Giants Have Just One Player on List of Biggest Draft Steals of Last 25 Years

The New York Giants’ more recent draft classes have looked far more promising, but it’s going to take a while before Big Blue, once one of the better teams in finding draft gems, rebuilds the full confidence in draft analysts as being among the better drafting teams, particularly on the final day of the three-day event.

This is evident in the opinion of Justin Melo (NFL Draft On SI), who put together a list of the biggest draft steals in every class from 2000 to 2025, the list covering all seven rounds of the draft.

For the Giants, only safety Julian Love, a 2019 draft pick who is now with Seattle, made the cut.

Melo’s opinion is just one of a sea of draft analysts, but it’s worth noting an underlying trend that has hit the Giants’ drafts in recent years, and that is, until recently, their draft classes have been mostly underwhelming, resulting in an extraordinary amount of roster turnover, and a shaky record of late among the premium picks (Days 1 and 2).

That list includes quarterback Daniel Jones (2019), cornerback DeAndre Baker (2019), receiver Kadarius Toney (2021), offensive lineman Evan Neal (2022), and cornerback Deonte Banks (2023), all of whom have been first-round picks.

Recent Day 2 picks who have not worked out for one reason or another have included outside linebacker Oshane Ximines (R3, 2019), offensive lineman Matt Peart (R3, 2020), cornerback Aaron Robinson (R3, 2021), offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu (R3, 2022), and receiver Jalin Hyatt (R3, 2023).

The Giants Haven't Been That Bad on Day 3

New York Giants offensive tackle David Diehl was one of the team's best Day 3 value draft picks of the last 25 years. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The list of Day 3 Giants draft picks that have actually made a contribution worth talking about is sparse. Linebacker Dhani Jones (R6, 2000) played ten years as an occasional starter who gave snaps on special teams. Linebacker Nick Greisen (R5, 2002) is another who managed to give the Giants some decent snaps.

In 2003, the Giants landed offensive lineman David Diehl in the fifth round, a player who went on to start for them through the 2013 season, helping to anchor two Super Bowl-winning offensive lines. That same draft class also yielded Super Bowl hero and special teams ace David Tyree in the sixth round.

The next year’s draft produced safety Gibril Wilson in the fifth round. Running back Brandon Jacobs, a fan favorite and two-time Super Bowl champion, came in the fourth round of the 2005 draft, and his future backfield partner, Ahmad Bradshaw, was a seventh-round pick in 2007, the same draft that produced tight end Kevin Boss in the fifth round.

More recently, the Giants snagged inside linebacker and special teamer Micah McFadden in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, McFadden having been a two-year starter until last year’s foot injury altered his status.

Tight end Theo Johnson and running back Tyrone Tracy Jr were drafted in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively, in 2024; and offensive lineman Marcus Mbow was plucked in the fifth round in 2025.

Despite some modest success on Day 3 of the draft, in comparing those picks to those selected by Melo and the Giants' struggles over most of the last decade-plus, it’s understandable why there aren’t more Giants draft picks included on the list.

The good news is that the Giants are slowly rebuilding their reputation for producing higher-quality drafts, to the point where, perhaps over the next 25 years, they will have greater representation on lists such as Melo’s.

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