The New York Giants’ 2026 NFL Draft positioning is officially locked in now that the season is concluded.

A victory in Week 18 slid the Giants back to the fifth overall pick, removing an opportunity to land a massive trade haul for the second overall pick. Instead, they’ll still be able to improve key positions as the first two picks will likely be quarterbacks.

Now that the season is done, I produced a seven-round 2026 mock draft to see who the Giants could select. I then received feedback from A to Z Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Roberts.

Here were the results.

Giants 2026 NFL Mock Draft results

R1 P5: Ohio State WR Carnell Tate

R2 P37: Texas A&M IOL Chase Bistontis

R4 P105: Texas A&M CB Will Lee III

R5 P143: Alabama DT Tim Keenan III

R6 P185: Boise State OL Kage Casey

R6 P191: Pitt LB Kyle Louis

R6 P192: Pitt RB Desmond Reid

Giants 2026 NFL Mock Draft analysis

With the fifth overall pick, the Giants actually may have a simpler decision to make than if they were picking in the top two. While it’s disappointing they can’t capitalize on a trade back, they won’t be stuck in a difficult position if a trade doesn’t materialize. Now they can choose to go receiver or defensive back. Since Ohio State safety Caleb Downs wasn’t available, I went with Carnell Tate.

Tate is a tremendous deep route runner with great length, providing the Giants’ WR room with a unique skill set. With Wan’Dale Robinson becoming a dominant slot target and Malik Nabers being the do-it-all number one option, Tate can be the field stretcher for this team.

In the second round, I capitalized on finding protection for Jaxson Dart. Bisontis is an ultra-reliable guard prospect from New Jersey who can be a mauler in the run game. I also landed his teammate Will Lee III, who has the size and physicality to be a quality starter on the outside.

On Day 3, the priority was building depth at weak positions. Tim Keenan is a space-eating defensive tackle who can rotate in on early downs. Kage Casey, at the very least, is a solid backup who can start when needed. Additionally, Kyle Louis and Desmond Reid from Pitt can carve out roles on this roster.

All in all, this draft class prioritizes setting up Dart to succeed in year two by improving the offensive line and its receiver targets. If they effectively approach free agency, they can hit the ground running in 2026.

2026 NFL Mock Draft grade

“With the Giants winning the last game of the 2025 season, they put themselves in the perfect range to draft a wide receiver, but also hurt their ability to try and trade back for more draft capital. Drafting Carnell Tate with that first-round selection is a very solid addition to this team that needs to add playmakers around quarterback Jaxson Dart. As long as Malik Nabers returns from injury, that has the makings of a really good wide receiver room to help your young signal caller.

Outside of passing game weapons, right tackle is the position that feels like the most important to try to fill. While both Chase Bisontis (Texas A&M) and Kage Casey (Boise State) were solid additions in those ranges, neither can play offensive tackle on the NFL level. Not being able to find a player, even if it was a developmental one, to fill that need feels like a bit of a miss. You need to keep Dart upright by whatever means necessary, and I would be pretty concerned with the offensive tackle position, especially since Andrew Thomas has had some durability issues at left tackle.

From there, Joe found good value throughout. While Will Lee III, Tim Keenan III, and Kyle Louis won’t be stars, each brings a good floor to build off of. This is a draft with several positives, but it also didn’t feel like one that would take the Giants over the top.” -Ryan Roberts 

Grade: B

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