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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The New York Giants and John Harbaugh have their eyes set on one particular player in the 2026 NFL draft, and for good reason.<\/p>\n
John Harbaugh is entering his first year as head coach of the New York Giants<\/a>, and he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder following his exit from<\/a> the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>. Lucky for the Giants<\/a>, Harbaugh has something to prove, and you know he\u2019ll do everything in this power to turn this franchise around in as short an amount of time as possible.<\/p>\n It all starts with the 2026 NFL<\/a> draft. This is Harbaugh\u2019s chance to set the lineup, and it\u2019s going to be even more packed with fireworks following the blockbuster trade<\/a> that the team made with the Bengals<\/a> involving Dexter Lawrence<\/a>.<\/p>\n Heading into the draft, one college player\u2019s name keeps upcoming up as a New York Giants favorite. Now, an insider says that Harbaugh \u201ccan\u2019t pass up\u201d this player.<\/p>\n The 1 Player the New York Giants Can\u2019t Say No To<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the one player the Giants can\u2019t say no to in the 2026 NFL draft? In a mock published on Tuesday, April 21, by NFL Nation on ESPN<\/a>, Jordan Raanan says that player, of course, is Jeremiyah Love, the standout running back, out of Notre Dame.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still available? That is what the Giants are thinking if Love is still on the board,\u201d Raanan says. \u201cPerhaps the top player in this entire draft being there for the fifth pick makes this an opportunity new coach John Harbaugh can\u2019t pass up.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds, \u201cThe idea of a versatile playmaker who can create mismatches with opposing defense is enticing. It\u2019s why general manager Joe Schoen recently said Love is more than a running back. He\u2019s an offensive weapon. The Giants need more of those.\u201d<\/p>\n For the No. 10 pick, another familiar name comes up in safety Caleb Downs out of Ohio State.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is another one where the Giants are just pinching themselves that Downs is still available,\u201d Raanan says<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best defensive players and safest prospects in this draft. The Ohio State standout can be the Kyle Hamilton or Ed Reed for Harbaugh.\u201d<\/p>\n The key here is that both players have to be available when the Giants\u2019 name gets called. If they both are still around, it\u2019s a sure bet that Harbaugh will make them both Giants.<\/p>\n Why the New York Giants May Get Spoiled Before They Snag Jeremiyah Love<\/p>\n In Conor Orr\u2019s mock for SI<\/a>, he has the Giants\u2019 dreams of snagged Love spoiled by the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> getting him as the No. 4 pick via the Titans<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember how in the Rams were on Christian McCaffrey? Love is a physical back who lives for outside zone (which is a small part of the McVay offensive lexicon but showcases his patience and brilliance) and can help protect Matthew Stafford on the back end,\u201d he states. \u201cWhile there isn\u2019t necessarily a game-changing receiver that fits into the Rams\u2019 universe, Love, in what could be Stafford\u2019s final season, may conquer all.\u201d<\/p>\n It would be a heartbreaker to see Love go to another team. While nothing is set in stone, it\u2019s obvious that Harbaugh has his eyes on the young talent and badly wants him for the New York Giants.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAnne Erickson<\/a> is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Giants\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The New York Giants and John Harbaugh have their eyes set on one particular player in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":871775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2067],"tags":[7,519,1917,56,2321,2469,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-871774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-giants","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-giants","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-giants","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkgiants","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116447675589278145","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=871774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/871775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}