NY Giants Seek Address Dire Defensive Upgrade in New Mock Draft

The New York Giants’ pursuit of John Harbaugh as the franchise’s next head coach might have felt like the hardest thing they’ll do all offseason, but reaching his official coronation as the team’s new leader this week pales in comparison to the work that lies ahead in retooling the unfinished roster he has inherited.

As the Giants kickstart a crucial offseason, Harbaugh has already expressed praise for the sprinklings of talent that general manager Joe Schoen and the rest of the organization have assembled, and that made some positive marks amid a generally disappointing 2025 season.

Beyond the scope of quarterback Jaxson Dart, the offensive line, and a handful of playmakers on both sides of the ball, the Giants still have holes that need to be filled and personnel decisions that need to be ironed out over the next few months.

With no need for a franchise gunslinger and a top 10 pick in the upcoming draft, the Giants are certainly in a prime position in that realm for landing a premier prospect who can fill one of the glaring needs in their locker room.

Still, the specific direction that they take once they are on the board is somewhat of a mystery, especially since they are looking pretty hampered with cap space to make moves in free agency and will likely have to create new gaps within the roster to free up the necessary capital to start dealing with their most important incumbent players.

What is certain now that Harbaugh is running the show with the Giants is that the expectations are high. The new coach will be looking for players who can be immediate contributors on both sides of the ball and help establish the winning culture that has been hibernating in East Rutherford for some time.

In a new first-round mock draft curated by Bleacher Report this week, the Giants waste no time reaching on their choice at the No. 5 pick, hauling in one of the class’s best prospects at what has been an underrated position of need.

Dec 31, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs (2) gets into position during the 2025 Cotton Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at AT&T Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

New York cashes in their first selection of the draft by taking Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, marking the second defensive player to come off the board after the Tennessee Titans picked his teammate and receiver, Carnell Tate, who has been one of the most commonly mocked prospects to the Giants, at No. 4.

A lot of folks reading this mock might think the choice is underwhelming when it comes to satisfying the major needs on the Giants' roster, where most of the attention is being paid to their wide receiver room and the offensive line, which dealt with injuries to key cogs this season.

It’s quite the contrary reaction on our end, though. A couple of names at those same position groups were available as a backup plan, but recruiting Downs to the secondary would likely be a good sign for the Giants and their quest to keep talent within their ranks.

If they were able to spend their fifth overall pick on a safety, it probably means they were successful at creating the right amount of cap space to secure arguably their two biggest in-house free agents—Wan’Dale Robinson and Jermaine Eluemunor—for the team’s future ascension under Harbaugh’s tutelage.

Robinson was one of the best slot receivers in the league this season, and he stepped up big with a career-high in receiving yards and four touchdowns to provide Dart with a surprise leading target in the absence of Malik Nabers. Eluemunor was also irreplaceable in pass protection and ensured that Dart had the edge blockers with Andrew Thomas to excel in his early development.

After the Giants lock down those two players, the defensive secondary is really the next biggest issue in their building. Cor’Dale Flott and Dane Belton are free agents, and the veteran additions that Schoen made last spring, Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland, held mediocre coverage grades and didn’t perform up to their prior resumes.

Deonte Banks is another name to keep an eye on, with some football minds believing he could be a trade piece given the Giants seem unlikely to pick up his fifth-year option amid his defensive and character struggles since arriving in 2023 as a hopeful lockdown corner.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Caleb Downs (2) and defensive end Eddrick Houston (96) tackle Miami Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher Jr. (4) during the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game on Dec. 31, 2025. Ohio State lost 24-14. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Like the receiving and offensive line rooms, the secondary has been no stranger to nagging injuries that have tested depth and put inexperienced players in heavy workloads. The entire group missed a total of 18 games, which forced the Giants to dig deeper into practice squad reserves whose talent couldn't slow down the carving the Giants were taking at a 6.2-yard clip in coverage.

What better addition to serve as a cure for these woes than Downs, who has been a three-year starter between his two stints with Alabama and the Buckeyes and has been a production machine with 173 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, five interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 10 pass deflections in that span.

Downs has steadily improved throughout his collegiate career in almost every important metric for a ballhawk and can contribute to both the pass coverage and run response efforts, where he held quarterbacks to a career-low 47.9 passer rating when targeted and made 76 stops in the trenches.

He might not jump to the top of the order with Holland set to return in 2026 with second-year man Tyler Nubin. Still, he has all the intangibles, from great field vision and route processing to communication and versatility, to compete with those two players for reps and be relied upon at the NFL level.

If he were to come in and perform well, the Giants could have another cornerstone piece for a few years at a cheap rate as opposed to dipping into the well for another veteran safety when the market is saturated with options. Still, the market rate for a proven player might be out of their range.

There will be plenty of directions for Harbaugh and company to take on night one of the draft, and it'll be exciting to see how the Giants round out his first roster as the leader of the organization he hopes to turn around.

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