The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine is just days away.
Actually, that’s not true. The Scouting Combine is going on right now
with prospects arriving in Indianapolis to be poked, prodded, measured, and interviewed. The part we get to see, the on-field workouts, won’t get going until Thursday.NFL Network draft expect Daniel Jeremiah released his second ranking of the Top 50 2026 NFL Draft prospects on Monday, and it has some interesting observations from a New York Giants perspective.
The Combine is sure to
shake up big boards and mock drafts internet-wide, and across the NFL. But it’s interesting to see where things stand before the Combine so we can compare afterwards. So what can we take away from Jeremiah’s Top 50 2.0?
Are scouts down on Downs?
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs has risen in the second iteration of Jeremiah’s Top 50 rankings… From 10th to ninth.
I try not to read other evaluator’s writeups on prospects to avoid biasing my own analysis, but I also can’t avoid seeing some things when bringing content to the Big Blue View community. And one thing I’ve noticed is some analysts have been fading Downs lately and softening their evaluations from the hyperbole we saw during the season. Dane Brugler referred to Downs as “one of the better safeties” he’s evaluated, while Pro Football and Sports Network called him a “solid starting box safety.”
Given that the “Big Name” evaluators also incorporate some intel from the NFL’s front offices and scouting community, the general trends are interesting to keep track of.
I won’t reveal my own thoughts just yet. We’re making a change this year and I’ll be dropping my scouting reports on the likely picks for the Giants at 5th overall during the Combine. I’ll also be releasing a Mock Offseason the week after the combine, and plant my flag then.
It’s also worth noting that Jeremiah has Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren 15th in his pre-Combine rankings and Oregon’s Dillon Theineman 22nd. There isn’t a whole lot separating these three prospects considering how even the overall talent level is in the first round.
Knightfall in Gotham?
As I said above, I’ll be planting my flag at fifth overall with a “Mock Offseason” after the Combine. However, DJ and I see eye to eye with respect to Rueben Bain Jr., and frankly, a GIF is worth a thousand words:
My reaction all year long watching Bane is pretty simple, “This dude looks like a New York Football Giant.” And frankly, I dare you to tell me reading this doesn’t make you smile just a bit and remember 2007 of 2011:
Bain is a thick, square edge rusher with short arms. His game tape is littered with disruption, destruction and dominance. As a pass rusher, he lacks an elite get-off, but he wins with leverage, power and polish. He launches out of his four-point stance, uproots offensive tackles and forces open one of their shoulders to get to the quarterback. He has a nasty chop/rip move, violent hump move and nifty Euro step. Against the run, he ragdolls tight ends and his motor to chase is unrelenting. Overall, he might lack ideal speed and length, but those shortcomings haven’t stopped him from taking over big games in key moments. His drafting team is adding a certified junkyard dog, similar to former Eagle Trent Cole.
I’ll spoil my mock offseason just a bit and say that Bane Jr. is on my short list at 5th overall, regardless of whether Kayvon Thibodeaux is on the team or not. I will disagree with Jeremiah on one thing, however, and it’s that Bane reminds me of Terrell Suggs more than anyone else.
(And yes, the Bane/Bain references will continue.)
Is Mansoor Delane in play?
It’s interesting that Jeremiah has LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane above Caleb Downs in his rankings. Delane broke out in a big way this year and was one of the two or three best corners in all of college football. He’s also, as DJ notes, versatile enough to play in any scheme but has the elite traits necessary to excel in Press Man.
Some Giants writers have been trying to make guesses on what kind of defense Denard Wilson will call. Personally, I’ve been expecting something like “Wink Lite” based on a couple factors. First and foremost is that the Giants tried to hire Wilson after the dramatic divorce between Brian Daboll and Wink Martindale. We saw that Shane Bowen was neither schematically nor psychologically inclined to call the type of defense for which the Giants have been built. So it would make sense that Wilson was their first choice to replace Martindale if he has a similar brand of defense in mind.
Likewise, cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch spent the last three years in Denver helping to coach Vance Joseph’s aggressive defense. Defensive passing game coordinator Donald D’Alesio was in Baltimore last year, but spent the previous four years under Steve Spagnuolo in Kansas City — and we all know how much Spags likes to play man and blitz.
All of that together makes me think that cornerback is higher on the Giants’ list of priorities than we may realize. Granted, Tae Banks was drafted specifically for that scheme, but Delane is the first choice if the team isn’t willing to give him a chance to get his career back on track.
Big men in Round 2
The Giants have to be hoping that Jeremiah’s Top 50 2.0 holds true for their second pick, at least if they still need line help.
As things stand now, the Giants hold the 37th overall pick, and that area is just littered with high-upside linemen.
34th – Max Iheanachor (OT, Arizona State)
35th – Kayden McDonald (DT, Ohio State)
36th – Caleb Banks (DT, Florida)
38th – Peter Woods (DT, Clemson)
41st – Christen Miller (DT, Georgia)
I would be very hesitant to take any Clemson player right now, considering how precipitously they’ve all fallen off from what they were expected to be this year. Likewise, it’s reasonable to be wary of Banks considering his time missed and inconsistency on tape. So both Woods and Banks come with a significant “Buyer beware: Boom or Bust prospect” label. However, the upside of either is easily worth the swing if you’re comfortable with the person after putting them through the process.
McDonald and Miller, meanwhile, are high-floor players who could have more untapped upside in the passing game than Jeremiah is giving them credit. Neither is likely to be an Aaron Donald or a (healthy) Dexter Lawrence, but a Johnathan Hankins or Dalvin Tomlinson caliber player is certainly possible, or even likely.
Finally there’s Iheanachor, and I stand by what I said in his scouting report: He could become the best offensive tackle to come out of this draft class. Even though Iheanachor only has a couple years’ experience playing American Football, he’s not nearly as raw as you’d expect and the former soccer and basketball player just moves different. If the Giants re-sign Jermaine Eluemunor, having Iheanachor develop behind him could be an ideal situation.
Where are the guards?
If Jeremiah is correct, we won’t see many interior offensive linemen drafted in the first two rounds. He only has one pure guard in his Top 50, Penn State’s Vega Ioane at 11th. Ioane is followed immediately by Francis Mauigoa (M-ow-ee-know-ah), the first offensive tackle on the board. That is, of course, if Mauigoa plays tackle in the NFL. There’s some concern as to whether he has the lateral agility to match up with NFL pass rushers at tackle and guard might be his best position in the Pros.
So it’s possible that if the Giants come into the draft needing a right guard, they would either be forced to reach for one at fifth or 37th, or hope a starting caliber guard falls to 105th overall (barring a trade, of course).
The potential good news for the Giants is that the middle rounds could have some immediate starters in Gennings Dunker (Iowa), Chase Bisontis (Texas A&M), Emmanuel Pregnon (Oregon), Keylan Rutledge (Georgia Tech), and Billy Schrauth (Notre Dame).
