NY Giants 2026 Mock Draft: The Giants Land Their Defensive Chess Piece, Bolster the Trenches

In the newest segment of our mock draft series, Big Blue's focus begins with a versatile prospect and then transitions to building up their pass protection.

Feb 6, 2026; San Francisco, CA, USA; The 2026 NFL Draft logo at the Super Bowl LX Experience at the Moscone Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With each passing year that I have published my annual seven-round, New York Giants-only mock draft in advance of the NFL’s big offseason occasion, it feels like I find myself commenting on how the stakes couldn’t be any higher for the franchise that has longed for a proper turnaround.

This time, however, things are a whole lot different in terms of the makeup of the Giants organization and where they are headed in 2026.

They finally have their proven head coach in the building in John Harbaugh as their first big offseason splash and are carrying over much optimism about the future of the quarterback position after Jaxson Dart’s commendable debut amidst a woeful 4-13 season.

Suddenly, the Giants are a lot closer to getting back to relevance than ever before. The next steps are to fix the remaining weak spots from last season and retool Harbaugh’s roster with the type of competitors he admires, which will elevate the team on the field next season.

Free agency was not a bad start for the Giants, as they overcame their cap-space deficiency to make some smart deals that worked for the organization’s bottom line and brought in key pieces to bolster the offense and defense.

As the draft looms in Pittsburgh, New York has more work to do, particularly in strengthening their two interiors, helping fill the secondary, and tagging one extra receiver to add to Dart’s high-volume arsenal.

Like their cap space, the Giants are not blessed with heavy draft capital, meaning the moves they make over the three days will be important, but also very calculated if they want to provide Harbaugh and company with the best roster they can.

For my mock draft, I used Pro Football Focus’s simulator. I also used their prospect evaluations, statistics, and overall rankings from their 2026 NFL Draft Guide and Big Board as the main sources for informing my selections.

If these selections come to pass for the Giants in a couple of weeks, they’ll have made more progress in finding the best available players for their new head coach and further set themselves up for the long-term success they expect to have in the 2026 season and beyond.

Round 1, Pick 5: SAF Caleb Downs, Ohio State

• Career Stats: 44 GP, 257 tackles, 16 TFL's, 1.5 sacks, 6 INT's, 12 PBU's, 3 FF's

Nov 22, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs (2) runs against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the third quarter at Ohio Stadium. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

To be frank at the start of mock draft, I had my sights set on targeting Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles at the No. 5 pick, but in somewhat of an expected fashion, he was taken off the board by the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3, followed by Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love to the Titans at No. 4, who has also been a highly-rumored prospect to New York by other analysts.

As such, the next best player available and the easy choice for the Giants at their first slot was a fellow Buckeye prospect in Caleb Downs.

The 6-foot-0, 205-pound safety could be argued as the most talented defensive weapon in this year’s class due to his insanely high football IQ, which offers him great upside in a defense where he can have a large role.

That would be no problem if Downs is paired with John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who could deploy him as a special chess piece at different spots throughout the secondary.

Downs doesn’t boast elite size, but he has all the solid fundamentals and an eye for the football to serve as a strong tackler inside the box or track down and disrupt the toughest deep balls.

Down offers the Giants the flexibility to run out two deep safeties or even a slot option to slow down some of the peskier pass catchers across the league that they’ll face next season.

Round 2, Pick 37: OG Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon

• Career Stats: 53 GP, 2 tackles, 1 allowed sack, 7 allowed hits, 39 allowed pressures

Oregon’s Emmanuel Pregnon, center, takes the field before the game against Oklahoma State at Autzen. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even though there was a run on offensive tackles (five players chosen) in the first round, it was still a bit surprising to see Oregon guard Emmanuel Pregnon sitting on the board at the No. 37 pick. With the Giants’ very concerning depth situation in the interior, making this move became a must.

Pregnon, 6-foot-5 and 318 pounds, enters the draft as the second-ranked position prospect in this year’s class, which is slim on proven talent, but he could be deemed the best overall protector in that same group.

He finished the 2025 season ranked fifth in pass blocking grade among guards with at least 750 total snaps (88.0) and held opposing pass rushers to just three total pressures all year.

Since transferring to Oregon, Pregnon has primarily served as the starting left guard, but he also has experience playing on the right side during his freshman season at Wyoming (574 snaps).

That resume could provide the Giants with arguably the best swing option where Pregnon could either ascend into the starting right guard spot from day one, assuming he impresses enough to surpass the team’s recent signings of Lucas Patrick and Daniel Faalele, or backup Jon Runyan.

With Pregnon in their depth chart, the Giants would undoubtedly bolster their offensive line, which allowed a good share of its pressures up the middle, by taking their first two picks in the draft.

Round 4, Pick 105: LB Taurean York, Texas A&M

• Career Stats: 39 GP, 229 tackles, 25.5 TFL's, 6.5 sacks, 1 INT, 7 PBU's, 1 FF

Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Taurean York (21) celebrates during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

With the linebacker position still unaddressed after the first three rounds were concluded, it became the top priority for the Giants’ next choice at the top half of round four, and Texas A&M product Taurean York was the best-suited prospect to fit New York’s need.

York, 5-foot-10 and 227 pounds, is another player whose physical measurables didn’t blow down many doors during the draft process, but his skillset is built on solid anticipation and limiting extra damage after a catch is made.

In three seasons with the Aggies, the 20-year-old York’s overall grade has improved (up to 83.7 in 2025) as he built upon his tackling ability and found some ways to pressure the quarterback in certain looks.

The former skill has helped him give up less than 212 yards per season (209 after the catch) and two touchdowns, with his coverage grade maxing out at 90.8 this past fall, good for the eighth-highest in the nation. York can extend beyond the short range and has 18 coverage stops that held opposing receivers to just one touchdown against him.

The one regret about York’s pairing with the Giants is that it came both late in terms of need and early in terms of his place on PFF’s overall rankings. Still, the well was drying up on quality options, leaving York as a solid addition to the linebacker depth that has been no stranger to injury woes in recent seasons.

Round 5, Pick 145: WR Jeff Caldwell, Cincinnati

• Career Stats:13 GP, 32 receptions for 478 yards (14.9 average), 6 TD's

Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats wide receiver Jeff Caldwell (9) scores a touchdown during the game between the Horned Frogs and the Bearcats at Amon G. Carter Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It’s been well documented how the Giants’ receiving corps was lackluster across the board once their No. 1 star, Malik Nabers, went down with the season-ending ACL tear in Week 4. The lone exception–slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson–also left town for the Tennessee Titans in free agency after his first 1,000-yard campaign.

The Giants made a few solid deals during the spending spree to refill their receiver room with capable weapons for Jaxson Dart to throw the football, including tight end Isaiah Likely, who brings one of the most versatile packages of any player at his position.

However, the other additions of Calvin Austin III and Darnell Mooney make New York feel more slot-heavy and in need of an extra X-receiver to provide depth behind Nabers and Darius Slayton. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Jeff Caldwell offers just that as one of the top remaining late-round fliers.

Caldwell, who transferred to join the Bearcats ahead of the 2025 season, rose into one of their top three targets, notching his career high in reception percentage (58.7%). Prior to that, he was the guy at Lindenwood and proved himself as a capable explosive threat with over 1,000 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns, and an average of almost 20 yards per catch.

The one area Caldwell needs to sharpen to become a reliable weapon in the NFL is his footwork and his ability to use a strong release to gain consistent separation against man coverage.

Otherwise, he has the right size and strong hands (66.7% contested catch rate and 1 drop in 2025) to slowly climb up the depth chart and perhaps create a name for himself in the Big Apple if he hauls in the big-time throws that Dart will look to send his way.

Round 6, Pick 186: DI Nick Barrett, South Carolina

• Career Stats: 51 GP, 72 tackles, 6 TFL's, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 3 PBU's, 1 FF recovered for TD

Oct 25, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks defensive lineman Nick Barrett (93) reacts to a stop against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the second half at Williams | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Things are not well with the Giants’ defensive interior. The unit played a large part in their glaring weakness against the run, which allowed opponents to average almost 5.5 yards per attempt last season, and a lot hangs in the balance as the franchise tries to make amends with a disgruntled Dexter Lawrence.

Getting a contract resolution in place with their All-Pro nose tackle is just one challenge that lies ahead of John Harbaugh and company before the draft, but it won’t change their need to add some extra beef to the trenches, and they do so at No. 186 with South Carolina’s own Nick Barrett.

Barrett, 6-foot-3 and 322 pounds, fell just shy of the top 20 interior defenders in this year’s class, but he took a big step forward in his redshirt senior season with the Gamecocks.

He reached a career-high in run defense grade (82.9), which finished fourth among players with at least 250 snaps in that phase, and tallied 25 stops, also a top-five metric.

In terms of positional versatility, Barrett can line up at either the A- or B-gaps, where he played the majority of his collegiate reps, to help back up Lawrence and free agent signee Sam Roberts. The one downside is his pass-rush repertoire, which likely labels him as a developmental pick by the Giants.

If we have learned something over the past few seasons, it’s that the Giants have focused on building up young talent along the defensive interior who they can control at a cheap rate for years to come.

Barrett could join a short list of guys like Elijah Chatman and Darius Alexander who are growing slowly into more full-time contributors and gap stuffers to shut down the run game at a higher rate.

Round 6, Pick 192: C Pat Coogan, Indiana

• Career Stats: 46 GP, 2 tackles, 1 allowed sack, 8 allowed hits, 37 allowed pressures

Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Indiana Hoosiers offensive lineman Pat Coogan (78) against the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When I arrived at the first of the Giants’ back-to-back selections in the sixth round, one intriguing prospect caught my eye who was still on the board at No. 192. That player was Indiana center Pat Coogan.

Coogan, 6-foot-5 and 311 pounds, was one of the shining stories of the Hoosiers’ unimaginable run to the National Championship this past season. A transfer from Notre Dame, where he spent his first three college years, the 23-year-old earned the starting job for coach Curt Cignetti and was nearly flawless.

While this pick may raise some eyebrows, the Giants are very vulnerable at the center position after losing backup Austin Schlottmann to the Tennessee Titans in free agency. They currently have nobody to stand behind John Michael Schmitz, who is also entering a contract year and has been mildly disappointing due to injuries that have affected his play.

Schmitz missed another four games in 2025 with various ailments, which took a toll on his efficiency in both pass and run blocking (60.9 PFF grade ranked 29th among 40 eligible centers). Even when active, his lack of size has often made him a turnstile for elite interior defenders, leading to 12 sacks and 72 total pressures in his NFL career.

Those numbers simply do not cut it for a second-round pick who was proclaimed as one of the top two prospects in the 2023 class. The Giants would bring in a much better piece in Coogan, who could earn the chance to compete with Schmitz in training camp or possibly replace him at the end of the 2026 season if the veteran’s performance doesn’t improve dramatically.

Round 6, Pick 193: CB TJ Hall, Iowa

• Career Stats: 42 GP, 75 tackles, 2 INT's, 12 PBU's, 1 Fumble Recovery

Iowa defensive back TJ Hall looks to the sideline during the Hawkeyes' final spring NCAA football practice, Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Having one more pick to go and pretty much all of the Giants’ major needs addressed, it felt like the best fit to snag one more defensive back off the board to increase the depth of the secondary. Going the best available player route that Harbaugh endears, choosing Iowa’s TJ Hall was the last verdict.

Hall, 6-foot-0 and 190 pounds, is arguably the most productive Hawkeye cornerback coming into the draft, but his lack of great size probably makes him an early developmental piece for the Giants, who did add some veteran free agents to help command the starting void left by Cor’Dale Flott’s exit.

None of that background has taken away from the hard work that the 21-year-old Hall has put in to get this far. He began his tenure with Iowa mainly as a special teams ace, but by his senior season, he was the program’s third-highest grade coverage man, holding opposing receivers to a 44.0% reception rate for 251 yards and zero touchdowns allowed.

Hall has very good instincts that help him anticipate throws and get into the passing lanes, leading to frequent deflections that can kill drives for the other side. He also plays with grit in press man and doesn’t let receivers get much airspace against him, resulting in just one catch on nine targets for 11 yards when he was the primary defender.

Against the run, Hall is another prospect who boasts solid fundamentals and doesn’t let himself become the victim of whiffed tackles, posting just three all of last season, which was the best in Iowa’s secondary.

With the right time to grow and learn from the Dennard Wilson system, the Giants could soon have another young cornerback capable of turning into a reliable player in their rotation. Iowa has been known for breeding some hard-nosed football players, and New York needs more of that to ensure their secondary isn’t a launching pad again.