After wheeling and dealing in last week’s New York Giants mock draft, this week I am staying at No. 5. Let’s see how this one turned out.
Round 1 (No. 5) — Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
This one was easy. Running back Jeremiyah Love went No. 2 to the New York Jets, something that almost certainly is not happening in the real NFL Draft. Then, safety Caleb Downs went No. 3 to the Arizona Cardinals. I would be surprised if that happened, as well. It did here.
I thought briefly about taking a trade down to No. 9 with the Kansas City Chiefs that also
would have netted me pick No. 29. I would have used the ninth pick on either cornerback Mansoor Delane or guard Vega Ioane.
But, I am sticking and picking. After all the time I spent this week defending Styles as being worthy of the selection here I thought it would be silly to trade out and pass on him.
Round 2 (No. 37) — TRADE!!!
Giants get: Picks 41 and 110
Cincinnati Bengals get: Picks 37 and 145
My primary target here, Oregon guard Emmanuel Pregnon, went off the board at No. 36 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
I hoped to engineer a way to get a third-round pick, which the Giants don’t have, by moving back in Round 2. I tried a few different ways and eventually realized that was probably unrealistic.
I moved down four spots here, but in return I gained 35 spots from pick 145 to pick 110. That is a full round, giving me two early fourth-round picks. I felt really good about the chance to get a better player at 110 than I would have at 145, and had enough players I felt comfortable with at 37 that I wasn’t going to sweat moving back a few spots.
I think it worked out nicely.
Round 2 (No. 41) — Chase Bisontis, G, Texas A&M
Here are the players who were selected from 37-40:
- 37 (Bengals) — Blake Miller, OT, Clemson
- 38 (Packers) — Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
- 39 (Browns) — Lee Hunter, DT, Texas Tech
- 40 (Chiefs) — Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State
I like those players, but I won’t lose sleep over not having any of them on the board at No. 41. I like the choices I was ultimately presented with.
At this point, the Giants have telegraphed that unless something changes drastically in the next month they will be addressing the interior of the offensive line early in the draft. Pregnon is gone, but Bisontis, Gennings Dunker of Iowa, and Keylan Rutledge of Georgia Tech remain. I am taking no chances on missing out on one of them, and will grab the highest-ranked player of the group.
I am doing this, by the way, expecting that Bisontis would be a starter in 2026.
Here is the PFSN scouting report:
In 2025, Bisontis put together his best season yet, earning third-team All-SEC honors while catapulting into the conversation to be the top guard in the class. At his size, Bisontis has extremely impressive knee bend, hip fluidity, and overarching flexibility on recovery, and he’s a high-level athlete who can match rushers laterally, reach his run-game landmarks with ease, and climb to the second level.
In the past, his run blocking has been his strength; he’s explosive and tenacious at the point of attack. However, his pass protection reached new heights in 2025, and he now stands as one of the most balanced and well-leveraged pass-game operators in the class, with a sturdy center of gravity, active hands, and excellent upper-lower sync. He’s not quite as strong or powerful as Ioane, but Bisontis still has the high-floor and high-ceiling combination that NFL teams gravitate to, and he has impact starter upside in both phases.
Other players considered: Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee; Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State; Chris Bell, WR, Louisville; Gennings Dunker, OG, Iowa
Round 4 (No. 105) — Will Lee, CB, Texas A&M
My FAVORITE mid-round cornerback, Julian Neal of Arkansas, is long gone. He went No. 76 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
You could say this is a need pick. Don’t ever be fooled by a general manager who says he does not draft for needs. They all tell you they draft the best player. They all lie. More often that not, the “best player” on every team’s board magically ends up being at a position of need.
Cornerback is a need for the Giants, and I will gamble on Lee’s traits.
Here is the PFSN scouting report
At 6’1″, with arms near 32″ long, his disruptive radius is a definite strength, and at his size, he’s quick-firing and surprisingly fluid, with venerable short-area twitch, reactive athleticism, and coil on redirections. There’s still room for Lee to keep refining his technique, particularly with his footwork and positioning in press and on his pedal. And without elite long-track explosiveness and vertical speed, Lee’s technical margin for error is somewhat slimmer.
Nevertheless, he’s the kind of size-adjusted mover and competitor who has lockdown potential with his fluidity, fast recalibration, and competitive zeal. His plus processing ensures that he can react quickly in the mirror-motor phase, or manage route combinations and execute crisp speed turns in zone. He’s sound and tenacious in support, and he’s a consistent playmaking threat.
His technical consistency will define his ceiling, as Lee’s profile invites a level of inherent volatility, but he’s nonetheless a starting talent with three-down respectability.
I’m skipping the “other players considered” list because I am picking again at No. 110.
Round 4 (No. 110) — Dontay Corleone, DT, Cincinnati
I love the idea of finding a massive, powerful, run-defending nose tackle in the middle of the draft who can clog the interior of the defensive line when Dexter Lawrence needs a break. Last week, I selected Domonique “Big Citrus” Orange. This week, Corleone.
For years, we have watched the Giants’ defensive line look helpless when Lawrence was not on the field. A player like this might help alleviate that.
The PFSN scouting report:
Per TruMedia, he allowed just 1.42 yards per run stop in 2025. At 6’0 1/2″ and 340 pounds, Corleone is an incredibly unique archetype at the DT position. He’s stout and squatty, with stellar mass and proportional length, all of which amounts to superb gap control and power absorption at nose tackle.
He’s also flashed legitimate power drive and lower-body activation as a pass-rusher, and can at least squeeze the pocket from the fulcrum and force centers to call for reinforcements. Corleone’s steady regression as a pass-rusher is concerning, however, and it culminated in a 2025 season where he produced an uninspiring 2% true pressure rate, and failed to log a sack. Certain truths have always been evident with Corleone; he has close to average quickness and flexibility, and those qualities were more limiting in 2025.
A blood clot issue in 2024 also bears noting, but Corleone has been “all systems go” since. He profiles as an odd-front nose who can function as a tree stump against the run, but is limited with his pass-rush utility.
Other players considered: Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas; Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina; Brenen Thompson, WR, Mississippi State; Isaiah World, OT, Oregon; Tim Keenan III, DT, Alabama
Here is the overall group:
How did I do this week, Giants fans?
