Best First-Round Draft Picks in New York Giants History

The NFL Draft is right around the corner, and New York Giants fans eagerly await the announcement of the newest additions to Big Blue Nation.

The first-round draft pick is always a widely discussed selection because it is the player fans believe could become a team legend.

Over the years, the Giants, like every other franchise, have hit and missed on first-round picks, but when they hit, they have produced some all-time greats.

Let’s take a look at five of the best first-round picks in Giants history.

RB Frank Gifford | 1952

Sep 26, 1959; Los Angeles, CA, USA: FILE PHOTO; New York Giants running back Frank Gifford (16) carries the ball against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | Imagn Images

Gifford, drafted 11th overall in 1952 out of USC, is not only a Giants legend but an NFL legend of yesteryear. He dominated the 1950s as a football player who could not only run the ball, but also catch it.

He made seven consecutive Pro Bowls and eight overall. He was a five-time All-Pro, including four first-team All-Pro selections.

He played many roles during the Golden Era, including throwing touchdown passes and kicking field goals.

Gifford was also named the MVP in 1956 and was a six-time first-team All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowler.

Gifford, who was voted to the NFL’s 1950s all-decade team and named the fourth-greatest Giant of all-time, is one of the beloved figures in Giants lore and helped build the game of football and the modern-day running back position into what they are today.

QB Phil Simms | 1979

Sep 13, 1992; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants quarterback (11) Phil Simms in action against the Dallas Cowboys at Giants Stadium. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

One of the most interesting debates is whether Simms, the seventh overall pick in 1979, deserves induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The debate about Simms’s worthiness for the Hall of Fame is nothing compared to when he was first drafted out of Morehead State.

The pick was so controversial that it was booed by those in attendance at the draft, largely because Simms was a prospect few knew about.

One person who did know about Simms outside of the Giants organization at the time was none other than 49ers head coach Bill Walsh, who contemplated taking Simms over eventual Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana.

Simms, a Ring of Honor member whose jersey number 11 has been retired, played 14 seasons for Big Blue and won one Super Bowl in what was one of the most accurate Super Bowl performances of all time.

The Super Bowl XXI MVP finished 22-of-25 (88%) for 268 yards and three touchdowns, with no turnovers in a 39-20 triumph over the Denver Broncos.

His Super Bowl accomplishment still stands as a record among quarterbacks with at least 14 pass attempts.

When Simms, voted the 11th-best Giant of all time, retired after the 1993 season, he held 19 Giants team records, just about all of which have since been broken by Eli Manning.

OLB Lawrence Taylor | 1981

Jan 9, 1994; E. Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor (56) during the game against the Minnesota Vikings during the 1993 NFC Wild Card Game at Giants Stadium. The Giants won 17-10. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

The second overall pick in the 1981 draft–hard to believe, isn’t it?-- is the gold standard and the inadvertent inventor of the edge rusher.

Taylor, nicknamed “LT,” was quite simply the most dominating player at his position the league has ever seen, and everyone is still chasing the prototype.

At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, LT wasn’t bigger than your average outside linebacker or edge rusher, but he played with a ferocity and power that is rarely seen even in the elite today.

He was such a force that some of the league’s brightest coaching minds of that era had to come up with new ways to slow LT down–ways that still exist in today’s game.

In his 13-year career, Taylor had seven straight seasons of double-digit sacks, including 20.5 in 1986. He was an All-Pro in 10 of his 13 seasons, a Ring of Honor member, and a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.

Taylor is also the top-rated Giant of all time, and it’s not even close.

QB Eli Manning | 2004

New York Giants QB Eli Manning | Danielle Parhizkaran / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This pick gets an honorary mention, considering that technically, the Giants didn’t draft Manning in 2004; the San Diego Chargers drafted Manning first overall, while the Giants drafted quarterback Philip Rivers at No. 4 overall.

But considering what the Giants gave up to get Manning, it’s certainly fair to say that he would have been their unquestioned top pick were he on the board for them in 2004.

Instead, New York had to send Rivers, a 2004 third-round pick, and a first-round and a fifth-round pick in 2005 to the Chargers for Manning, who went on to win two Super Bowls and become the greatest quarterback in Giants history.

While the Giants Ring of Honor inductee has now twice been denied entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there is no doubt that the honors are coming for him soon.

Manning is the very definition of a franchise anchor. He held the ball club down for 15 years and, in the midst of it, was the only thing standing in the way of complete and utter football domination by the New England Patriots.

He beat the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl, helping Big Blue claim its last two championships. Manning also owns every significant passing record in New York Giants history, and likely most of the insignificant ones as well.

Manning was voted the eighth-best Giant player of all time.

DT Dexter Lawrence | 2019

Oct 26, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (97) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Lawrence, chosen 17th overall in 2019 out of Clemson, was the second of three first-round picks the Giants ended up with that year, and he is the best nose tackle in the NFL…

Lawrence is so good at the position that defensive coordinators keep trying to put him in other places, because his athletic ability, combined with his size and power, is something you don’t often see in the National Football League.

Yes, dominant nose guards like Vince Wilfork used physical strength and leverage, along with quickness, to dominate the line of scrimmage, but rarely do guys like that also wreak havoc on the quarterback.

The amount of pressure Lawrence generates when he’s at nose guard dwarfs the numbers of anyone else who plays the position, including the best in the NFL.

When you add into the equation that he was the 17th overall pick—much lower than where you would typically see elite-level defensive linemen go—it makes his value even higher and his star as a Giant even greater.

LT Andrew Thomas | 2020

Jul 25, 2024; East Rutherford, NY, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (78) takes a water break during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

Thomas was drafted with the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft out of Georgia to become a cornerstone of the New York Giants’ offense and a franchise-level left tackle. After a rocky start to his career, he has succeeded in becoming all of that.

You can tell how valuable he is because anytime he is out, the offensive line completely crumbles. When he’s in the game, they look like one of the better offensive lines in the NFL.

That is what an all-pro caliber offensive tackle (specifically a left tackle) brings to the table. Thomas, in 2,392 career pass-blocking snaps, has allowed just 22 sacks, per PFF.

The scary part is that, as he enters year seven of his career, he is only 26. That means there is a chance that he could have another 10 years of service for Big Blue if he can stay out of the trainer’s room.

That is a great thing for Giants fans and bad news for NFC East opponents and beyond.

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