The New York Giants established their foundation under new head coach John Harbaugh with the team having seven selections in the 2026 NFL Draft.
- Averell Reese, LB, Ohio State (5th overall)
- Francis Mauigoa, OT Miami (10th overall)
- Colton Hood, CB Tennessee (37)th overall)
- Malachi Fields, WR Notre Dame (74th overall)
- Bobby Jamison-Travis, DT Auburn (186th overall)
- Jesse Davis, OL Illinois (192Ra overall)
- Jack Kelly, LB BYU (193third overall)
Although we will have to wait and see how the players perform on the field to properly evaluate them, the Giants should be considered one of the winners of the draft, considering the players they drafted where they were taken.
It was eye-opening to see how the franchise handled the first draft under Harbaugh, and here are the four biggest takeaways.
Giants signing DJ Reeder seems inevitable
Defensive tackle was one of the team's biggest needs coming into the draft in the wake of the Dexter Lawrence trade with the Cincinnati Bengals. They ultimately took Jamison-Travis in the sixth round, but he is a project and not ready to be a starter. That's why the team is expected to sign free agent DJ Reeder at any time.
The 6'3, 330-pound defensive tackle started 32 games for the Detroit Lions over the past two seasons and recorded 51 tackles with 12 quarterback hits and three sacks. He spent his last four seasons with the Bengals, and the first four years of his career with the Houston Texans.
Reeder will turn 32 in July, and he would be an ideal candidate to fill the void in the middle of the defense for a season until a team drafts a defensive tackle in the 2027 draft.
The signing of the veteran defensive tackle could happen as early as this week or sometime during OTAs.
The new system believes you can never have too many pass rushers.
There's an old Giants adage that you can never have too many pass rushers, and the Giants' new regime, led by Harbaugh and Senior Vice President of Football Operations Don Aponte, believes it too.
Although Averell Reese would play inside linebacker with New York, he played the majority of his snaps playing on the edge in his final year at Ohio State. He will now run faster from the A gap and sometimes line up on the outside in passing situations.
The team now has four leading pass rushers in Reese, Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux. There were reports that the team was engaged in trade talks with the New Orleans Saints for Thibodaux. But the Saints did not offer the compensation the Giants were looking for, and decided not to part with the 25-year-old edge rusher.
It's possible the team parted ways with Thibodaux at the end of this offseason. But right now, they have a group of pass rushers that are going to make life difficult for opposing offensive lines. They may not have been the 2011 NASCAR package that led the franchise to victory in Super Bowl XLVI, led by Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul and Mathias Kiwanuka, as they played on the defensive line. But fans are hopeful that this generation of pass rushers will help the franchise win a Super Bowl just like the previous generation of pass rushers.
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The team got great value from their choice
One reason Big Blue gets high praise for the players they have selected is because of where they have selected them.
Some thought Reese would be a top three pick, but he fell to fifth and New York rushed to hand him his card for the pick. Mauigoa was viewed as the most drafted offensive lineman in the draft, and some mock drafts had him included in the top 10. For the Giants to land him at 10 is great value for a team that was in desperate need of offensive line help.
In terms of price selection, New York is getting the hood with 37th The overall pick could turn into one of the best value selections of the 2026 NFL Draft. He had a first-round grade by many and will have a chance to start at cornerback.
The Giants committed a turnover of 105.th and 145th Trading a selection in the 2026 draft and a fourth-round selection in the 2027 draft and taking Malachi Fields at 74. The 6'4, 218 pound wideout has five years of playing experience, and if not for his 4.61 40 time, he would have been off the board sooner.
The team's final selection, Jack Kelly, totaled 106 tackles and 15 sacks in his two seasons at BYU. The versatile linebacker will get playing time on special teams but will eventually slide into the defensive rotation.
Caleb Downs wasn't ranked that high on the Giants' draft board
In the creation of draft, it is also. For months before the draft, there were reports that the Giants were very high on Ohio State safety Caleb Downs.
Many mock drafts had New York playing the All-American safety with the fifth overall selection. Then, when they got 10th In the Dexter Lawrence trade, the assumption was that if they didn't take Downs at five, they would definitely take him at 10 if he was still on the board. But this did not happen.
Big Blue passed on him twice, and now they'll have to face him twice a year as the Dallas Cowboys have made a deal to take him with pick 11.th choose. Only time will tell if Big Blue will regret not taking the best safety in the draft.
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