Why Giants’ 6th-Round Sleeper Jack Kelly Could End the Line for These 4 Big Blue Veterans

The New York Giants' linebacker room in 2025 was nothing short of abysmal, being primarily to blame for a poor run defense.

In 2026, there will be changes at the top with Tremaine Edmunds as the new big-name linebacker for the Giants after the team parted ways with Bobby Okereke.

Micah McFadden, who played just 11 snaps during the 2025 season before a Lisfranc injury ended his season, is back for the Giants after signing a one-year deal this offseason.

With Edmunds on the roster and McFadden back for the year, that gives the Giants a more reliable top two linebackers for the year.

Where the questions truly start to emerge is in the foundation, or the depth.

The Giants drafted BYU linebacker Jack Kelly in the sixth round of this year’s NFL draft, and he should immediately compete for a role on special teams and depth at off-ball linebacker.

But Kelly, who, interestingly enough, PFF believes was a reach at pick No. 193 by about 26 spots, could just be a pick that will surprise a few people.

Kelly’s Surprising Upside

Brigham Young Cougars linebacker Jack Kelly | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Kelly has a lot of upside, particularly when it comes to his strong pass-rushing productivity.

Pro Football Focus has Kelly with the fifth-most quarterback pressures (36) in the 2026 draft-eligible linebacker class–more than Giants’ first-round pick Arvell Reese, who has 27.

And Kelly is credited with one more sack than Reese despite having only had 99 pass-rushing snaps last season to Reese’s 119, with Kelly having the best pass-rush win rate (19.8) among 26 linebackers with a minimum of 90 pass-rushing attempts.

Kelly’s main calling card, though, will probably be special teams which of course is near and dear to head coach John Harbaugh’s heart. In 402 career snaps spread across all the special teams units, he has three career tackles, those coming in 2023 at Weber State when he played his highest volume of special teams snaps (134) that year.

The bottom line is that Kelly isn’t just some throw-away sixth-round draft pick. This is a prospect who could potentially be a solid contributor across the board, and whose arrival could spell the end of the line for these Giants veterans.

Zaire Barnes

Zaire Barnes spent the 2025 season with the Giants' practice squad and was elevated for game action twice before being promoted to the active roster full-time.

Barnes played defense in only three games, totaling 93 defensive snaps, but he was a consistent contributor on special teams for both punt and kickoff units.

Barnes has the best opportunity of these players to secure a role with the Giants by proving he’s capable of playing a larger role defensively while Kelly plays special teams.

But if Kelly dazzles on defense as he did in college, it’s going to be difficult justifying retaining Barnes on the roster unless he outplays the other competition vying for depth.

Swayze Bozeman

There might not be a player more at risk than Swayze Bozeman, given the arrival of Kelly.

Bozeman is likely going to be competing for a special teams-specific role with the Giants in 2026 after spending the 2025 season bouncing back and forth between the practice squad, which puts him in direct competition with Kelly.

Through the first two years of his career, Bozeman has yet to show he’s capable of being an NFL linebacker outside of special teams, playing just 42 defensive snaps since coming into the NFL.

If this roster spot comes down to potential defensive contributions from Kelly or Bozeman, I would expect the coaching staff to lean toward Kelly for his upside, while Bozeman carries no dead cap penalty.

Cam Jones

Cam Jones is in a similar boat to Swayze Bozeman in not showing the ability to be a consistent contributor to an NFL defense, but Jones is a more proven special-teams contributor.

Over the past three seasons, Jones has played almost 800 snaps on special teams, significantly more than Bozeman’s 213 through two years.

Considering the emphasis that Harbaugh will likely place on the ability to contribute on special teams, Jones’ experience there should put him ahead of the other lower-tier players.

The likelihood of a long-term plan for Jones is slim, but in 2026, a special-teams role is available, and he could lock down.

Darius Musau

New York Giants linebacker Darius Muasau | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

A 2024 sixth-round draft pick, Muasau was initially brought on to contribute to special teams, something he’s done well enough.

He’s played 340 total snaps across all the special teams units, with most of those coming in 2024. Injuries, though–Muasau spent four games on IR in 2025–stunted his development, but he still showed enough flashes to earn consideration for a spot on the roster.

Where Muasau potentially can lose ground to Kelly is on defense. After posting a 68.1 PFF grade in his run defense as a rookie, Muasau regressed last year, dropping to a dismal 49.9 grade and seeing a decrease in his stops (from 25 to 16).

The good news is that Muasau cut down on his missed tackles from Year 1 to Year 2 and also improved in coverage, allowing just 73.7% of the passes against him to be completed (versus the 82.4 he allowed as a rookie).

Muasau should be able to hang onto his roster spot, which would give the Giants some nice young depth at that linebacker spot, but he will need another solid camp to lock that up.

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