Giants NFL Draft Review: Immediate Starters, Sleepers and Long-Term Bets

The annual NFL draft has long been compared to a holiday, with fans of the New York Giants treated each year to new “gifts” in the form of draft picks selected to upgrade the team.

All things considered, new head coach John Harbaugh is pretty happy with who Big Blue was able to land.

“I think we have a bunch of Giants, figuratively and literally,” he said after the draft concluded. “We have guys that we really like that are going to make a difference.

How much of a difference remains to be seen, though for the Giants, who only managed four wins last season, there really isn’t anywhere else to go but up.

So how can their Class of 2026 help them do that, and what will their specific roles be?

Let’s take a look.

Immediate Starters

Apr 24, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants draft picks Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa, Head Coach John Harbaugh (left) and General Manager Joe Schoen (right). | Tom Horak-Imagn Images

LB Arvell Reese: Giants general manager Joe Schoen could barely contain his disbelief that Reese actually fell to them at No. 5 overall, noting, “There weren't a lot of scenarios that we went through where he may be available.”

But the former Ohio State linebacker, whom Harbaugh said was their highest-rated non-quarterback on their draft board, was, and the rookie can expect a big role on the defense.

“We're going to play him at inside backer and WILL linebacker,” Harbaugh said. “Our defense is pretty flexible, position-less, you might call it.

"We'll have an opportunity to move those guys around. But he'll line up next to Tremaine (Edmunds), and he'll be in the A-gap, the B-gap, the C-gap, the D-gap, and off the edge. He'll be moving around with all of our guys.”

Reese’s versatility aligns with what new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson described when asked about his vision for the defense.

“We're going to be unpredictable. We're going to be unpredictable on how we line up and what we do, all right?” he said earlier this month.

“We're going to be dynamic because we have dynamic players. It's our job to put those dynamic players in the greatest positions to have success.”

In other words, they’re going to put opposing offenses on notice that the Big Blue defense is no longer going to be a unit that’s to be taken lightly.

OL Francis Mauigoa: The Giants didn’t forget about a second-year quarterback in the draft, as they used the pick they acquired in the Dexter Lawrence trade with Cincinnati to land mammoth-sized offensive lineman Francis “Sisi” Mauigoa out of Miami.

Although a college tackle, Mauigoa said he’s cross-trained in practice at guard, and sure enough, that’s where the team has plans to play him, that being on the right side.

The Giants obviously had an opening on the starting offensive line, a position they were initially planning to fill with veteran Daniel Faalele, whom Harbaugh had in Baltimore.

But Mauigoa gives them an instant upgrade and, in Harbaugh's opinion, pushes the offensive line closer to what he envisions.

“We'll have to finish it off at practice for the next couple of weeks and put it all together, but it makes us a lot more stout,” he said of the state of the offensive line.

Mauigoa also gives the Giants a degree of flexibility at tackle should they need him to kick outside because of injury, something Harbaugh confirmed was the plan.

“He can certainly always bump back out to tackle at any point. We're going to start him at guard,” he said.

Midseason Starters

Oct 11, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver O'Mega Blake (9) runs the ball against Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Colton Hood (8) during the second half at Neyland Stadium. | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

CB Colton Hood: The Giants cornerbacks last year didn’t exactly scare anyone. In fact, it could be argued that oftentimes, when they couldn’t hold their coverage long enough, the pass rush went to waste.

Harbaugh and Schoen are hoping that their second-round pick, Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood, comes in and changes all that.

Competing to start. That's what he's going to do,” Harbaugh said of Hood, who will compete with Paulson Adebo and Greg Newsome II, the two projected starters at cornerback prior to the draft.

“It's amazing how one addition changes the math in a room. The cornerback room is good, but now it's really good. He's going to push everybody, and he'll be -- I know one thing, he's planning on coming in here and trying to win a starting job.”

Hood, whose uncle Rod Hood was once coached by Harbaugh back when both were with the Philadelphia Eagles, offers a potential upgrade in one very specific area: run support.

Last year, Cor’Dale Flott, Deonte Banks, and Adebo, the three main guys who manned the position on the perimeter, all posted PFF run defense grades of 56.8 or lower, with Banks’ 36.7 grade being the worst of the team’s cornerbacks. They also combined for 10 missed tackles in run support and just six stops.

Hood only had four missed tackles and posted seven run-game stops last year to lead the Vols’ cornerbacks in that category.

With Harbaugh emphasizing stopping the run, if Hood can deliver there, that should give him a competitive advantage for a starting job as the season goes on.

WR Malachi Fields: Fields gives quarterback Jaxson Dart another big target in the passing game, who is a jump-ball specialist and a physical receiver, something the Giants really haven’t been able to lay claim to having.

“He's certainly a different body type than we currently have,” Harbaugh said. “ Obviously, being 6-foot-4.5, 218 pounds, and the catch radius and athleticism that he displays were attractive.”

Fields might not have had gaudy numbers for the run-heavy Irish during his one season there, but he’s a solid blocker, has sticky hands, and is a load to bring down.

Fields, for whom the Giants traded up to get in the third round, could see a starting role a lot sooner, depending on whether Malik Nabers (knee) is ready for Week 1.

Sleeper

Oct 3, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers running back Diore Hubbard (20) runs against Brigham Young Cougars linebacker Jack Kelly (17) during the first quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

LB Jack Kelly: Kelly was the last of the draft picks chosen, but he could very well emerge as someone who could surprise.

An inside linebacker by trade, Kelly is an upgraded version of Micah McFadden. He is solid against the run, more than acceptable in coverage, and can give the defense some blitzing ability.

“Jack Kelly, another guy we spent time with down at the All-Star game,” Schoen said.

“Ran really well. Super productive player. He was playing off the ball for BYU. At Weber State, he played off the edge. … So a lot of versatility.”

Kelly has 128 career quarterback pressures, 31 of which have been sacks, 103 total stops, and has allowed just three touchdowns in his four-year career (844 coverage snaps).

If that’s not enough to pique your interest, Kelly can also give the team some firepower on special teams, which is where he’s probably going to cut his teeth in the NFL.

Long-Term Bets

Mar 1, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois offensive lineman JC Davis (OL18) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

OL JC Davis: The Giants needed to get young offensive line talent that they could put into development, and in Illinois, OL JC Davis, they have done just that.

“Swing guard and tackle,” Harbaugh said of Davis’s projected role. “He can play both.”

If he can indeed play both at the NFL level, the Giants might very well have gotten themselves a sixth-round steal.

That’s at least what Harbaugh, who likes, among other things, Davis’s length, is hoping for.

“Very talented, athletic, long-armed guy, can bend, can move his feet. He's big. He's got some growing to do as a player, some maturing to do as a player, but we had him in for a visit and talked to him about that at length.”

DT Bobby Jamison-Travis: Anyone who was expecting the Giants to replace Dexter Lawrence in this draft was bound to be left disappointed, as even with Lawrence’s down year last season, he’s still arguably better than any rookie in this class.

But in Jamison-Travis, the Giants got themselves a potential rotational nose tackle who should be able to give them some rotational snaps to start, much in the way that former Giants nose tackle DJ Davidson did.

Jamison-Travis will still need to refine his pass-rushing prowess, but if his role is to serve as a space eater, he should be able to offer that right off the bat whenever the guy in front of him needs a break.

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