Meet the NY Giants’ 2025 NFL Draft class, player-by-player
Who did the Giants pick in the 2025 NFL Draft? Meet each player from the class, starting with top picks Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart.
The New York Giants are that much closer to the proving ground that will be the 2025 season for everyone involved.
The offseason program enters Phase 3 this week with the start of OTAs [organized team activities], so for the first time, the practice sessions will kinda sorta look like football, albeit in helmets and shorts. Offensive and defensive players are allowed on the field together, opposite one another, during traditional 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills, but without live contact.
So how much can we actually learn from voluntary spring workouts? Are depth chart decisions hanging on that one goal line rep in early June? Unlikely.
This is an important time of year with perspective, of course. The team is blending veterans with rookies and there will be competition; not as fierce as in training camp, or in joint practices and the preseason, but players can lose hold of positions just as easily as we might expect them to seize control.
It’s all a puzzle, and this is yet another piece. Here are the five players under the most pressure to earn their spot in 2025 as the Giants hit the practice field as a team for the first time Tuesday morning:
Evan Neal, offensive line
You’re going to hear Mekhi Becton mentioned a lot when Evan Neal’s potential move to right guard comes up over the next few months. Why? Like Becton, Neal has busted out for the New York team that drafted him to be a cornerstone tackle, and for a variety of reasons. Underwhelming and inconsistent play. Injuries. Lack of cohesion across the board up front, both owned by the player and the coaches tasked with getting the most out of him.
Becton went to Stoutland University and, with the guidance of Eagles renowned offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, wound up emerging as a capable guard who earned a second contract in free agency with the Chargers.
Can Neal do the same for the Giants, who declined his fifth-year option as the No. 7 overall selection in the 2022 draft? In three seasons, he has played in just over half [29] of the Giants’ 51 regular-season games.Â
His struggles at right tackle have been frustrating, for the player and the team, and his run-in with fans two seasons ago only added to the discourse and disappointment for all involved. Is it even possible for Neal do enough to prove his value for this year? Absolutely. It’s a bit more of a long shot to think the former Alabama star can ultimately earn a new contract from the Giants, but crazier things have happened. He’s going to have to beat out Jake Kubas in addition to veteran Greg Van Roten, who might be best served as the top reserve on the interior – if Neal can win the right guard job.
The wild card here is rookie Marcus Mbow, who will start out working at tackle. That could change if the fifth-round pick from Purdue impresses early. The caveat here is the timetable: offensive and defensive linemen don’t truly enter their audition period until the pads go on in training camp.
Tae Banks, cornerback
Banks was fueled by his competition against the best two years ago. Those battles produced wins and losses on the field, and how Banks responded down to down is most impressive.
In what was a lost season in the standings, Banks’ presence and the growth in his game from the outset was an encouraging bright spot. He finished two interceptions and 11 passes defensed, second-most by a rookie in Giants franchise history.
Last season, Banks was nowhere near the same player. Instead of taking a leap forward, he struggled when challenged and was ultimately benched as the coaches scrambled to try to find a way to work with Banks and rediscover his game.
Now that Paulson Adebo is in the fold, paid to be the top corner on the roster, Banks must find motivation to re-emerge as a player the Giants can count on. He’s got first-round pedigree and there have been flashes. If he does not show signs of growth or development, the Giants will be facing a fifth-year option decision next offseason and his future here will be uncertain.
Bobby Okereke, linebacker
Two years ago, I declared Okereke as the best free agent signing for the Giants since Antrel Rolle, who played every snap of a five-year contract and was a leader in the team’s run to its Super Bowl XLVI championship.
What happened to Okereke last season is one of the biggest mysteries the Giants need to solve – or the 28-year-old captain might be staring at the beginning of the end of his tenure with Big Blue.
Okereke had an outstanding year in Wink Martindale’s system and had the undeniable look of an ascending player in this league. His absence on the Pro Bowl squad was viewed as a serious snub, and his name was mentioned in the same breath as potential Hall of Famer in Bobby Wagner and Fred Warner.
At a stacked position, Okereke held his own. Last year, he was essentially a non-factor, and then a back injury cost him the final month of the season. The Giants have not done a ton at the position, at least not enough in free agency or the draft to put pressure on Okereke.
With so much talk about the addition of rookies Abdul Carter and third rounder Darius Alexander, the Giants’ defensive front should be very good. Okereke has proven he can be a game-changer, and if he gets back to that, suddenly he is one of the most important cogs here. He was too good of a player two years ago to suggest he was solely a product of the old system; turn the clock back and get Okereke to play at a high level again, or this will be a big hole in the middle of a defense that is positioned to carry this team.
John Michael Schmitz, center
Schmitz has shown incremental progress over his first two seasons, so that’s positive. But has the former second-round pick out of Minnesota done enough to cement his place as a foundational piece up front? That’s certainly up for debate entering a pivotal third year. He’s not a dominant physical presence and has difficulty with powerful interior defenders. Fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow is a potential five-spot player and where his development as a rookie takes him could affect the future plans for Schmitz, too. At this point, Schmitz needs to establish himself as a player the Giants can count on to be a constant. He’s not there yet, as neck and ankle injuries cut his 2024 campaign short in Week 15, and veteran Greg Van Roten looms as someone who could step in as a placeholder at center if Schmitz does not emerge as the linchpin Schoen and Daboll drafted him to be.
Jalin Hyatt, wide receiver
Hyatt turns 24 in September, and like Schmitz, the Giants anticipated the former third-round pick they moved up to select two years ago having a much bigger role at this point. Some of the blame for Hyatt’s lack of production 8-catch season from last fall can be attributed to the Giants’ struggles at quarterback, with four different players getting snaps at the position. The lack of a vertical game within the offense takes away Hyatt’s greatest strength.
But his inability to show other parts of his game, all the while with Darius Slayton proving to be more reliable, has essentially turned Hyatt into somewhat of an afterthought. Sure, there is a modicum of hope with moon ball king Russell Wilson expected to start the season as QB1. Yet Slayton earned a contract extension and the Giants could wind up signing Gabe Davis, who visited and is plenty familiar with Daboll and Schoen from their time in Buffalo.
Hyatt’s name has been bandied about in trade speculation this offseason, but it’s hard seeing much value in his body of work at the moment. These next few months should be significant in determining whether he has a role here moving forward.