How Giants Grabbed 'Coveted' WR Malachi Fields from the Dolphins

Joe Schoen moved "heaven and earth" to trade back into the third round for Malachi Fields—and a new report confirms if he hadn't, the Notre Dame star might have become a Dolphin.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Malachi Fields | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

The New York Giants were willing to move heaven and earth to get back into the third round of the NFL draft on Friday night, Big Blue having eyed Notre Dame receiver Malachi Fields, a player whom general manager Joe Schoen admitted the team “coveted.”

It’s a good thing the Giants did what they had to do to get into the third round for Fields, moving to Pick No. 74, previously held by the Cleveland Browns, for whom they sent their fourth and fifth picks in this year’s draft plus a 2027 fourth-rounder.

Had the Giants not been able to get into that spot, they would have lost the receiver to the Miami Dolphins, who were slated to pick at No. 75 and who, per a new report, coveted Fields as well.

Barry Jackson, who covers the Dolphins for the Miami Herald, revealed this nugget about the Dolphins wanting Fields. When the Giants jumped Miami for the receiver, the Dolphins pivoted to Texas Tech receiver Caleb Douglas instead.

Fields, ranked as the ninth-best receiver by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler in his annual draft guide “The Beast,”  didn’t post eye-popping numbers at Notre Dame, largely due to the school’s run-heavy focus on offense.

But the Giants certainly loved the young wideout’s catch radius, size, and physical game style, which suggests that Fields could develop into a solid WR2 option for Big Blue.

“He's certainly a different body type than we currently have,” said Giants general manager Joe Schoen of Fields.

“Adding that was something we had talked about doing. We weren't going to force it unless the value was at the right spot. Obviously, being 6-4-1/2", 218 pounds, and the catch radius and athleticism that he displays were attractive.”

Feb 28, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Notre Dame wideout Malachi Fields (WO20) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Fields’s wide catch radius can be a big help to second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart as he works to improve his deep-ball (20+ yards) decision making and accuracy, which in his first season, the Giants signal caller finished 32nd out of 36 eligible quarterbacks in completion percentage 32% (minimum of 20 deep passing attempts).

“He can outreach whoever's covering him. He's got great hands. He's a contested type of receiver. You've seen those guys in the league for a lot of years make a lot of plays,” Harbaugh said of Fields.

Harbaugh dismissed any concerns about Fields’s 40-yard dash time (4.61) run at the combine, which was the second worst of the receivers who ran that drill.

“I heard what some of the commentary said, the 40 time is a concern for people, but when you do the miles per hour, which we get the tracking now, that's fast. He tracks a lot faster,” Harbaugh said.

“He's the equivalent of a mid-4.4 type 40 time. He's running over 21 miles an hour consistently in games. He's also got the ability to stop, drop his weight, change direction, and get out of breaks. You see all that.”

Fields, who understands what the Giants gave up to get him, is ready to justify the team’s faith in him.

“Definitely, it does mean more,” he told reporters after his selection. “They took a chance on me, trading up, investing in me like that. I just want to prove them right.”

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