It’s now officially the John Harbaugh era for the New York Giants.

Harbaugh has a huge opportunity ahead of him with free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft to turn this team into a winner in 2026. With the right moves, they could be looking like the New England Patriots did this year.

As we look ahead to the draft, who can we expect the Giants to target? To answer that question, I produced a seven-round mock draft to see who they could land. I then received feedback from A to Z Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Roberts to grade my mock.

Here were the results.

Giants 2026 NFL Mock Results

Round 1 Pick 5: Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami
Round 2 Pick 37: Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
Round 4 Pick 105: Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia
Round 5 Pick 143: Michael Taaffe, S, Texas
Round 6 Pick 185: Kevin Coleman Jr., WR, Missouri
Round 6 Pick 191: Oscar Delp, TE, Georgia
Round 6 Pick 192: Kage Casey, IOL, Boise State

Giants Mock Draft Analysis

After numerous weeks of picking defensive players for the Giants, I switched it up and went with an offensive lineman. After breaking down Francis Mauigoa’s film, it became clear that he was the best lineman in this class by a good margin.

He’s an incredibly sturdy presence that would plug right in at right tackle for the Giants. If the Giants brought back Jermaine Eluemunor, then Mauigoa could slot at guard. Either way, he’s a mauler with the reliability to be a Pro Bowler as a rookie.

The second round netted me Colton Hood, who has been a fringe first-rounder in most projections so far for this cycle. The Giants will need to address cornerback early, and it feels unlikely that they’d spend big free agent money in back-to-back offseasons at the same position.

Zachariah Branch in the fourth round is tremendous value, as he could be another explosive threat for the Giants. His speed would make him a dangerous kick returner for the Giants and a tertiary receiver in the offense.

On Day 3, the priority was to deepen the leanest positions. Michael Taaffe is a quality safety prospect who could serve a role as a rotational player. Kevin Coleman Jr. is mostly good for depth at arguably the Giants’ thinnest position. Oscar Delp is a well-rounded tight end who could take over as TE2. And Kage Casey has upside to become a starting guard, but is at least a reliable backup.

My only qualm with this class is not landing a linebacker. The Giants’ run defense needs to improve, and they need to add speed at linebacker if they want to be more impactful in that area. Harbaugh has been willing to invest in linebackers, so that identity shift could be on the way.

Giants Mock Draft Grade

Roberts seemed to like what I did with this class, as he gave me a favorable grade. Here were his thoughts:

“With Harbaugh coming in, you’d have to think that a huge selling point was his ability to work with quarterback Jaxson Dart. To figure out just how good Dart is, the Giants must provide adequate support around him. That starts with figuring out the right tackle position, which Mauigoa fills quite well. Even if the former Miami star ends up better inside, you still got whole lot better up front.

“It feels like the Giants have needed a standout cornerback for some time now, so adding someone like Hood improves the talent significantly. While they didn’t mortgage a very high draft pick in wide receiver, Branch and Coleman provide some juice after the catch. If Malik Nabers comes back healthy, that is the makings of an improved wide receiver room.

“From there, the Giants made solid overall selections, and several that should help. There is no question that the team would be a ton better with this type of haul.

Grade: A-“

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