The New York Giants are under construction.
Yes, the team that has the NFL’s second-worst record (53-107-1) and the NFL’s second-worst winning percentage (.332) since 2016, the year after Tom Coughlin’s retirement (only the New York Jets have been worse at 49-111-0 and .306) are in the process of looking for their seventh head coach in the post-Coughlin era if interim head coach Mike Kafka isn’t retained at a more permanent position in 2026. This is the second time in that era that the Giants have had an interim head coach — there was Steve Spagnuolo n 2017 after Ben McAdoo’s firing, and now Kafka in the wake of Brian Daboll’s dismissal.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has also been shown the door, and given the hard questions current general manager Joe Schoen was given in a recent catch-up press conference, it could well be that the Giants will have their fourth general manager in the post-Coughlin era in 2026 as well.
If the Giants go into the upcoming offseason with an entirely new gruop with Schoen out the door as well… we already know that things will be different from a coaching and schematic perspective on both sides of the ball. So, when we look to which players would be best to help jumpstart an actual franchise turnaround, as opposed to simply re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic again, it’s more about the guys who can be as scheme-transcendent as possible — those players who have the tools to succeed no matter what.
If the 2026 draft happened today, of course, the 2-11 Giants would have the first overall pick. So, there’s a blank canvas with which to work. There is the potential to get whoever you want if you stay put there. Here are five prospects at five different positions who could help turn things around sooner than later.
1. Fernando Mendoza, QB, Illinois
So… I’m not saying that this is what the Giants SHOULD do. I believe that Jaxson Dart has franchise quarterback potential, but his hell-for-leather style has already cost him games, and whoever the new head coach is may want a different quarterback. It will certainly be a major part of the discussion when candidates are interviewed.
While there isn’t a sure-fire franchise quarterback out of the box in the upcoming class, teams have also whiffed on such quarterback prospects in the past. You don’t really know what a guy can do until he’s on the field. What we do know about Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is that whenever he’s presented with a situation in which he has to elevate his game in the biggest moments, that’s generally no problem. We saw that in the Hoosiers’ thrilling comeback win over Penn State in November, and one hoped that Mendoza would show it again in the Big Ten Championship against Ohio State.
No problem there. Against the Buckeyes’ NCAA-best defense, Mendoza completed 15 of 23 passes for 222 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 93.0. It was a favorable game for NFL scouts, because Ohio State basically runs an NFL defense under Matt Patricia, so you can project to a point how Mendoza would fare against those kinds of players and concepts. Indiana’s 13-10 win was a defensive battle in which Mendoza got his block knocked off early in the game, but he didn’t flinch. His ability to bring out his best in the most crucial circumstances reminds me a bit of one Eli Manning.
2. Caleb Downs, DB, Ohio State
Speaking of that Ohio State defense, it’s entirely possible that the Buckeyes will lose the NCAA’s two best defensive players to the draft — edge-rusher Arvell Reese, and defensive back Caleb Downs. Since the Giants are pretty full up when it comes to edge disruptors (especially if Abdul Carter can keep his head on straight), let’s take a look at Downs, who would be well-suited to erase a deficit at the move safety position this team has had since it let Xavier McKinney walk in 2024.
At 6’0” and 225 pounds, Downs fits the modern prototype of the bigger, do-it-all DB we’ve seen recently in Kyle Hamilton and Nick Emmanwori — two guys that any defensive coordinator would love to have on their roster. This season, he’s allowed 24 catches on 37 targets for 150 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 50.5. He also has a sack, five quarterback pressures, four tackles for loss, 51 tackles, and 32 stops. All this while lining up on38% of his snaps as a split safety, 18% as a single-high safety, 7% in the box, 28% in the slot, and 9% at outside cornerback.
Whatever you need a safety/slot hybrid star to do, Downs can do it as a ridiculously high level. No player designated as a safety has ever been taken first overall in a draft, but given the importance in today’s NFL to have one of these rare types of players in modern defenses, maybe Downs is the one to reverse that.
3. Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
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When your cornerbacks have allowed 125 completions on 216 attempts for 13 touchdowns, three interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 95.5 (fourth-worst in the NFL) as the Giants’ cornerbacks have this season, there’s a clear need for improvement. That’s mitigated by the fact that I thought Shane Bowen was a bad schematic fit for the cornerbacks he had, as he preferred more off-coverage, but that’s a separate (and now irrelevant) issue. Regardless, adding a true shutdown cornerback for whomsoever replaces Bowen permanently would be a nice idea.
Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy has announced his intention to declare for the 2026 draft, and based on his 2024 season, had he not missed the entire 2025 season to a torn ACL, he might be a first-overall pick guy. But as we really have to wait until the scouting combine to see how McCoy really looks, let’s go with who I believe will be the best cornerback in the 2026 class, based on 2025 tape: LSU’s Mansoor Delane.
In three seasons at Virginia Tech, Delane didn’t really separate himself from the pack. But in his one season with the Tigers, he looked every bit the CB1, allowing 13 catches on 35 targets for 147 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, nine pass breakups, and a ridiculous opponent passer rating of 26.7.
No matter who the Giants’ next defensive coordinator is and what he wants to do schematically, Delane would be a huge asset, simply because he does everything so well.
4. Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
Some may see receiver as a position of secondary importance when the Giants have both Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton under contract through 2027, but if you’ve watched the passing game without Nabers, who suffered a torn ACL in September, you also understand that depth is kind of important. USC’s Makai Lemon, Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, and Washington’s Denzel Boston are among the lead dogs in a loaded receiver class, but were I able to take any receiver from this class and work him into my hypothetical offense, it would be Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson.
The 6’2”, 200-pound Tyson can be a contested-catch monster, and he has no issue getting grimy when defenders are all over him, but what really stands out to me is his understanding of the nuances of the position. Over and over on his tape, you’ll see examples of Tyson’s ability to get open in short areas with his ability to sink into zones and separate from tight man coverage at the perfect time. It’s why he has 61 catches in 2025 on 91 targets for 711 yards and eight touchdowns in an injury-shortened season, and it’s why NFL teams will overlook his injury history (collarbone in 2024, ACL/MCL/PCL with Colorado in 2022) because his tape is so good.
Maybe that injury history keeps Tyson from this high of a pick, but if we’re going purely on tape, and we imagine a receiver group with Tyson, Nabers, Slayton, and maybe Wan’Dale Robinson if he returns… that’s a nice second-year slate for Mr. Dart.
5. Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
Obviously, the Giants are no strangers to selecting running backs with high picks. They did that with Penn State’s Saquon Barkley with the second pick in the 2018 draft, and that worked exceptionally well when Barkley was healthy. And while we don’t know what the new head coach and offensive coordinator will want regarding leading with the run game or not, there is an argument to be made that adding a true every-down back to the Cam Skattebo Experience would be a good thing. Yes, we all loved us some Skattebo until the whole dislocated ankle, fractured fibula, and ruptured deltoid ligament thing (ouch) happened against the Eagles in late October, but even assuming that No. 44 will be back fully healthy in 2026, maybe the new people in charge will want to alternate Skattebo’s power and determination with some second- and third-level juice.
If that’s the case, there’s only one guy to think of this high, and that’s Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love. This season, the 6’0”, 214-pound Love has gained 1,372 yards and scored 18 rushing touchdowns on 199 carries, with 56 forced missed tackles, 39 runs of 10 or more yards, and 23 runs of 15 or more yards.
Love can succeed in any type of run scheme, but I have comped him to Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions, because in zone concepts, he will rip opposing defensive lines to shreds with his gap vision and awareness, his ability to jump multiple gaps to find the opening, and his quickness in righting his body from there to get yards downfield. If we presented Love and Skattebo as the Giants’ version of the Gibbs/David Montgomery “Sonic and Knuckles” duo, how would you feel about that?
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