NY Giants 2026 NFL Draft Pick Tracker: Picks, Trades and Grades

At long last, the seemingly endless and rather long and interesting mock draft season for the will be coming to a close with the answers scores of Giants fans have been waiting for.

This is an interesting draft because of a lack of true blue-chip first-round grades, but there should be enough good players that Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach John Harbaugh have identified as being fits for the team moving forward.

Still, the lack of blue-chip talent has people wondering if the Giants will go best available or position of need.

“Ideally, they line up, and the best available player is also a position of need,” Schoen told reporters during his annual draft preview press briefing.

“I would say last year, if you look at what we did with Abdul (Carter), we had Kayvon (Thibodeaux), and we had (Brian) Burns here, and we still took Abdul. We were really strong at outside backer when we added Abdul to the roster.

"Similarly, we're going through, we're going to stack the board, and the best player available is the direction we'll go.”

One thing that appears to be the case is that the Giants, perhaps like the rest of the league, will be throwing positional value out the window, given the makeup of this class.

“Yes, this draft -- exactly,” Schoen said. “You're dead on with what you said there in terms of maybe it's not the surplus position or the higher paying positions when you get into free agency, or outside the building, maybe the best players in this draft.

“Again, goes back to where we are roster-wise, and being in a position to take the best player available regardless of position. Yeah, in a perfect world, when you look at the fifth pick and then you slot in whatever position you want, like, what that player is going to make at the fifth pick, where does that slot him in in APY right off the bat?”

He added, “You would like to have, again, those positions outside the building that you're going to pay a lot of money to get that surplus value. But it just may not be the case this year, which is fine. We're going to evaluate every position, every player, and obviously do what's best for us.”

Be sure to bookmark this page, as we will be adding links to our various coverage items all weekend long, as well as after the draft, when the mad rush to sign undrafted free agents is on.

Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel, where Coach Gene Clemons, host of “A Giant Issue” podcast, will be coming to you live on Days 1 and 2 of the draft after the Giants’ picks are made.

NY Giants On SI 2026 Draft Content

We will add to this as applicable throughout Draft Weekend.

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Round 1, Pick 5: Edge Arvell Reese, Ohio State

The words of former General Manager Ernie Acorsi must have rang out in the New York Giants draft room as Big Blue, prescribing to the “You can never have too many pass rushers, grabbed Ohio State edge Arvell Reese with the first overall pick in the draft.

The Giants had an interesting decision to make at No. 5 after the Arizona Cardinals selected Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, and the Tennessee Titans, at No. 4, surprised everyone by grabbing Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate. That left the Giants with a choice of top defenders like Reese and his teammates, linebacker Sonny Styles, and safety Caleb Downs.

The Giants, perhaps not expecting Reese to be on the board, ran the card up to the commissioner, and now they add another edge rusher to a stable that already includes Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

The Reese pick also opens the door wider on trade speculation regarding Thibodeaux, who is in the option year of his contract. Doing so would save the Giants close to $15 million in cap space.

More on Arvell Reese

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Round 1, Pick 10: OL Francis Mauigoa

The Giants came into this offseason looking to get more physical in the trenches, and they did so on the offensive side of the ball with Pick No. 10, their second of two picks, in which they selected Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.

Mauigoa, 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, is your classic road grader, a guy who plays with a nasty streak in both run blocking and pass protection. Interestingly, there were some late reports about Mauigoa having a back issue, but the Giants, in keeping in close contact with the University of Miami, felt confident enough with Mauigoa’s medical report to take him No. 10 overall.

Now comes the question of where Mauigoa fits on the offensive line. The Giants have an opening at right guard, and Mauigoa has to skillet to move inside to that spot. However, in college, he played just 10 snaps at the position, instead playing the bulk of his career snaps at right tackle.

Could the Giants maybe be thinking of moving Jermaine Eluemunor inside to guard? And if not, how quickly can Mauigoa get up to speed?

We’re not a big fan of drafting a guy in the top ten where there is a position switch intended, but until we know what the plan is for Mauigoa, we can’t hate the pick, given how we have been advocating for the Giants to add offensive line help early and often in this draft.

More on Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa

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Round 2, Pick 37: CB Colton Hood, Tennessee

Well, that was certainly an interesting stretch ahead of the start of Day 2 for the Giants.  

Roughly a half hour before the start of Day 2 of the NFL draft, reports started filtering out about the New York Giants looking to swing a trade with the New Orleans Saints that would involve outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Thibodeaux himself added to the speculation when he posted a meme from the Fast and Furious movie showing a character saying goodbye to another.

In the end, however, no trade was agreed upon, probably because the Saints were unwilling to pay what the Giants were seeking.

But that’s just part of the story. The Giants, who were thought to be eyeing Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, ended up losing out on him as well when the Raiders, who were fourth in the order, swapped places with the Texans, who were sixth. The Texans, now having moved ahead of the Giants, who were at fifth in the order, grabbed McDonald.

That left Big Blue to pivot to Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood, a 6-foot, 193-pound defensive back whom NFL.com draft analysts have compared to Carlton Davis III.

Hood is a physical and disruptive cornerback with more than adequate speed. Among the 17 draft-eligible cornerbacks with at least 450 coverage snaps, Hood allowed a 53.8% completion rate, which ranked ninth, as did his forced incompletion percentage last year (15%).

The Giants are at a crossroads of sorts with their cornerback room. They have Paulson Adebo on a multiyear contract, but outside of him, guys like Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome II, the latter of whom is projected to be the starter who replaced Cor’Dale Flott, are only signed for one year.

The back end of the Giants' defense was a major issue last year, and with New York having really beefed up its pass rush, it’s imperative that they add talent on the perimeter that can hold their coverage long enough for the pass rush to get home.

The Giants hope that Hood can be a part of that solution.

More on Colton Hood

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Round 3, Pick 74 (TRADE): WR Malachi Fields, Notre Dame

You just knew that the New York Giants weren't going to sit by idly in the third round, where they originally did not have a pick because they sent it to Houston last year in the Jaxson Dart acquisition, and watch the talent come off the board.

And they didn’t. The Giants traded back into the third round with the Cleveland Browns, sending Pick 105 (fourth round), Pick 145 (fifth round), and a 2027 fourth-round pick to select Notre Dame receiver Malachi Fields.

Fields, 6-foot-5 and 218 pounds, is the classic big-bodied X-receiver the Giants have been looking for to help complement Malik Nabers.

The arrival of Fields not only gives offensive coordinator Matt Nagy options to move Nabers around the field, but also gives him a vertical threat with a career 47.3% success rate on contested catches.

Fields, who played four seasons at Virginia before transferring to Notre Dame  last year, has recorded five touchdown catches in each of his last three years. His best season was in 2023 with Virginia when he posted career highs in receptions (58 out of 100 targets for 811 yards).

He’s typically sure-handed, having just 10 career drops (three in the last two seasons), and is a solid enough route runner.

The trade now leaves the Giants with three picks remaining–Nos. 186, 192, and 193–all in the sixth round. It also likely puts an end to any chance the Giants add veteran Odell Beckham Jr. to the roster.

More on Malachi Fields

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Giants Move Up in ‘Bold’ Round 3 Trade to Land Jaxson Dart a ‘Power Forward’ WR

Round 6, Pick 186: DT Bobby Jamison-Travis, Auburn

We are now in the part of the draft that is officially a crapshoot for teams, but hey, if teams don't take a chance on players, they might never know what might have been.

For the Giants, who need defensive line depth, who knows what might come of their first of their sixth-round selections, Auburn defensive tackle Bobby Jamison-Travis.

Jamison-Travis was a full-time starter for the Tigers last season, registering 36 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two pass breakups.

A classic two-down space-eater with ideal size for the position, but he sometimes gets caught up in the wash a little too often, rather than using his upper-body strength and power to disengage from blocks and be more disruptive.

Jamison-Travis probably won't see a whole lot in terms of snaps on the defense, especially if the team adds a veteran defensive tackle this week, as is expected to be the case.

A likely developmental player who, again, depending on what the Giants do with a veteran defensive tackle, could end up pushing Jamison-Travis to the practice squad for his first season, Jamison-Travis should be able to absorb double-team blocks to help open up lanes for the linebackers to shoot into the backfield.

Jamison-Travis, who has a quick first step, also doesn't have a lot of mileage on his tires, having played in just 748 defensive snaps over three seasons. He figures to be a rotational contributor on early downs, with one of the biggest items on his to-do list being to upgrade his pass-rushing prowess.  

More about Bobby Jamison-Travis

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Round 6, Pick 192: OT J.C. Davis, Illinois

As anticipated, the Giants double-dipped on the offensive line, turning the extra sixth-round pick they received in the Darren Waller trade with the Miami Dolphins into a potential swing tackle, Illinois offensive lineman JC Davis.

Davis earned first-team All-Big Ten honors last year after starting 12 games at left tackle, the position he played most of his college career at. He offers an ideal wingspan for the position (34¼ " arms), and strong hands, but he is still too much of a leaner who can be knocked off balance.

Davis allowed 57 quarterback pressures over his four-year college career (two seasons at Illinois and two at New Mexico).

If the Giants view him as a potential swing tackle, he's going to need to get some game reps on the right side, which in all likelihood could make him a practice squad candidate who does have a lot of upside. 

More About JC Davis

Round 6 Pick 193: LB Jack Kelly, BYU

Kelly might just be an upgraded version of Micah McFadden. Kelly is a two-time team captain who spent two seasons each at Weber State and BYU. A potential special teams core player, Kelly can give you sans from the off-ball position, but not so much off the edges. 

He logged 128 career pressures over four seasons, most of those coming in his first two seasons at Weber State. At BYU, he had 106 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, and 15 sacks, using his speed and controlled aggression to shoot gaps. 

As a coverage linebacker, he finished with a 101.1 coverage rating, having allowed 76.1% of the passes against him to be completed. Kelly is a disciplined player who was flagged for just two penalties in his four-year career (2,441 defensive snaps).

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