The New York Giants are in an incredibly familiar position. They’re carrying a 2-8 record after a fourth-quarter collapse — their fourth such collapse of the season.
This latest loss leaves them with the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the same pick they used to acquire Abdul Carter in 2025. The Giants are currently tied with the New Orleans Saints in overall record, tied with the Tennessee Titans in losses, and tied with the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Las Vegas Raiders in victories.
The Giants still have games remaining against the Raiders and Washington Commanders, as well as one of the toughest remaining schedules in the NFL.
There’s still a lot of football left to be played, with eight weeks and seven games remaining for the Giants. However, it also doesn’t seem likely that they’ll win many — or any — more games. So unless the Giants go on an improbable winning streak, they’ll have another top 5 pick in April.
As things stand now, the players at the top of the draft present a tough choice with regards to value and perceived need.
Ohio State’s Caleb Downs is probably the best player in the draft, but he’s also a safety and they tend not to be drafted in the first half of the first round. Sean Taylor and Eric Berry are the only two safeties to be drafted in the range where the Giants will likely be picking. Downs is an excellent football player, but the down-to-down impact may not be there to warrant such a high pick.
Ohio State LB/edge Arvell Reese and Miami edge Rueben Bain Jr. would certainly be in the conversation. Both are excellent players who deserve to be in the Top 5 conversation. However, Reese’s skill set closely mirrors that of Abdul Carter, while Bain could be redundant as another DL/edge for a team that’s already trying to find ways to get the three they have on the field.
That isn’t to say that the Giants shouldn’t draft either. Trading Kayvon Thibodeaux after drafting Reese or Bain could be a legitimate course of action.
The Giants might also look at defensive tackle Peter Woods out of Clemson as a running mate for Dexter Lawrence. The issue of concentrating resources in a single position would crop up again.
Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano could make sense as well, particularly if the Giants don’t retain Jermaine Eluemunor. Chicago game aside, Eluemunor has played very well for the Giants this year, and has been a good bookend for Andrew Thomas. However, he’s a free agent and the Giants could view a player like Fano as a long-term building block at offensive tackle.
The big mystery is the quarterback position, though that could be the biggest opportunity. The top of the depth chart appears to be Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), Ty Simpson (Alabama), and Dante Moore (Oregon). Those players could be good enough for one of the QB-needy teams to consider trading up to third overall with the Giants, who don’t need a quarterback with Jaxson Dart in the fold.
Trading back would take some of the blue chip players off the board for the Giants, but the value could much more closely align with their (potential) needs at wide receiver and cornerback. The potential scenario of trading back and still getting Caleb Downs could be an absolute home run for New York.
But, as I said, there’s still plenty of football to be played between now and then.
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