Where NY Giants Rank in "Desperation" for 2026 Top Overall Draft Pick

The Giants are among a handful of teams in contention for the No. 1 overall selection in this year’s draft, but how important is it for them to land it?

Wide receiver Malik Nabers poses with Giants fans after he was announced as the team's 2024 first-round pick. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With the NFL season reaching its final turning point in the last three weeks of regular-season play, there is often a two-pronged focus that divides the league's 32 teams as they round the bend of their 2025 slates. 

More than half of said teams are still mathematically alive for the postseason ahead of Week 16, and as such, are fighting to improve their current seeding or thrust their way into grabbing a spot in the final bracket. 

Meanwhile, for the other 13 teams that have already been eliminated, including the New York Giants, the main concern has become positioning on this April’s draft board and determining which organization in a select few will end up with the No. 1 overall pick when the dust settles.

The Giants, who sit at a league-worst 2-12 heading into their matchup with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, are one of the six franchises in position for the top selection. But just how dire is it for them to land the pick after they have played their last snap and look ahead to 2026?

A new analysis by Bleacher Report ranking the most desperate NFL teams in contention for the first spot believes the Giants aren’t high in the pecking order and places them fifth on the short list with an 18% chance of coming out with the pick.   

“The Giants may have their quarterback in 2025 first-rounder Jaxson Dart, and the offensive core is pretty much locked in,” writer Brad Gagnon said. 

“A potential game-changing defender such as Arvell Reese would be huge for them, but there's a good chance they don't need the top pick for him or a similar prospect.”

Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) talks with interim head coach Mike Kafka during the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The analysis argues that four teams were ahead of the Giants in the desperation factor—the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Las Vegas Raiders—with three of those franchises currently holding better records than the Giants. 

The Raiders are the only team that sits toe-to-toe with the Giants’ record and losing streak, and the two are slated to duke it out in Week 17 in a matchup that, while some analysts believe the Giants are the more talented team, could dictate which side will go on the clock first in a few months.

No matter how the chips fall, it’s hard to agree with Gagnon that the Giants have the second-lowest need for the pick among the group.

If it were our choice to reorder the six teams, the Giants would at least be ahead of the Cardinals and Raiders, who both have veteran quarterbacks on their rosters who just aren’t surrounded by the best supporting cast. 

The Giants are also not in the market for a signal caller, with Dart proving he is talented enough to be the long-term answer the franchise has been looking for. Still, the next step in their rebuild process is to invest in their young prodigy, and having the No. 1 pick is arguably their best route given how poor their 2026 salary cap situation is shaping up. 

While the analysis is correct in saying that the Giants don’t need the first pick to snag a premier prospect who would fill one of their main roster needs, they could shop it to one of the other teams on this list who are searching eagerly for a quarterback and attain extra draft capital that will only help them bring in more foundational talent.

The Jets, who've been featured as a favorable suitor in a few mock drafts, would likely be ringing the phones in East Rutherford to strike a deal as their own quarterback room is heading for a dismantling. The Browns are also in limbo about their situation, as they've rotated through multiple arms, including two late-round rookies, with little success.

It would be a perfect pairing for the Giants to nail with the Jets, specifically, who own two picks in the top 20 after some deadline deals made earlier this season. With those slots, the Giants could find Dart another elite playmaker or bolster their defense, a la a prospect like Reese.

Any chance the Giants have of the ideal scenario playing out could, again, hinge on what happens in the next two games, with outside expectations leaning toward them losing to the streaking Vikings this Sunday before likely being a rare road favorite against the Raiders in Las Vegas.

Those players and coaches between the hash marks will say their focus and desire are on winning some football games, and that they will worry about the draft circumstances as they come. Still, to the fans, the watch will be on to see if they can get the one prize that will matter most for fixing their weaknesses and setting up for success next season.

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