All Signs Point to Giants Taking This Player With No. 5 Overall Pick

The New York Giants are in arguably the best position of any team in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL draft.

The Giants have the No. 5 and 10 overall picks, and they could come away from Thursday night with two impact rookie starters. But which players the team is targeting still remains a mystery.

ESPN's Dan Graziano believes if the Giants stay at pick 5, all roads point to Ohio State safety Caleb Downs.

"If they stay put at No. 5, my information indicates their most likely picks would be Love (if he’s still there) or Ohio State safety Caleb Downs," Graziano stated. "Multiple people have told me they believe Downs would be the Giants’ pick even ahead of linebacker Sonny Styles, Downs’ college teammate. And I know the Giants like Tyson, but most of the people I’ve spoken to the past couple of days think the Giants would be more likely to wait and try to take him at No. 10."

ESPN's Jordan Raanan agrees.

Given new head coach John Harbaugh's knack for building shutdown defenses, taking Downs, who could quarterback his secondary, just makes too much sense that it's difficult to see New York passing him up.

"The Giants are especially high on Downs, to the point where he’s square in the running at No. 5 no matter who is on the board," Raanan wrote. "The buzz around Downs to the Giants has only continued to grow around the league in recent weeks. Executives and coaches seem to think he will be one of their two first-round choices.

"In most years, a safety in this spot would seem crazy. But coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson are defensive backs at heart. They like to build their defense from the back forward. Downs has the versatility and physicality that will allow them to stop the run and disguise their coverages. The hope is that Downs can be the Giants’ Ed Reed or Kyle Hamilton."

With the 10th overall pick, most believe the Giants plan to take Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who would be a perfect complement to Malik Nabers on the outside.

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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 7:37 PM.