Dan Salomone: The Ravens’ first pick of the John Harbaugh era was Joe Flacco in 2008. Who will it be for the Giants in 2026? Time will tell, but it’s safe to say it won’t be a quarterback.

“It starts with the quarterback for sure,” Harbaugh said two weeks ago at his introductory press conference. “You build your team around your quarterback.”

And he really likes the quarterback.

More than Jaxson Dart’s physical skills, Harbaugh admires “what he’s about” and that’s why he can’t wait to get started with him. There are many ways to build around a quarterback, the obvious ones being receivers and offensive linemen. But a defensive backbone doesn’t hurt, either.

During Harbaugh’s tenure from 2008 through 2025, the Ravens allowed the fewest touchdowns, points, rushing first downs, rushing yards, and third-down conversions. They also allowed the second-fewest first downs and total yards. Offensively, Baltimore was No. 1 in that span in rushing yards and yards per carry, No. 3 in rushing touchdowns, and No. 6 in points per game.

In that time, Lamar Jackson (32nd pick in 2018) won two NFL MVP Awards and Joe Flacco (18th pick in 2008) was a Super Bowl MVP. Dart, the 25th overall pick in 2025, will look to follow in their footsteps under Harbaugh, who builds teams with the entire picture in mind.

“He’s a born leader,” Chris Mara said of his first conversation with Harbaugh. “Sitting next to him, I could just tell. He looks at the whole picture – not one side of the ball, not special teams, not defense. He looks at the whole picture.”

So, when the combine comes around at the end of the month, don’t view it through the lens of which position the Giants need. Instead, ask if prospects have Harbaugh’s No. 1 coveted trait.

“We have to have guys that love football,” he said. “You just have to. It’s football. What are we here for? What do we do? What is this building for? It’s for football. This is a football team. We need guys that love everything about football. They love the games. They love the practices. They love the weightlifting. They love the meetings. They love the dining hall. They love every part of football. If you love football, guys, if you love football, you’re going to want to be here. You’re going to want to drive in that parking lot every single day. You’re going to want to walk through those doors, you’re going to want to walk up in those halls, you’re going to want to get in front of that tape and watch tape every single day because you’re going to be around a bunch of guys that love what you love. They love football, because that’s what we’re going to be doing, football, all the time, every day.”

If they don’t, not even the best 40-yard dash can get a player drafted to a Harbaugh team.