The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is just hours away. In fact, we should know the names of the newest members of the New York Giants in less than 12 hours.
It’s entirely expected, then, that the biggest outlets would wait until the last minute to release their final mock drafts.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic released his final mock on Thursday morning, with two familiar names for the Giants.
5. Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
This will be a John Harbaugh pick, which means the Giants could go in multiple directions. Offensive tackle
is in play. Or will Reese or Love fall here? If not, Downs could be the option (“positional value” be damned).
10. Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami
Should they get an Ohio State defender at No. 5 (as they do here), the offensive line or Tyson would become the Giants’ expected target at No. 10. Mauigoa can start from day one at guard while also being a long-term right tackle option.
Chris’ thoughts
We’ve already been over and over these players.
Instead, I want to call attention to two things in Brugler’s explanations that caught my eye.
First is Brugler saying “Position value be damned”. I’m sure that will get some more nerd-hating fans all kinds of happy. However, I just don’t see the coach who was once dubbed the NFL’s “Prince Of Analytics” suddenly becoming a Gentleman-esque spreadsheet burning, analytics-hating iconoclast the second he gets out of a system that brought him consistent success.
I strongly suspect that sentiment is pinned entirely on the selection of Kyle Hamilton at 14th overall in 2022. However, Hamilton was widely regarded as a Top 5 (if not The Top) talent in that class and was likely several tiers higher than the surrounding talent at that spot.
Will the Giants will have Downs graded THAT much higher than anyone else currently on the board that Harbaugh, Schoen, and the rest of the front office will “agree to agree” to make a historic investment in a position that already has multiple young players?
Second is the ground shift on Sonny Styles. In the matter of a few days we’ve gone from Styles being The Guy for the Giants who checks all of Harbaugh’s boxes and fits a key role in Wilson’s defense to the Giants being utterly and completely out on him.
Over the last 48 hours or so we have seen a 180° about-face from every single outlet, with Daniel Jeremiah, Todd McShay, and Brugler all declaring that the Giants won’t take Styles.
I call shenanigans.
Either something big has come up behind the scenes with regards to Styles, or someone with a loud voice connected to many ears is producing a LOT of smoke.
The Giants have been remarkably good at playing their cards close to the vest under Joe Schoen. A year ago, even with the “chalk” path forward plain to see, insiders at national outlets still had little conviction when talking about what the Giants might do.
That makes it remarkable that every outlet is suddenly in lockstep in definitively declaring the Giants intentions and what they will (or in this case won’t) do. All the more remarkable, in fact, given that this is a new regime with new schemes, and a renovated front office. Nobody has a clue what their tendencies will be, because they haven’t established them yet.
Something’s up, so keep an eye on this space.
