The 2026 NFL Draft has concluded, revealing the New York Giants' seven new picks. The article discusses potential alternative strategies the Giants could have employed during the draft.
New York Giants first round picks Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa | Tom Horak-Imagn Images
The 2026 NFL Draft is finally in the books, and itâs 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.
Itâs 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 Giantsâ offense or defense.
In something new for the 2026 Draft, Iâve been writing down my thoughts on the Giantsâ 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 Giantsâ position â if anything?
This pick is an absolute surprise, for a couple reasons. First and foremost, I didnât 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.
Reeseâs 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, itâs really a coin-flip between the two, and I understand picking Reese over Styles considering heâs more of a down-hill player than a space player.
The New York Giants selected Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The article explores various strategies and decisions the Giants could have made differently during the draft process.
The article analyzes how the newly drafted players might integrate into the Giants' existing offensive and defensive schemes.
Key takeaways include insights on the players selected and reflections on the Giants' overall draft strategy.
Jamie Carragher and Martin Brundle preview Sky Sports' Big Weekend, highlighting key events including Premier League matches, the Miami GP, Women's Super League, Madrid Open tennis, and PGA Tour golf.
Harry Kane's 33 goals this season highlight his impact at Bayern Munich.
Dropped catches can cost teams dearly in cricket matches.
Check out the 2026 Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitcher Rankings!
Milan Prosecutor Clears Inter Milan Amid Refereeing Scandal
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
The fact that the Giants admitted that Reese was easily the best player available according to their board reinforces that this just makes sense.
This is another pick that was a surprise, if only because we didnât 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 Mauigoaâs medicals better than the Giants after hiring former Hurricaneâs head athletic trainer Adam Bennett to be their own head trainer.
Adding Mauigoa solidifies the interior of the Giantsâ 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 donât know if the Giants would have leaned on the draftâs 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 hasnât broken that way, and theyâll just have to settle for getting their fourth-ranked player at 10th overall.
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 âFirst-Secondâ) talents. The Giants probably wonât regret drafting Hood, who brings man coverage ability as well as physical play in perimeter run defense. However, theyâre 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.
The Giants didnât 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 donât 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 arenât 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, Fieldsâ 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.
Waiting, waiting, waitingâŠ. 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 theyâve brought in for visits and stating that Arvell Reese will primarily be an off-ball linebacker, I suspect the Giants arenât planning on getting disruption from their defensive tackles.
The good news is that you donât have to hunt for athletic traits when youâre looking for a rotational block-eater. That means you can find a wide-body defender later on and donât have to invest premium capital in them. Jamison-Travis has long arms and plenty of play strength to help anchor the middle of the Giantsâ defensive front. Personally, Jamison-Travis wasnât 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 Techâs 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 didnât have a great year for Georgia Tech, but he did throw down a legitimately elite workout at his pro day.
This one wasnât a surprise as the Giants had Davis in for a â30â 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. Heâs 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 canât 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).
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 heâs also highly disruptive behind the line of scrimmage and a rangy coverage linebacker. Heâll 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 donât 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 Wilsonâs 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 theyâll be able to get those guys in undrafted free agency and wanted to make sure they got Kellyâs skill set.