by with they currently have for 2026, long-range planning demands that the Giants add some young talent to the interior of the offensive line to join Marcus Mbow and perhaps Jake Kubas.
Prospect profiles:
CornerbackNominal No. 1 cornerback Paulson Adebo did not play up the level in 2025 that earned him a three-year, $54 million contract in free agency last offseason. The Giants lost cornerback Cor’Dale Flott in free agency after the 2022 third-round pick had a breakout season.
The Giants signed former first-round pick Greg Newsome II, who has struggled the past couple of seasons, to a one-year prove-it deal to fill Flott’s spot. Theoretically, Newsome and former Giants first-round pick Deonte Banks, who lost his job to Flott last season, will compete for a role.
So, yes, if the plan at the second outside cornerback spot is Newsome/Banks the Giants could use an upgrade at cornerback.
Mansoor Delane of LSU is the top cornerback in the class, and could be in play at No. 10. Should any of them fall to No. 37, Chris Johnson of San Diego State, Colton Hodd of Tennessee, Aveion Terrell of Clemson, and Brandon Cisse of South Carolina are among Day 2 options. On Day 3, Devin Moore, Julian Neal, and Thaddeus Dixon are possibilities.
Prospect profiles:
SafetyWe can, and sometimes still do, argue about how Schoen managed to let two good safeties — Julian Love and Xavier McKinney — leave the Giants in free agency. The real problem is that Schoen and the Giants have spun their wheels trying to fill the holes left by their departures.
2024 second-round pick Tyler Nubin has yet to play up to his draft slot. Jevon Holland did not come close last season to justifying the three-year, $45.3 million contract the Giants handed him in free agency.
The Giants collected veteran safeties in free agency. They brought back ex-Giant Jason Pinnock, who had his best year under Wink Martindale in 2023, and also signed Ar’Darius Washington and Elijah Campbell.
None of the players on the current Giants roster have proven to be the kind of game-changing chess piece Harbaugh has usually had on his defenses.
Caleb Downs of Ohio State might be, and the Giants have been connected to him at both picks 5 and 10. Dillon Thieneman and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren could also be selected in Round 1.
Prospect profiles:
LinebackerThis is another position where the Giants can get by with what they have, but where they don’t have the type of game-changing, impact player in the middle of the defense Harbaugh is used to. Tremaine Edmunds and Micah McFadden are fine, but not special.
Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles might be special.
There are also several good options later in the draft at a position where the Giants really should, at least, add some depth.
Prospect profiles:
The running back question
A wildcard could be whether or not the Giants choose to fill their need for more offensive playmakers by selecting Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love at No. 5 if he is available.
There are a number of scenarios in which Love, considered by many analysts the best player in the 2026 draft class, could be on the board for the Giants with their first selection. Would the Giants take him? Pass and pick someone else? Trade down to a team that wants Love? Many draft insiders believe the Giants, with Harbaugh’s emphasis on the running game and team’s need for playmakers, won’t be able to say no to Love’s talent.
That will, of course, open up comparisons to the Giants’ 2018 decision to draft running back Saquon Barkley No. 2 overall. Despite Barkley’s greatness, injuries and the team’s inability to build around him made his time with the Giants less than satisfying. He was eventually allowed to leave in free agency.
If they do take Love at No. 5, would they double down on offensive playmakers and take the best wide receiver on the board at No. 10?
Done dealing?
The Giants made a major splash with the Lawrence trade. There is a strong possibility they are not done making moves. Schoen has admitted the Giants have taken calls about moving down from No. 5. If a team wants to move up to No. 5 it won’t be a surprise if the Giants move down a few spots, especially if they believe they can still get one of the players at the top of their draft board. As for the 10th pick the Giants got from the Bengals, moving down and turning that into multiple selections might be a strong strategy.
Something to remember is that during Harbaugh’s 18 seasons with Baltimore, the Ravens were noted for always finding ways to collect extra draft picks. During Schoen’s four-year tenure as GM, the Giants have drafted 31 players. The only year they had extra picks was 2022, his first season, when they accumulated 11. In that same time period, the Ravens drafted 37 players.
Trying to acquire additional draft assets is a strategy the Giants will likely try to implement as long as Harbaugh is the head coach.
Big Blue View draft resources
We have been covering the draft for months. Check out our New York Giants Draft Hub Page for all the Giants draft news, rumors, analysis, mock drafts, prospect profiles, and much more!
Here are a few things you will definitely want to check out before Round 1 begins:
- NY Giants 2026 NFL Draft: How to watch, stream, listen, and follow
- NY Giants 2026 NFL Draft: Big Blue View Big Board
- Big Blue View rules for draft success, 2026 edition
Mock drafts of note
That starts with the live mock draft members of the Big Blue View staff combined for on Wednesday.
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