Giants Address Two Critical Needs in Bold PFF Mock Draft

Following all of the surprise action from Week 14 of the NFL season, the New York Giants find themselves in an interesting predicament as it relates to their position in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, where they currently hold the No. 1 overall selection thanks to the Titans beating the Browns on Sunday.

With their bye week over and four games left to be played–three of which are at home in East Rutherford and deemed very winnable for the Giants–there is still time for the situation to change a few more times before April arrives.

That still doesn't take away from the opportunity for seasoned mock drafters everywhere to get a little creative with mocking out a potential direction that the Giants front office might take as they seek to retool a roster that carries several big holes once again.

Pro Football Focus does exactly that in their newest mock draft, where they have the Giants picking up the phone and making a bold trade with a quarterback-seeking team while utilizing their newly acquired assets to cash in on two talented prospects at key needs on the roster.

Dec 6, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) looks on in the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers during the 2025 Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

The team on the other end of the line is actually a surprising one in the Los Angeles Rams, who strike a deal with the Giants, sending them the No. 9 (via Atlanta) and No. 31 picks to move up the top of the order to snatch their choice of a future gunslinger in Indiana's Fernando Mendoza who figures to be highly coveted by several teams within the first ten selections.

Making that exchange with the Rams is arguably a perfect one for the Giants, as they don't figure to be in the conversation for a quarterback this year, since they are staking their own future on the promise of current rookie Jaxson Dart, who has already shown positive strides since taking over the helm.

One of the Giants' top priorities in this draft will be finding an elite playmaker to bolster the offensive arsenal around Dart, which was marred by injuries to their best players, including the electric receiver Malik Nabers and fellow rookie Cam Skattebo.

On the other end of the projected trade, the Giants land their guy with the No. 9 selection, taking Ohio State wideout Carnell Tate, whom analyst Trevor Sikkema believes is "as consistent as they come with refined route running and strong hands, and his addition would form an outstanding duo with Malik Nabers in New York."

In his third season with the Buckeyes, Tate has been building his career-best stat line with 838 yards and nine touchdowns, and has all the intangibles to be a second explosive deep threat.

He is averaging nearly 18 yards per reception and would quickly become another security blanket for Dart, thanks to his stellar hands that have caught 85.7% of his contested targets.

Beyond Nabers' absence, the Giants' lone dominant receiver has been Wan'Dale Robinson, who is slated to be an undrafted free agent at the end of the season, leaving it a smart proposition for them to add a cheap prospect of Tate's caliber if they can.

After snagging the potential No. 2 option on the offensive end, the Giants do right by their defense, particularly their failing secondary, by tapping Clemson cornerback Aveion Terrell with the second-to-last pick in the first round.

Sikkema describes Terrell as "feisty and physical, evidenced by his eight forced fumbles in college, and can play inside or outside, similar to Andru Phillips."

The Giants' secondary could surely use another influx of Terrell's physical style of play, as they've been torched in soft coverages in several of the team's games that have led to brutal collapses in select fourth quarters when they held a lead.

The unit's coverage woes have played a large part in them allowing the second-most yards and 23 total touchdowns, which ranks 26th in the NFL.

With a couple of names also not guaranteed to return to the organization next fall, it's paramount that the Giants carve out some depth in the secondary that can hold up with the greatest pass catchers in the league and allow their vaunted pass rush enough time to do what they're being paid to do in the backfield.

It's hard to find early mock drafts that would overly impress if they came to fruition on draft night, but this one would help the Giants get the best of both worlds in just the first round and a head start on hopefully crafting a successful rookie class for the 2026 campaign.

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