For the second year in a row, the New York Giants managed to get a pair of impact starters in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The Giants came away from the first round with Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese at NO. 5 overall and Miami OL Francis Mauigoa at No. 10 overall. This was, according to GM Joe Schoen and head coach John Harbaugh, a scenario they simply didn’t anticipate happening.
The Giants had Reese as the highest graded non-quarterback on their board and Mauigoa was fourth on their board.
Harbaugh said in the press conference after making their selections that the Giants simulated a “zillion scenarios” (in Harbaugh’s words), but “this one didn’t come up”, and that “reality is stranger than fiction”. But while the Giants are obviously riding high after a dream first round, they still have pressing needs to address.
Notably, the Giants need a long-term piece at defensive tackle, as well as an other wide receiver to continue to build around Jaxson Dart.
…But the Giants only have the 37th overall pick after trading their third-round pick to go get Jaxson Dart last year.
But could the Giants spend the time between the first and second rounds working the phones to turn the 37th pick into two players? Let’s take a look at three scenarios that could allow the Giants to fill both defensive tackle and wide receiver needs on the second day.
Scenario 1 – The straight up trade
We’ll start nice and simple with a straight pick-for-pick trade. In this scenario the Giants call up their AFC cousins the Pittsburgh Steelers, hoping that they and John Harbaugh can let bygones be bygones, and hammer out a deal.
The Giants send 37th overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 53rd and 76th overall picks. The value is approximately equal, and the Steelers could look to move up for the third quarterback on their board, or perhaps a guard with both Vega Ioane and Keylan Rutledge already off the board.
The Giants could potentially land a defensive tackle like Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter at 53rd and a receiver like Ja’Kobi Lane or Bryce Lance at 76th overall.
Scenario 2 – Packaging picks
For this one we’ll turn to the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have four (4) third-round picks, and they’ll want to take as many picks as they can to add talent to (arguably) the most depleted roster in the NFL. However, they could be enticed to move up six spots from 43rd to 37th if there’s a player they like available.
In this scenario the Dolphins could send the Giants one of their third-round picks — we won’t be greedy and ask for 86th overall — though the Giants might have to add 145th to sweeten the pot.
Moving down six spots might allow the Giants to still get one of the players that slipped out of the first. They might still be in the range to get the big defensive tackle Kayden McDonald out of Ohio State, a big, sure-handed, contested-catch winner in Denzel Boston, or a dynamic vertical threat like Chris Brazzell II.
Or perhaps even a player like Eli Stowers, who some think might be a Power Slot, and not a tight end, in the NFL. They could pair that player with a prospect like Ted Hurst (WR, Georgia State), Bryce Lance (WR, North Dakota State), Chris McClellan (iDL, Missouri) or Darrell Jackson Jr. (Florida State) in the 3rd round.
Scenario 3 – Moving Kayvon Thibodeaux
Finally we come to the scenario many have been waiting for since the Giants drafted Abdul Carter No. 3 overall in 2025. You can never have enough pass rushers, but the Giants have an embarrassment of riches between Brian Burns, Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and now Arvell Reese.
The Giants said that they don’t intend to trade Thibodeaux and they don’t want to give away talent after trading Dexter Lawrence. However, what if the edge-needy Chicago Bears approach the Giants for Thibodeaux?
It’s very unlikely that the Bears would be able to find an edge defender with Thibodeaux’s ability at 57th overall. This is a deep class of edge defenders, however neither TJ Parker nor Zion Young measure up to what Thibodeaux is at his best.
Given how the pass rusher class has thinned out, it’s possible that the Giants could exchange 37th overall for 57th and 60th overall.
This year’s draft has already been wild, however the Giants could (possibly) get a player like Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst and Iowa State defensive tackle Domonique Orange.
Will that happen? We’ll see. There are could players with “first round” grades available at both positions when the Giants are on the clock at 37th overall. Both McDonald and Boston fell out of the first round. Either could make the decision to trade out difficult, but it’s useful to look at scenarios the with which Giants could be faced.
