Giants Fill Key Need in Daniel Jeremiah's First 2026 Mock Draft

The 2026 NFL Draft is just under three months away, but for New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach John Harbaugh, the work of upgrading the team's roster for the following season will begin as soon as the entire coaching staff is finalized.

Once that mission is wrapped up, there are still a few offseason markers to get through, including the free agent frenzy for which they'll have to make some tough choices on the current roster to free up the necessary cap space to swing some deals.

Still, a lot of football minds and Giants fans will be eager to see what the organization's new leadership does on night one of the draft, when Harbaugh will get to put his first fingerprints on the selection of one of the bright young talents of the Giants' future.

One thing is for certain: Harbaugh is coming into East Rutherford with heavy expectations to reload the locker room and compete for the postseason in 2026, not start over with a grand rebuild that would only further exacerbate the weary fanbase.

Therefore, the picks the Giants make in their upcoming draft class must be made carefully, to fill their biggest needs with the best available prospects who can become Day 1 contributors to the franchise.

While the Giants' very first decision at the No. 5 pick can still go several ways between now and April 23, when the board opens up, NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has arrived at the party with his first mock draft of the offseason. He has Big Blue addressing a key position that hasn't been touched enough in preceding exercises.

Jeremiah's pick for the Giants is LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane, the first secondary player taken off the board in his mock draft.

"The Giants could add a receiver later in the draft -- it's a deep class at the position -- but Delane would immediately be their most talented cornerback," Jeremiah said.

Seeing Delane's name appear next to the Giants' first-round pick was somewhat surprising, given that most mock drafts in recent weeks have had them jumping onto the best available receiver, like Ohio State's Carnell Tate, or siding with an important depth piece at offensive tackle.

Depending on what they manage to accomplish in free agency, cornerback and receiver could remain the top priorities for the front office.

However, Jeremiah understands the underrated state the Giants' secondary finds itself in after another mediocre season, finishing with the 19th overall coverage grade and often getting picked apart by elite pass catchers.

The Giants still need to figure out whether they can retain pending UFA Cor'Dale Flott as their second starting cornerback alongside Paulson Adebo, following Flott's best season in coverage that included a 52.3% opponent reception rate, one interception, and eight forced incompletions.

Flott has dealt with some injury problems, the latest being a knee ailment that cost him three games for the third year in a row. He beat out 2023 first-round pick Deonte Banks, who most likely will have one last chance to prove his worth in 2026, but regardless, the Giants could indeed use more depth at cornerback.

With so much inconsistency across the secondary every Sunday, it became harder for the Giants' defense to mesh on the back end and provide enough time for the pass rush to get home and pressure the quarterback. They struggled to force turnovers until the final quarter of the regular season, when a switch in packages by interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen sparked eight takeaways.

The Giants can't go into the 2026 season relying on their thin secondary to hold it together and on inexperienced players to step into big workloads and perform right away. They need to add an extra battle-tested cornerback to the mix, and grabbing one via the draft could be their best option.

That said, it feels more likely that a pick at cornerback would come in Day 2 at the earliest, as the temptation to add another high-volume pass catcher for quarterback Jaxson Dart is too great with how underwhelming the receiving corps was as a unit in 2025.

The Giants don't have a third-round pick, unless a draft-day trade is made, so it would be wise to address the position before then to still get a quality weapon.

As for Delane, he was LSU's highest-graded defensive back (91.0) and posted his best season in coverage after transferring to the Tigers from Virginia Tech. He held opposing pass catchers to an astounding 38.2% reception rate for 147 yards and forced a career-high seven pass deflections in 358 snaps.

If the Giants can land him in the draft, he'll bring many of the coveted qualities they've missed in some of their recent cornerback selections.

He excels in throwing receivers off their route in press-man coverage, has the instincts to switch quickly to zone, and has great speed to stick with vertical threats and turn his head back to the football to intercept the play.

Delane's skill set will definitely come in handy for the Giants, but we are just uncertain whether the team will think the same way as Jeremiah did for their night one selection.

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