The New York Giants got their man and John Harbaugh will be their next head coach.
Their immediate concern will be filling out Harbaugh’s coaching staff and laying the groundwork to enact his vision for the Giants. That, of course, will all be done against the backdrop of the process leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft.
And on that front, the Giants and Harbaugh weren’t the only newsmakers on Wednesday. The 14th was also the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft, and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore announced that he was returning to school.
The decision was the expected one around scouting circles, but many public analysts were considering him to be in the draft until told otherwise.
Moore has been widely considered one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft, and a Top 2 pick. So his decision to return to school sent a seismic shock through the draft community and upended every single “Mock Draft 1.0”
(Yes, releasing a full mock draft before underclassmen have declared is silly from an accuracy standpoint.)
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler quickly released his Mock Draft 2.0, saying “Dante Moore back to Oregon means time for new mock draft.”
The absence of Moore shook up the top of the draft, including the Giants’ pick at 5th overall.
5. New York Giants: Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
The Giants will be drawn, understandably, to Caleb Downs’ potential impact on the back end of the defense, or to the chance to address their offensive line with Francis Mauigoa. But Tyson would add an immediate offensive playmaker who could help a young quarterback take the next step in his development.
Obviously, expected new head coach John Harbaugh will influence this selection.
Chris’ Thoughts
Let’s start by looking at the first four picks and how we got here:
- Las Vegas Raiders – Fernando Mendoza (QB, Indiana)
- New York Jets – Arvell Reese (EDGE, Ohio State)
- Arizona Cardinals – Spencer Fano (OT, Utah)
- Tennessee Titans – Carnell Tate (WR, Ohio State)
I can’t say I’d have a big problem with the Giants drafting receiver in the first round. I’ve been advocating using premium resources to build around Jaxson Dart since before the trade deadline, and Jordyn Tyson has the potential to be a “WR1” threat. Even if Malik Nabers is at 100 percent in Week 1, having two threats who demand double teams or dominate one-on-one matchups gives the offense a ton of options. Dart was able to create magic working with practice squad and tertiary options this year, but getting him dependable options will allow him to reach his ceiling as well as keep him from feeling as though he needs to take on inordinate risk to help his team.
I’m also not sure Harbaugh would have much of an issue with drafting a receiver in the first round. The Baltimore Ravens drafted receivers in the first round of three of their last seven drafts — selecting defensive backs in three more drafts.
That, of course, brings us to Caleb Downs. The Ravens have drafted safeties in two of the last four drafts (Malaki Starks in 2025 and Kyle Hamilton in 2022) so Harbaugh doesn’t seem to have any objections to drafting that position (or at least those players) highly. However, there’s still a difference between 27th overall (or even 14th) overall and fifth overall.
The other option may be to draft an edge defender like Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. or Texas Tech’s David Bailey. That option would likely be combined with trading Kayvon Thibodeaux for cap relief and draft capital. Both Bain Jr. and Baily have intriguing skills, but again, this isn’t the time or place to dig into them.
Turning back to Tyson, the big question with him is the health and long-term prognosis of his knee. He suffered a bad injury back in 2023, tearing his ACL, MCL, and PCL while playing for Colorado. If medical checks reveal red flags, then the Giants’ draft becomes significantly more tenuous.
If Tyson’s knee checks out, he might well be in consideration as Harbaugh looks to maximize Dart’s development.
See More:
