New York Giants draft grades: BBV readers, Mel Kiper, others laud Giants’ 2025 class

On paper, the Giants have a second straight quality draft class

The New York Giants’ 2025 NFL Draft class is drawing a lot of love in the hours after the draft’s completion. Let’s check the early NFL Draft grades.

BBV voters

Here is a pick-by-pick look at the instant grades for each pick from our polls:

Round 1 (No. 3) — Abdul Carter, edge, Penn State
Grades: A – 86% | B – 4% | C – 4% | D – 3% | F – 2%

Round 1 (No. 25) — Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
Grades: A – 43% | B – 37% | C – 12% | D – 4% | F – 5%

Round 3 (No. 65) — Darius Alexander, DT, Toledo
Grades: A – 71% | B – 25% | C – 3%

Round 4 (No. 104) — Cam Skattebo, RB, Arizona State
Grades: A – 65% | B – 28% | C – 5% | D – 1% | F – 1%

Round 5 (No. 154) — Marcus Mbow, OL, Purdue
Grades: A – 73% | B – 24% | C – 2%

Round 7 (No. 219) — Thomas Fidone, TE, Nebraska
Grades: A – 17% | B – 40% | C – 35% | D – 5% | F – 3%

Round 7 (No. 246) — Korie Black, CB, Oklahoma State
Grades: A – 23% | B – 46% | C – 27% | D – 3% | F – 1%

There isn’t a single pick here that was disliked by more than a smattering of voters. Amazing!

Mel Kiper says

Yes, we’re giving Kiper his own category.

Grade: A-

Kiper says:

This was a critical draft for coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. The Giants lost 14 games last season and have issues all over the roster, including at the most important position. They brought in Russell Wilson to start at quarterback, but I don’t think he’s much of an upgrade on what they had a year ago. Could they find their passer of the future this weekend?

Giants fans should feel a lot better about their favorite team’s future. I liked what the team did Thursday night, getting edge rusher Abdul Carter early and then trading up to take QB Jaxson Dart. Carter is a special talent who finished as my No. 2 overall prospect. He could be an instant star, boosting a pass rush that already is the strength of the roster. And while I graded Shedeur Sanders higher than Dart, it’s clear Daboll and Schoen disagreed.

Dart, my No. 28-ranked prospect, has a lot of potential, but I don’t think he will have a Jayden Daniels-like rookie season. In fact, it seems the Giants want him to sit behind Wilson (and Jameis Winston) and let him adjust to the speed of the NFL. If that’s the case, Daboll and Schoen are banking on getting more time to work with him and seeing him star in 2026. For their sake, I hope they’re right. (They also dealt away a 2026 third-rounder in the move to get Dart.)

I liked New York’s moves throughout the rest of the draft, too. It added Darius Alexander, a do-it-all defensive tackle who fits well next to Dexter Lawrence II, in Round 3. I expect him to make an impact as a rookie. Running back Cam Skattebo can punish defenses between the tackles. Marcus Mbow is my favorite guard in the class, and the Giants got him nearly two rounds later than where I had him rated. Watch — he’ll find snaps on offense in 2025.

This is a nice class from top to bottom. I won’t quibble too much with the front office’s preference for Dart over Sanders.

Even more grades

Pro Football Focus

Grade: A-

1 (3): ED Abdul Carter, Penn State

Carter — The Giants added enough at quarterback in free agency with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to give them the freedom to take one of the few obvious blue-chip talents in this draft. Carter’s 66 quarterback pressures ranked second in the FBS in his first season as a full-time edge rusher in 2024.

1 (25): QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss

Dart — Dart has varying opinions on him, but the Giants trade up to get their guy. His data profiles as a starting-caliber quarterback after he graded above the 89th percentile in five of PFF’s stable metrics, including the 94th percentile on early downs. Ole Miss’ offensive issues aside, Dart was the highest-graded passer in the 2025 draft class and was very accurate downfield.

3 (65): Dl Darius Alexander, Toledo

Alexander — This is good value for the Giants, as Alexander entered the draft as the 49th-ranked player on the PFF Big Board. Alexander’s 90.1 PFF grade in 2024 ranked third among all interior defenders in the class.

4 (105): RB Cameron Skattebo, Arizona State

Skattebo — Skattebo was RB3 and the No. 51 overall player on the PFF Big Board, making this a strong value pick for the Giants at the top of the fourth round. He doesn’t have elite speed, but he excels in many areas that translate well to the NFL. Skattebo ranked above the 85th percentile in PFF rushing grade in both gap and zone schemes in 2024 and was the only running back besides Ashton Jeanty to force more than 100 missed tackles on the ground last season.

5 (154): T Marcus Mbow, Purdue

Mbow — Mbow was the No. 84-ranked player on the PFF Big Board. He consistently graded in the low 70s in overall PFF grade over the past three seasons, with a career-best 74.0 mark in 2024. His biggest strength was his run blocking, where he earned a 78.7 grade last season. Mbow heads to the Giants, where he will look to push for a significant role right away.

7 (219): TE Thomas Fidone II, Nebraska

Fidone — Fidone ranked as the No. 10 tight end prospect on the PFF Big Board, making this a strong value at pick No. 219. The Nebraska product is one of the best pass-blocking tight ends in this class. He posted a 77.8 grade in that area last season and never recorded a single-game pass-blocking grade below 67.4.

7 (246): CB Korie Black, Oklahoma State

Black — Black earned a 74.0 coverage grade in zone coverage in 2024. He forced 13 incompletions and recorded five coverage stops.

Pro Football Network

Grade: B

For better or worse, the ultimate ruling of the New York Giants’ 2025 NFL Draft class will be decided by Jaxson Dart’s outcome. If he becomes the franchise QB they believe he can be, then this class is a success. If Dart ends up being a bust, then it’ll be an irreconcilable stain on an otherwise excellent haul.

The Dart move was aggressive, and somewhat borne out of desperation for Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, but at the very least, Dart does have the athleticism, toughness, and elastic arm to grow into a quality starter in time. And credit where credit is due: The rest of the draft was stellar for New York. Abdul Carter is a blue-chip player, Darius Alexander and Marcus Mbow can be starters in the trenches. Cam Skattebo is a great RB to add to the stable, Thomas Fidone is a quality TE2, and Korie Black is good depth.

Dart’s development will make or break this group to a degree, but players like Carter also have the potential to impact the franchise in a positive way far past any QB transition. The Giants’ talent core has greatly improved, but it’s the wild card at QB that will shape the fate of the entire regime.

CBS Sports

Grade: A

General manager Joe Schoen was in dire need of a home-run draft, and he went full Aaron Judge on draft weekend. Carter can be an All-Pro edge rusher in short order, and while Dart comes with some risk because of the gimmicky offense in which he operated in college, that’s why Brian Daboll is the head coach.

Alexander is a dynamic chess piece next to Dexter Lawrence with serious power and athletic gifts, and I love the complementary tandem of Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Cam Skattebo in the backfield.

Mbow can be a mobility-based guard — or right tackle in a pinch — and Fidone is a towering, receiving based tight end who’ll push Theo Johnson. Lastly, Korie Black, the speedy, feisty, Oklahoma State cornerback in Round 7 was tremendous. He’ll be a playmaker on this defense.

USA Today

Grade: A-

They might have gotten the draft’s best player in OLB Abdul Carter, who could be a reasonable facsimile of fellow Penn Stater Micah Parsons … even if Carter doesn’t understand he’s not worthy of wearing GOAT OLB Lawrence Taylor’s No. 56. But to get back into the first round for QB Jaxson Dart, essentially at the cost of two third-rounders and with no reason to play him prematurely with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston round, might be the move that truly gets this franchise back on course … while keeping HC Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen in their posts. All that aside, good odds that bulldozing fourth-round RB Cam Skattebo winds up as the favorite pick of Big Blue’s starved fans.

Associated Press

Grade: B+

Got premier edge rusher Abdul Carter (3) and traded back into the first round to snag QB Jaxson Dart (25) a round early. DL Darius Alexander (65), RB Cam Skattebo (105) and OT Marcus Mbow (154) were high value in rounds 3-4-5. TE Thomas Fidone II (219) is a seventh-rounder with potential to be a playmaker.

New York Post

Grade: A

You can’t beat picking arguably the best player in the draft at No. 3 then trading two third-rounders to get back into the first round for coach Brian Daboll’s handpicked future QB. Alexander could be a Week 1 starter. Skattebo is the perfect power complement to Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Sports Illustrated

After a miserable 2024, the Giants could soon be headed in the right direction after delivering an impressive draft class featuring plenty of talent and filled needs. Carter, who drew comparisons to Micah Parsons and Von Miller, could be a future game wrecker playing next to Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence II. Dart isn’t a surefire QB prospect, but he’ll now get to work with coach Brian Daboll, who has no interest in rushing his development after he announced Russell Wilson as the starter. And let’s not overlook the selection of Skattebo, a hard-nosed running back who can also make plays out of the backfield.