Biggest Winners, Losers Following Giants' 2026 NFL Draft

The New York Giants have come a long way roster-wise from last year, both in terms of the short- and long-term.

Thanks to some bold movies and surprises, the Giants, at least on paper, have evolved more toward head coach John Harbaugh’s vision of being bigger, more physical, and faster while also setting up quarterback Jaxson Dart for sustainable success.

But it’s not just the players who either benefit from or have things to worry about the incoming rookie class, as we’ll outline below in our look at the team’s winners and losers from this year’s draft.

Winners

QB Jaxson Dart

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart's supporting cast has been significantly upgraded. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Giants got their franchise quarterback, a hulking offensive lineman in Sisi Mauigoa, who is projected to be the starting right guard this year, assuming he stays healthy in camp.

They also got him another tall receiver with a huge catch radius in third-round pick Malachi Fields.

In other words, mission accomplished, right Coach Harbaugh?

“I feel really good about it,” he said after the Giants wrapped up the draft. “It was definitely a priority to do it, right? Protect him, first of all. It's hard to complete passes if you don't have time to throw. Then give him another weapon and try to give him as many weapons as we can.”

With Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo coming back from their respective season-ending injuries, Dart’s going to have a lot of options at his disposal as he begins Year 2 of his career.

OL Evan Neal

New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Although not yet confirmed, it would not be surprising if Neal, in his quest to make something of his fading NFL career, gets his chance to compete for the left guard spot.

Last month at the league meetings, Harbaugh, when asked about Neal, said that he saw some untapped potential, which conjured up a recollection of George Bernard Shaw’s line from Part I of Back to Methuselah:"You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'"

That’s been Harbaugh’s approach with Neal.

"Evan is still 25. He's a big human being that played at a high level at 'Bama and played well for us Year 1, and for whatever reason it didn't work out,” Harbaugh said, confirming that Neal would continue working on his transition to guard.

“With the way the deal is structured, the deal that we got him at, he is motivated. He's been working hard all offseason. He's another guy who gets a fresh start with a new staff and in a familiar environment."

With Mauigoa projected to play right guard, it just makes too much sense for the Giants not to let Neal compete at left guard, where some of his best college tape (and tape that Harbaugh undoubtedly looked at that year when he was with the Ravens) came from.

WR Malik Nabers

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The addition of Malachi Fields should take some of the pressure off Nabers, who is still trying to work himself back from a serious knee injury.

Once Nabers does return, there’s no reason to think he won’t be even more productive now that the team, in Fields, has another potential X-receiver who should warrant a healthy amount of attention from opposing coverages.

SAFs Tyler Nubin and Jevon Holland

Nov 2, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) carries the ball as New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin (27) defends during the first half at MetLife Stadium. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

The Giants punted on drafting any safeties, and that bodes well for Nubin, who, of the Giants’ current starting duo, was probably on shakier ground given how badly he regressed last year in his second season in the same defensive scheme.

Had the Giants drafted Caleb Downs, the rookie would have undoubtedly cut into both players’ playing time, with Nubin the more likely to see a significant role change.

The Running Backs

New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) and running back Devin Singletary (26). | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Remember all that talk about the Giants wanting to add a power back to the running backs room? First, it was the reigning Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker, whom the Giants had no chance of landing in free agency. Then there was talk of them eyeing former Notre Dame rusher Jeremiyah Love, who ended up going two picks before they went on the clock at No. 5.

That the Giants didn’t add another running back later in the draft–the time to do so would have been in either the fourth or fifth round, but the Giants decided that it was more worth it to trade those picks away to get Malachi Fields–indicates the coaches feel they can have an impactful running game with what they have.

OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux

New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Thibodeaux was rumored to be on the trade block for months leading up to the draft, but he’s still here, and to be frank, the Giants' defense is better for having him.

Ernie Accorsi, the one-time general manager of the team whose contributions led to the last two Super Bowl championships, used to say there was no such thing as having too many pass rushers.

The Giants proved that when they won their last two Super Bowl championships, thanks in part to having an abundance of pass rushers, they apparently still agree with that thinking.

Losers

OG Daniel Faalele

Guard Daniel Faalele | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Faalele was signed to presumably take on the starting right guard role.

While he still might have an outside chance of doing so, depending on how quickly Mauigoa adjusts to the position full-time, suffice it to say that Faalele, who was signed to a veteran minimum deal that right now doesn’t even count in the Top 51, can at best hope to be a backup if he has a solid camp.

CBs Greg Newsome II and Paulson Adebo

New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The addition of second-round pick Colton Hood means that one of these two players is probably going to see a sharp reduction in any projected playing time.

Newsome, remember, is here on a one-year deal worth up to $8 million, so the thinking is he might be the one who ends up yielding snaps to Hood. However, Adebo shouldn’t be discounted from this equation.

Adebo is in his second season of the three-year deal he signed last offseason and has guaranteed money owed to him.

Although he had to deal with a knee injury, in the 12 games he played last year, he hardly looked like the 2023 version of himself (his best season) the Giants were hoping to get, which leaves him with no guarantees of a free pass.

ILB Micah McFadden

New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden | John Jones-Imagn Images

Despite being brought back on a one-year deal following a devastating season-ending foot injury in Week 1, McFadden’s days as a starting linebacker are over thanks to the arrival of Arvell Reese, a player who is better in coverage and capable of being more of a three-down linebacker.

K Ben Sauls

New York Giants place kicker Ben Sauls | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Not a soul thought that kicker Ben Sauls wasn’t going to have to compete for the kicker job, certainly not after veteran kicker Jason Sanders was brought on board.

But the monkeywrench thrown into this mix is that Sauls now has extra competition from a fellow young kicker, undrafted free agent Dominic Zvada from Michigan.

Having spoken to Sauls, he won’t take competition lying down, but it still doesn’t bode well for him that the Giants brought in another young kicker who, unlike Sauls, hasn’t been put to the test in high-pressure situations at the NFL level, but who also has a higher upside.

The Defensive Line

Members of last year's Giants defensive line | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It’s unfair to say that there is another Dexter Lawrence floating around out there, but the fact remains that the Giants still haven’t come close to finding a guy who can do even a fraction of what Lawrence did for the team during his better seasons.

That’s not meant to be disrespectful to Bobby Jamison-Travis, whom the team drafted, but it’s rare that a Day 3 pick or undrafted free agent develops to the point where he enters the conversation for best at his position like Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings, did after going undrafted in 1990.

With veteran DJ Reader expected to sign with the team this week, they’ll at least have another big-bodied defensive lineman on board who can serve as a temporary stopgap until that next Lawrence draft prospect becomes available for the taking.

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