Our Favorite 2026 Giants Draft Pick, and Our Reasons Why

It’s hard to find anyone who thought poorly of the New York Giants’ latest draft haul to give Big Blue anything lower than a grade of B+, but if there is one pick that seems to be generating a lot of buzz given where he was selected, it’s the team’s third of three sixth-round picks, BYU linebacker Jack Kelly.

Typically, by the time a team gets to the sixth round of the draft, those players selected become something of a crap shoot.

But with Kelly, who is the fifth player from BYU to be drafted by the Giants, they just seem to have picked up a player who has a certain throwback era aura to him, a grittiness to his game that, upon first glance, makes one wonder how well he might have fit in with the old school linebackers of yesteryear who wore the Giants' helmet.

While Kelly, on paper at least, just seems like another in a long line of inside linebackers the team added for special teams, there are a few reasons why, with all apologies to the Giants’ other picks, he is our favorite draft pick.

Pass Rushing Potential

No, the Giants didn’t need another linebacker, but when you can find a value pick that offers more than just special teams value–more on that in a moment–you’d better take him and not think twice about it.

In Kelly’s case, he offers upside as a situational pass rusher. Per PFF, Kelly delivered 128 quarterback pressures on 576 pass-rush snaps over his four-year career at Weber State and BYU. That’s a 22.2% pressure rate.

Kelly, who is a good enough blitzer, also had at least 28 pressures per season and finished his stint at BYU having recorded 10 sacks.

He might not develop into a starter given the guys in front of him, but there is little doubt that the Giants upgraded the depth at the linebacker position, which was sorely lacking last year.

Throwback Linebacker

Iowa State Cyclones' quarterback Rocco Becht (3) gets tackle by BYU Cougars linebacker Max Alford (30) and linebacker Jack Kelly (17) during the fourth quarter at Jack Trice Stadium on Oct. 25, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kelly brings a toughness and fearlessness to the game that might remind some of the old-school NFL linebackers who laid it out on the line every week.

A two-time captain for the Cougars, Kelly was a tone-setter at BYU and a natural hunter out there in the field.

According to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, NFL scouts have referred to Kelly as the “toughest player on the team and a natural born leader when he’s on the field.”

With the Giants moving toward more of a “Bully Ball” mentality, that kind of demeanor would be a welcome addition to a defense that last year was pushed around a little too often for most people’s tastes.

Something “Special”

Kelly’s primary role on the team, should he make the roster, is going to be as a core special teams player, a unit that underwent a massive overhaul this past offseason after vastly underperforming last year.

Kelly, who saw his special teams snaps reduced in his final season (likely due to an increased role on defense), finished with a 72.1 PFF grade, the best mark of his five-year career.

Granted, he’d be only one of 11 on special teams, but considering that the Giants' special teams units–particularly the coverage–left much to be desired last year, far be it from new special teams coordinator Chris Horton to turn away guys who can bring some of the bite back to the unit.

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