Well, Monday, April 6 was certainly an eventful day in Giants fandom, eh?
The long-discussed Dexter Lawrence trade possibility, which other NFL teams were talking through at last year’s trade deadline as well, hit a fever pitch when it was announced by multiple outlets that Sexy Dexy wants a trade, and will not be participating in upcoming off-season programs.
So, let’s roll forward on what would seem to be the unthinkable — life without No. 97 in the middle of the defense — and make the best of the situation.
In this case, that involves trading Lawrence to the Los Angeles Chargers for L.A.‘s 22nd and 55th overall picks in the 2026 draft, and a second-rounder in 2027. This is a somewhat similar haul to the one the New York Jets received in the Quinnen Williams trade last November 4. Dallas gave up a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick (the better of Dallas’ two), and defensive lineman Mazi Smith. Here, the Giants can fill out their 2026 draft board pretty nicely, add a second-rounder next year, and Lawrence’s cap numbers off the books.
It’s not an ideal situation to be without your best defensive player as the John Harbaugh era begins, but if the well has been poisoned beyond all reason between the Giants and Lawrence’s camp, what is one to do but to make lemonade as best you can around a situation that never should have progressed to this point.
With that in mind, and armed with two more picks in the top 55, here’s one version of the 2026 Giants draft that could work well for a franchise heavy on the rebuilding side.
Round 1, Pick 5: Caleb Downs, DB, Ohio State
I got to interview Downs for the Athlon draft preview magazine cover story, and as much as I was impressed before I talked with him and watched some of his tape, I came out of that experience convinced that this is the NFL’s next truly great do-it-all safety. The Giants haven’t had a player of his caliber in that spot since they drafted Alabama’s Xavier McKinney in the second round of the 2020 draft, and they’ve been feeling it ever since they let McKinney walk after the 2023 season.
Fifth-year options are good things, y’all.
In any event, Downs, who would work very nicely with Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin, can play the box, the slot, and the deep third with equal force, and his abilities as a blitzer bring even more to the table.
(From Los Angeles Chargers) Round 1, Pick 22 : Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson
Now, onto the cornerback situation, with the first of the two Chargers picks in this draft. In 2025, Giants cornerbacks allowed 145 catches on 254 targets for 1,850 yards, 14 touchdowns, five interceptions, 12 pass interference penalties, and an opponent passer rating allowed of 90.2 — 10th-worst in the NFL. Paulson Adebo and Greg Newsome II are good cornerbacks, but defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson could use a real table-setter here, and Clemson’s Avieon Terrell qualifies.
In 2025, the 5′ 10¾”, 186-pound Terrell allowed 29 catches on 51 targets for 340 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 96.9. The tape is better than the metrics, especially when you ask Terrell how he was utilized last season, and how he was able to come up with the five forced fumbles he bagged last season.
Round 2, Pick 5 (37): Lee Hunter, DI, Texas Tech
When former Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane was challenged to replace Jason Giambi in one of the critical stories that ultimately became Moneyball, Beane knew two things: There was not another Giambi on the market, and if there was another Giambi on the market, his team couldn’t afford him. So, Beane had to replace Giambi in the aggregate. Now, it’s up to Giants GM Joe Schoen and his staff to aggregate Lawrence’s transformative effect on the defense.
Not an easy task, especially in a DI class that isn’t blowing people away, but it is possible, especially if you get the right two guys to pair with Roy Robertson-Harris and the rest of the existing crew. Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter measured in at the combine at 6′ 3½” and 318 pounds, but he was a burger away from 330 on the field, where he had two sacks, 26 total pressures, 26 solo tackles, 25 stops, and nine tackles for loss. I’m not saying that Hunter is in Lawrence’s stratosphere, because nobody is, but if you need a big-bodied dude who can wreck half an offensive line with short-area quickness and leverage, this is about where you want to start.
Round 2, Pick 23 (55): WR Chris Brazzell II, WR, Tennessee
Would that Jaxson Dart had Malik Nabers for his entire rookie season. In the end, Nabers was on the field four games before the torn ACL that ended the rest of his season, and while everybody is hopeful that Nabers will be completely good to go to start the 2026 campaign, leaning this much on one receiver to be The Man can be a dangerous endeavor.
So, let’s bring Tennessee’s Chris Brazzell into the building. Yes, I know wat you’re probably thinking — after the Jalin Hyatt disappointment of 2023, why would we want to risk it on another Vol? Well, unlike Hyatt, Brazzell wasn’t almost entirely dependent on Tennessee’s hyper-spread concepts, because the current Vols are far more conversant with NFL ideas like not lining your receivers up in the stadium parking lot on every play. So, when you see the 6’4”, 198-pound Brazzell and his 4.34-second 40-yard dash do his thing on the field, it’s far more like-as-like than it ever was with Hyatt. Add Brazzell’s route acumen and deep speed to a group that includes Nabers, Darius Slayton, and Darnell Mooney, and you’ve got something that isn’t quite so top-heavy.
Round 4, Pick 5 (105): Kaleb Proctor, DI, Southeastern Louisiana
Step 2 in replacing Sexy Dexy in the aggregate is the addition of Southeastern Louisiana lineman Kaleb Proctor, one of my favorite prospects in this class, regardless of position. The small-school thing is going to drag Proctor further down boards than he should be, but when you watch what the 6′ 2″, 291-pound Proctor did against better opponents like LSU, and how he absolutely blew up the scouting combine, it becomes a lot easier to believe.
Last season, Proctor had nine sacks (two against LSU), 39 total pressures, 18 solo tackles, 22 stops, and two tackles for loss. Like Lee Hunter, he’s very active from gap to gap, and with that, Dennard Wilson and his staff could bring the stunt game to the fore, and re-calibrate the Giants’ interior pass rush in new ways.
Round 5, Pick 5 (145): Red Murdock, LB, Buffalo
Linebacker is another need, despite the addition of Tremaine Edmonds, and there’s another one of my smaller-school favorites here to plug up the leaks. Buffalo’s Red Murdock stood 6’2” and weighed 232 pounds at the combine, but you’ll swear the guy has another 20 pounds on him when you watch him hit people. Six forced fumbles told the tale last season, along with six sacks, 20 pressures, 93 solo tackles, and 56 stops. Coverage isn’t Murdock’s strong suit, so you’ll want him facing forward most of the time, but once you get him on that track, he’s good for all kinds of chaos in the middle of your defense.
Round 6, Pick 5 (186): Micah Morris, OG, Georgia
Right now, the Giants are looking at Jon Runyan and Aaron Stinnie as their starting left and right guards, respectively, which leaves a need for more clarity in an offensive that could use some. To that end, getting Georgia’s Micah Morris in the sixth round could be quite a bargain, and the exact kind of definition that is required. Morris has experience with both guard slots, though he’s played more on the left side, and last season, he allowed no sacks, two quarterback hits, and two quarterback hurries in 426 pass-blocking reps, and he proved to be a real leverage monster in the run game. Morris is by no means perfect at this point in his development, but he’s got a lot on the ball — especially for a later third-day pick.
(From Miami Dolphins) Round 6, Pick 11 (192): Oscar Delp, TE, Georgia
We have a live one here, though you’d be hard-pressed to see it based on what Oscar Delp was able to do on the field over four seasons with the Bulldogs. Remember when Georgie Kittle had 43 catches on 62 targets over three seasons at Iowa from 2014 through 2016, the San Francisco 49ers got him in the fifth round, and nobody said “boo” about it until Kittle became an All-Pro in the right offense.
Well, when you watch the 6’5”, 245-pound Delp do his thing on the field, you may be forgiven for thinking that you’re watching the second coming. Delp had just 70 catches on 94 targets for 854 yards and nine touchdowns in his collegiate career, and his numbers didn’t get a real bump after Brock Bowers went to the Las Vegas Raiders. Like Kittle, Delp could absolutely be a force multiplier in the right offense, and when you consider how much 12 and 13 personnel Matt Nagy used when he was with the Chiefs, it’s fun to visualize Delp, Isaiah Likely, and Theo Johnson on the field at the same time. We’re betting that Jaxson Dart would enjoy that idea, as well.
(From Dallas Cowboys) Round 6, Pick 12 (193): Kaelon Black, RB, Indiana
Yes, the Giants have a dude in folk-hero running back Cam Skattebo, but beyond that… it’s hard to put the full picture together. Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary have their own Thunder and Lightning Lite thing going on, but I think that the team could use a sustaining power back with explosive potential. Offensive coordinators should be able to have their own favorite types of running backs, and the 5’10”, 211-pound Kaelon Black reminds me of the 5’10”, 216-pound Isiah Pacheco when the Chiefs took Pacheco in the 2022 draft out of Rutgers, and Pacheco made his name for a time blasting through skinny gaps and barely-visible openings. Black could well be Nagy’s new Pacheco, and that would help every part of the offense.
