Giants Prioritize Key Offensive Playmaker in New PFF Mock Draft

The Giants want to provide quarterback Jaxson Dart with the best balance of talent and that's their first move in a new mock draft.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) makes a catch for a touchdown Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, during the Big Ten football championship against the Indiana Hoosiers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While the New York Giants might say that they got a lot more than expected out of their offense during the 2025 season, it still wasn't the most well-furnished huddle around the entire league.

Despite having one incredible performance behind veteran quarterback Russell Wilson in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, when Wilson threw for 450 passing yards and three touchdowns, the Giants' offense really made its strides once rookie Jaxson Dart was called into the starting job two weeks later.

Led by Dart's dual-threat abilities and competitive mindset, New York would finish their 4-13 campaign with the 17th-ranked offense in points and 13th in yards, and produced their second consecutive 1,000-yard receiver in Wan'Dale Robinson, who stepped up to offer the first-year signal caller a trusty target that finished in the NFL's top 15 pass catchers in the absence of Malik Nabers.

A few other underrated players also made noticeable contributions. However, it still felt like the Giants' offense was missing something when Nabers went down with an ACL injury in Dart's debut.

They lacked a true vertical threat that could run an entire route tree and stretch the field for big plays that keep opposing defenses on notice for an entire game.

The Giants have seen the effect of not having a dynamic arsenal of playmakers in their back pocket from young quarterbacks across the NFL, and they aim to change that in a new mock draft crafted by Pro Football Focus, where they select one of the top prospects who mirrors Nabers' game.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) catches a touchdown pass during the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2025. Ohio State won 27-9. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Giants Add a Big Time Playmaker to Shaky Receiving Corps

In the mock, the Giants make themselves the first team to snag a skilled player off the board by selecting Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate with the No. 5 pick, who mock curator Max Chadwick described as "a true X-receiver that’d pair very nicely with Malik Nabers once he recovers from his torn ACL."

It would be hard for anyone to criticize the Giants for making this choice, as Tate appears to be sparring for supremacy in the wide receiver pool of the 2026 draft class as we draw closer to April.

More importantly, Tate almost seems like a solid insurance policy for Dart if things don't go in the Giants' favor with the position group this offseason.

Nabers, who last spoke to the media at the team facilities on Baggy Day, was reluctant to commit to returning for the Giants' season opener in nine months, as he exercises caution with his ACL rehab.

Wan'Dale Robinson has expressed an interest in returning to the Giants organization long-term. Still, he is going to be a hot commodity on the open market for teams that are in dire need of a slot receiver, and there is no guarantee that Joe Schoen and the front office will play the money game to retain his services.

If both of those players are not available in Week 1, the Giants' receiving corps would be left on shaky ground with not enough playmakers who can be relied on to produce at any moment in a game.

They'd still have Darius Slayton and tight end Theo Johnson in the mix, but the former is coming off a disappointing season in which he finished with his second-lowest yards total and tied for fourth in the league in drops.

Pairing Dart with Tate in this mock scenario would provide some much-needed depth to the Giants' offensive huddle and ensure that their developing gunslinger has the right balance of talent to take the next step in his sophomore season in 2026.

Tate was an accomplished player for the Buckeyes in his previous two seasons at the college level, making 101 total catches for 1,608 yards, 13 touchdowns, and an average of 15.7 yards per catch, which ranked second in the Big Ten Conference.

As a deep target, he can create immense separation from the defender and pull down the most important catches of a game with unreal regularity.

Tate finished among the top 15 pass catchers in the entire nation with 10 receptions for 433 deep passing yards and six touchdowns, and brought down six of the seven contested catches that were heaved his way.

With the addition of the young prospect, the promise the Giants saw in their budding offensive core would be elevated as soon as they fully heal.

Until then, tabbing an elite collegiate playmaker to bolster the receiver room is one of the less debatable moves that the Giants can make in a few months.

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