After another lost season, the New York Giants have continued their annual tradition of preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft in December. General manager Joe Schoen's focus will be on his next head coaching hire, but appropriately building this draft around star quarterback Jaxson Dart will be just as crucial.
Although Dart's season has been marred by the nagging concussion protocol, he has been the only positive of the Giants' season. Dart has played most of his rookie season without star receiver Malik Nabers or top running back Cam Skattebo, yet he still looks like the best quarterback of the class and a bona fide Rookie of the Year candidate.
The Giants have already invested a lot in Dart by trading up to take him in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Entering the 2026 draft with any goal other than building around him would be organizational malpractice, particularly with the success many teams in similar positions have had recently.
The upcoming draft order has not yet been set, but that situation will gain more clarity after the Giants' Week 17 “Tank Bowl” game against the Las Vegas Raiders. New York is currently favored to end the season with the No. 1 overall pick, but it will begin the April draft with a top-five pick regardless.
Giants projected to trade No. 1 pick of 2026 NFL Draft
The Pro Football Focus three-round mock draft simulator has the Giants securing the No. 1 overall pick, which it predicts the team will trade away. In this scenario, Joe Schoen answers a call from Darren Mougey to send the pick to the New York Jets in exchange for picks No. 4, No. 33, No. 251 and a 2027 first-rounder.
The trade makes sense for both teams. As of December, the Giants are slated to enter the 2026 NFL Draft with just seven selections, three of which come in round six.
Likewise, the Jets have picks to spare after acquiring a pair of first-rounders from the Indianapolis Colts for Sauce Gardner. Mougey is currently sitting on two first-round selections in 2026 and 2027.
With Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza the heavy favorite to go No. 1 overall, New York has no reason to keep the top selection of the draft. They could use it on someone like Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, but a Giants-Jets trade makes too much sense, particularly considering how much of a disaster the Jets' quarterback situation was in 2025.
With the mock trade in mind, the Giants have three picks in the first three rounds for the PFF 2026 NFL mock draft simulator to work with.
Round 1, Pick 4: RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
Even after trading back, the Giants remain in the top five in the 2026 PFF mock draft simulator and take Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 4 overall pick.
Love is the consensus top running back in the draft, but the pick is still questionable at best. The Giants appear committed to Cam Skattebo as a cornerstone of their franchise almost as much as Dart, which would make investing in another running back this early a head-scratching move.
The Giants could form a backfield duo similar to the Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery “Sonic & Knuckles” tandem in Detroit, but they already have a quality No. 2 back in Tyrone Tracy Jr. This pick only makes sense if Schoen and his upcoming hire are willing to stake their entire reputations on a Skattebo-Love duo and are dead-set on trading Tracy, who is a quality NFL running back.
Perhaps the Giants hire Marcus Freeman as their next head coach and give him his guy as the first draft pick of his tenure. Even that would be a stretch for Schoen, whose job is very much on the line in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Round 2, Pick 33: LB CJ Allen, Georgia
The team's second projected pick is much more logical, with the Giants taking Georgia linebacker CJ Allen in this mock draft. Allen is a consensus top-three linebacker of the class, with most placing him at No. 3 behind Ohio State's Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles.
Linebacker is arguably the Giants' biggest position of need. It was the only position Schoen did not address in the previous offseason, and it has led to New York allowing the second-most rushing yards per game and the most yards per rush attempt in the league.
Allen earned a 90.9 run defense grade from PFF in the 2025 college football regular season, the sixth-best of any linebacker in the country. His pursuit and physicality in the middle is exactly what the Giants' defense needs, regardless of who takes over as defensive coordinator in 2026.
The Giants would love to have a playmaker like Styles or Reese, but if they wait until Round 2 to target a linebacker, Allen would be the best-case scenario.
Round 2, Pick 36: DE Joshua Josephs, Tennessee
The Giants make another questionable decision with their third selection of PFF's 2026 NFL mock draft, taking Tennessee edge-rusher Joshua Josephs with the 36th overall pick.
New York has many roster holes, but edge-rusher is not one of them. On a roster that already has 2026 Pro Bowler Brian Burns and a former top-five pick in Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants already invested in the position by taking Abdul Carter third overall in 2025.
Carter has had his lumps, but he has finally turned the corner late in the year to prove himself as a cornerstone defensive player. Burns and Thibodeaux are both under contract for at least one more year, as well as Chauncey Golston.
Golston has been disappointing after signing a three-year, $18 million deal in the 2025 offseason, but the Giants already have at least three quality outside linebackers. Taking another one early in the 2026 NFL Draft would be foolish, especially before addressing positions like offensive guard, center, receiver or cornerback. Investing in another linebacker would also be a better decision.
Even if the Giants do want another edge-rusher, Josephs would be an underwhelming candidate to target in the second round.
Josephs, who notched four sacks and six tackles for loss as a senior in 2025, has the tools to develop into a quality NFL player. However, he is certainly a project, and not one scouts are currently viewing as an early Day Two pick. Josephs is only the 37th-best edge-rusher in PFF's big board and is not in ESPN's top 20.
