Hi boys! It’s April and that means it is draft month! So naturally as you all know I’m a New York Giants fan. Well let’s just say my blood is Blue, and red… and white. But yeah I love this team and honestly I love draft month. Every year I remember watching the draft with my dad, him in disbelief at the fashion choices of these players and myself clamoring for my pick to be available when the Giants are up. In typical New York Giants fashion, we don’t have to wait long to see who will be the newest victim to the curse of this franchise as they pick at 5 this year in the first round. Could’ve been at #1 had they lost either of their last two games but hey, I’m not complaining. Let’s get more wins and keep them stacking. Great Teams make great picks no matter where they end up picking.
So in essence, this is what a New York Giants draft would look like if I were sitting in the big chair on draft day and didn’t have to appease John Mara. To keep things realistic, I’ve stuck with the current roster and what’s currently on the table as of April 4th, 2026, which meant forgoing trades even though I’d love to trade down from 5, the simulator offers are just too unrealistic to take seriously. I used the PFF Mock Draft Simulator with the consensus big board, but I tweaked the sliders to move “draft for need” down slightly and “positional value” up; after years of doing these, I’ve found that balance makes the board feel a lot more like the actual NFL Draft. Here is my 7-round vision for the G-Men, focusing on fit, scheme, and why each guy belongs in Big Blue.
Round 1: Pick 5 Francis Mauigoa | OT/G | Miami
This was honestly a tough one and being the most important pick, this would set the path for how the rest of the draft would unfold. Going into it, with what was left on the board I was between Sonny Styles, Caleb Downs, and Francis Mauigoa; if Jerehmiyah Love hadn’t been taken and he was on the board, honestly he would’ve been in the conversation too. But at 6’6″, 335 pounds, Mauigoa has exceptional mass and inbuilt power, and he’s a nimble, explosive, and rangy mover with easy hip flexibility, torque, and realignment freedom. More than that, he’s already an incredibly balanced mover and an advanced hand-fighter, who specializes as an opportunistic attacker with situational adaptability. Momentary lapses in intensity occasionally appear on his tape, and his middling length might hint at a more productive NFL future as a guard. He’s an okay tackle at the next level, but I think at guard he can be Elite.
Beyond the traits, he is a home-run fit for the direction we’re heading under John Harbaugh. We’re clearly shifting toward a more physical, disciplined identity, and Mauigoa is a “mauler” who fits that culture perfectly. He allowed just three sacks across over 1,100 pass-blocking snaps the last two seasons(WOW), which is exactly the kind of stability that our prince, our promsied boy Jaxson Dart needs after the beating he took last year, the last thing he needs is a collapsing pocket. Whether he plays Right Tackle or slides inside, pairing his 335-lb frame next to Jermaine Eleumenor and JMS creates a massive, athletic “wall” that ensures we aren’t getting pushed back into Dart’s lap anymore. He’s the first piece of the pie that will allow the rest of this draft to work into a nice Cherry or Pumpkin pie.
Round 2: Pick 37 Christen Miller | DT | Georgia
This again was tough as a lot of the offensive linemen I like were available, Pregnon and Bisantis being the top two. I was close to thinking about double-dipping and really committing to the run, but then I started thinking about last year and how frequently teams were running for 10+ yards per attempt and realized we needed someone next to Dexter Lawrence. So I turned to Lee Hunter and Miller, and went with Miller mainly for his run-game ability; yeah he’s a bit raw as a pass rusher, but with the talent on this team he doesn’t need to be an elite pass rusher. At 6’4″, 315 pounds, with high-end natural leveraging, burst, and length, Miller has an eye-popping power profile that enables him to routinely reset the line in the run game. With sledgehammer hands, he can collapse blockers 1-on-1, and he has the raw power and strength to violently stack-and-shed.
Round 4: Pick 105 Davison Igbinosun | CB | Ohio State
Uh oh where’s our third round pick???? BAM JAXSON DART THANK YOU!!! So we jump to the 4th round, 67 picks later or something if my math is correct. And I’m adding to the corner room, so I had to find some clips of this guy, Davison Igbinosun as I’m not that in tune, and man he just screams Aaron Ross to me. Maybe that’s just because I’m a Giants fan and it’s easier to find a home guy to compare people to, but that’s what he looks like to me. A 6’2″ corner, sign me up for another position we need help with, and I hope Dennard Wilson’s defense this year is better than what we’ve had with other DCs in the past. In 2024, Igbinosun was over-reliant on extraneous physicality and very penalty-prone (he drew 16 flags), and inconsistent upper-lower sync threw his fluidity into question. In 2025, he was almost lockdown with his blend of size, length, short-area quickness, sink, and closing speed, and cut his penalty count down to just five. He is still more comfortable in press-man than he is in off-man and zone, but he is a tantalizing physical talent with ideal speed and competitive toughness.
Round 5: Pick 145 Nicholas Singleton | RB | Penn State
Yep, this was my first weird pick or “leap of faith.” in my own opinion, I wasn’t too sure to be honest and ended up saying why not. The Giants don’t necessarily need a running back, but ever since Harbaugh was hired, there was all this talk about making the run game a focus—maybe signing Kenneth Walker or taking Love at pick 5 if he’s there. It’s clear the run game wants to be a focus and Singleton in my opinion is too good to be available here; he was just a victim of 2025 Penn State. Singleton’s vision and creative instincts are still suspect, but he’s a versatile receiving back with a clear usage plan: get him in space on more linear wide-zone concepts and let his speed and forward-churning physicality take over. He’s worthy of a spot in an RB rotation as a north-south sparkplug and designed screen threat.
Round 6: Pick 186 Jack Kelly | LB | BYU
I’m not too familiar with him, but I watched some Cougs games last year and it’s clear Kelly attacks with clear run-and-chase value and a track record of production. I like him like McFadden or Ryan Connolly of years ago, a New York Giants preseason hero. Kelly has immediate rotational and multi-phase appeal, but needs to shore up his tackling and improve his coverage game before he can be a full-time starter.
Round 6: Pick 192 De’Zhaun Stribling | WR | Ole Miss
A 6’2″, 200-pound receiver with some familiarity with Jaxson Dart is exactly what I’m looking for in a late-round receiver. Obviously, it’s not solving our WR problem and unless someone breaks out for a career year, it’s a position of need for next year to put someone across from Malik Nabers, who is the clear Ace and a top 5 WR in the NFL this year. Back to Stribling, he has good size and early acceleration to climb over the top of coverage. His downfield ball skills are above average and he has legit speed after the catch once he finds open grass. He’s also one of the most competitive run blockers in the WR class and projects as an immediate WR4 who could work his way into a starting role.
Round 6: Pick 193 Domani Jackson | CB | Alabama
And with the last pick, I am double-dipping at corner with Domani Jackson. The former 5-star recruit clearly had something go wrong if he’s being picked here. I have no expectations for him to be the savior of the franchise; really all that’s expected is to try and fix the issues he faced, like a lack of discipline and an inconsistent motor. After watching film available on YouTube and Twitter, he might be Deonte Banks all over again—lack of playmaking at the catch point and inconsistency. But hey, this is the last pick for us and the 6th round; worst case you have a solid special teamer, best case he learns from NFL coaching and regains some of what made him a 5-star in the first place. Obviously this is a reach and a project, but hey, we have Harbaugh!
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