ClutchPoints
After another lost season, the New York Giants have continued their annual tradition of preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft in December. General manager Joe Schoen’s focus will be on his next head coaching hire, but appropriately building this draft around star quarterback Jaxson Dart will be just as crucial.
Although Dart’s season has been marred by the nagging concussion protocol, he has been the only positive of the Giants’ season. Dart has played most of his rookie season without star receiver Malik Nabers or top running back Cam Skattebo, yet he still looks like the best quarterback of the class and a bona fide Rookie of the Year candidate.
The Giants have already invested a lot in Dart by trading up to take him in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Entering the 2026 draft with any goal other than building around him would be organizational malpractice, particularly with the success many teams in similar positions have had recently.
The upcoming draft order has not yet been set, but that situation will gain more clarity after the Giants’ Week 17 “Tank Bowl” game against the Las Vegas Raiders. New York is currently favored to end the season with the No. 1 overall pick, but it will begin the April draft with a top-five pick regardless.
The Pro Football Focus three-round mock draft simulator has the Giants securing the No. 1 overall pick, which it predicts the team will trade away. In this scenario, Joe Schoen answers a call from Darren Mougey to send the pick to the New York Jets in exchange for picks No. 4, No. 33, No. 251 and a 2027 first-rounder.
The trade makes sense for both teams. As of December, the Giants are slated to enter the 2026 NFL Draft with just seven selections, three of which come in round six.
Likewise, the Jets have picks to spare after acquiring a pair of first-rounders from the Indianapolis Colts for Sauce Gardner. Mougey is currently sitting on two first-round selections in 2026 and 2027.
With Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza the heavy favorite to go No. 1 overall, New York has no reason to keep the top selection of the draft. They could use it on someone like Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, but a Giants-Jets trade makes too much sense, particularly considering how much of a disaster the Jets’ quarterback situation was in 2025.
With the mock trade in mind, the Giants have three picks in the first three rounds for the PFF 2026 NFL mock draft simulator to work with.
Even after trading back, the Giants remain in the top five in the 2026 PFF mock draft simulator and take Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 4 overall pick.
Love is the consensus top running back in the draft, but the pick is still questionable at best....
