Giants Take Big Jump in FOX Sports' Way too Early 2026 Power Rankings

The Giants' 2025 season ended in disappointment once again, but a new early power rankings poll sees a big rebound for them next fall.

Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey USA; (l-r) New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) and quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) and tight end Theo Johnson (84) during the National anthem prior to the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

For the New York Giants, the bitter taste in their mouths from an embarrassing 2025 season is likely still hanging around, and their all-important offseason, geared towards changing the course of the franchise, is still very young as the calendar just flipped into February.

However, their head start on improving the critical components in their building in recent weeks is already fostering confidence in them.

They started with the shocking hire of former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh as their next guy, and some of the main faces, such as Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo, have already gone public with the decree that the Giants are thinking about greater heights when they return to the gridiron for the 2026 season.

The two fresh faces aren't alone in their belief that New York is growing and now pairing with a proven mentor and Super Bowl champion in Harbaugh, who is now tasked with becoming the first coach to take a second team to the pinnacle of the sport in his career.

Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports just released his own way-too-early NFL power rankings poll for the upcoming campaign, and believes that the Giants will make big strides as he pushes them up from the basement of the league order into the No. 19 position for an eight-place jump as the offseason opens.

"If they’re right about QB Jaxson Dart, then it’s a short leap for them to at least respectability," Vacchiano said in his analysis.

"Because they have talent that has underachieved. And now, with John Harbaugh, they finally have a capable head coach."

That's a very noticeable improvement in the NFL pecking order for the Giants, who weren't able to break the bottom 10 during the 2025 season and even came close to officially crashing at rock bottom on a couple of occasions.

As the context of Vacchiano's rankings suggests, it's still very early to let one big achievement in the Giants' offseason timeline get to people's heads.

The team needs to make some splashes in free agency and the draft to help round out the roster that Harbaugh will take over beginning in the summer and ensure that their issues from this year don't linger into the next.

What Changes Do the NY Giants Need to Make to Be a Contender Next Season?

Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter (51) and safety Tyler Nubin (27) celebrate a defensive stop during the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Having the ink officially dried on John Harbaugh's head coaching contract and Jaxson Dart returning to lead the offensive huddle for what will be his first full season is only the tip of the iceberg for the Giants to make a push for relevancy next season.

They have a good portion of their current roster set to return in 2026, pending no internal cuts, to create some much-needed cap space for the front office to operate.

On the other hand, they have 20 impending free agents, a few of whom are critical pieces at premier positions such as wide receiver, offensive tackle, and cornerback.

It's very likely the team will expose new weaknesses once they make the tough financial decisions necessary to bring back key guys like Wan'Dale Robinson or Jermaine Eluemunor, who would be hard to replace.

After their in-house needs are met, the Giants' biggest schematic priority must be fixing their run defense, which allowed the second-most yards per game and nearly a historic 5.3 yards per carry.

The next area of concern is the defensive secondary, which was once again a launching pad for the league's best pass catchers to do damage.

The unit's youth and inexperience have only fueled the fire, and it could get worse if the Giants can't re-sign Cor'Dale Flott as a trusted perimeter starter alongside Paulson Adebo.

It also wouldn't hurt for the Giants to bolster their receiving corps, which would lose a huge piece if Robinson walks to a bigger offer in another city and needs a second elite threat to complement Malik Nabers and potentially assume his role if he isn't ready to return in Week 1.

The other positions that could use some cosmetic work are tight end, defensive line, and kicker, the latter a glaring issue that cost the Giants a couple of their close games as they rotated through four different options before landing on a hopeful answer in rookie Ben Sauls.

If the Giants can even accomplish a majority of these things during the offseason, they'll certainly be set up to achieve more success than they did in 2025 and, hopefully, maintain it behind Harbaugh, who has made that a staple of his coaching career to this day.

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