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Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens looks on during the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the AFC Wild Card Playoff.
When the New York Giants hired John Harbaugh as their head coach, the hope was that he would bring the stability of the Baltimore Ravens franchise over to New York.
Say what you want about Baltimore’s postseason struggles and tendency to blow late-game leads over the last few years, but in Harbaugh’s 18 years as head coach, they were one of the model organizations in the NFL.
Now, in the first offseason under Harbaugh’s guidance, the Giants should be (and are trying to) emulate the Ravens in every which way they can, and The Athletic’s Dan Duggan thinks New York should continue to do so in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Giants Urged to Trade Back in 2026 NFL Draft
One of the things the Baltimore Ravens did so well throughout Harbaugh’s tenure was manage the draft board and acquire more capital where they could, and Duggan believes the New York Giants should be trying to do the same thing come April.
“The Giants need to adopt the Ravens’ practice of stockpiling draft picks. The Ravens averaged 8.9 picks per draft during Harbaugh’s 18 years in Baltimore. The Giants have averaged 7.8 picks per year during general manager Joe Schoen’s four drafts,” wrote Duggan.
“That may not seem like much of a difference, but one more swing per year obviously increases the odds of a hit — and Schoen’s average is inflated by having 11 picks in his first draft when he twice traded back in the second round.”
Trading back is something general manager Joe Schoen has neglected to do in recent years, and it’s left the Giants with fewer bites at the apple, especially in the later rounds.
With Harbaugh now in full control, he’ll likely try to bring that Ravens mindset with him of finding valuable trades where he can.
“He turned the extra Day 3 picks from those two drafts into safety Dane Belton and linebacker Micah McFadden. Despite that positive return, Schoen hasn’t traded back in the past three drafts, averaging 6.7 picks in those drafts. The Ravens had more than seven picks in 14 of Harbaugh’s 18 drafts.”
Now, just because you have more draft capital doesn’t mean you’re going to land more NFL players, but having as many lottery tickets as possible increases your chances of winning big.
What Should the Giants Do if They Can’t Trade Back?
Of course, when it comes to any trade in the NFL, it takes two to tango. So what if the New York Giants can’t find a trade partner in April?
Duggan urged the Giants to take another page out of the Baltimore Ravens playbook and land a game-changing safety to man their backend in Ohio State’s Caleb Downs.
“Trading down from No. 5 to acquire more picks would be ideal, but there doesn’t figure to be much demand for this selection in a weak quarterback draft. I’m generally a proponent of position value, but Downs could be an exception if he’s as good as the hype suggests,” continued Duggan.
“The Giants’ talent at premium positions (QB, LT, WR, OLB) gives them more freedom to take the best player available with the fifth pick. Harbaugh knows firsthand how valuable a game-changing safety can be after deploying Kyle Hamilton, the 14th pick of the 2022 draft, for the past four years in Baltimore. Downs could be the chess piece that makes the Giants’ defense click.”
Despite his position, some draft analysts insist Downs could be the best player to come out of the 2026 draft class, meaning some team could be high enough on him to take him ahead of No. 5.
In that case, Duggan urged the Giants to turn to a position of need, namely on the offensive line, to keep second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart upright and healthy.
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