標籤: Mauigoa

It was highly anticipated that the New York Giants would take the Ohio State Buckeye with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. But few expected it to be linebacker Arvel Reese.

Many were expecting Reese to be taken second or third overall, but when he slipped and was still on the board with the Giants, the team did not hesitate to draft him.

The 6’4 243-pound linebacker had 69 tackles and six and a half sacks in his final season at Ohio State in 2025, and was a unanimous All-American. The selection comes as a surprise as the team already has Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux. But he played inside linebacker before 2025. It will ultimately be up to defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson to find ways to utilize Reese’s potential to ensure he has a successful rookie season.

Following Reese’s selection, the team took right tackle Francis Mauigoa of the University of Miami with pick 10.^th Overall selection. Mauigoa appeared in 42 games in his three years at Miami. Although the 6’5 329-pound All-American tackle was viewed by many as the best tackle in the league, it was also a bit of a surprise. The team re-signed right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor to a three-year, $39 million contract this offseason, and Mauigoa is nursing a herniated disc.

But the team clearly isn’t worried about his injury history, and they would like to move him or Eluemunor inside to play the guard role. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds during training camp.

What we learned from the giants in Round 1

For several months, New York was primed for Caleb Downs and could potentially take him with the first pick, or with the 10.^th Which they acquired by trading Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals. But it appeared to be a blurry screen as the team passed him twice.

Downs will try to show that New York made a mistake by leaving him, as he will play with them twice a year since the Dallas Cowboys took him with the 11 pick.^th Overall selection.

With the selection of Reese it is clear that Kayvon Thibodeaux’s time in New York is coming to an end. He is entering the final year of his contract, and his role with Burns and Carter on the roster was already in question. Now with another premier pass rusher on the team, expect the team to move on from the 25-year-old edge rusher.

The Giants currently do not have a third-round pick and could try to trade Thibodaux on the second day of the draft to acquire one. New York’s next pick will be 37th overall, where they can take either a wide receiver or defensive tackle.

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