The New York Giants had the fifth and 10th overall picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Giants decided to draft Arvell Reese from Ohio State fifth overall and Francis Mauigoa from the Miami Hurricanes 10th overall. These were two players that New York had very high on their board. One player that the Giants decided to pass up on twice was Ohio State safety Caleb Downs.
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May 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa (65) speaks during a press conference at rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Downs was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas traded up one spot with the Miami Dolphins to draft him. Well, many thought that New York should have drafted the Buckeyes safety at 10 instead of the Hurricanes offensive lineman.
NFL Analyst Wonders Why the New York Giants Didn’t Draft Safety Caleb Downs 10th Overall In the 2026 NFL Draft
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May 1, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys cornerback Devin Moore (29) and Dallas Cowboys safety Caleb Downs (18) go through a drill during practice at the Ford Center at the Star Training Facility in Frisco, Texas. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Dan Graziano of espn.com asked himself why did the Giants not draft Downs with the 10th overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. He said,
“The Giants had Ohio State starArvell Reesefall into their laps at No. 5 in the draft. Then at No. 10, Downs was sitting right there. The Cowboys had tried to trade up to No. 9 to get Downs, fearful that the Giants would take him. New York could have come out of the first round of the draft feeling like it had locked down two defensive cornerstones for a decade to come.
Instead, the Giants drafted offensive tackleFrancis Mauigoa. Dallas exhaled and moved up one spot to make sure it got Downs. And now the Giants will have to play against him twice a year.
So why didn’t they take him? Well, they felt they’d made their defensive pick at No. 5 when Reese was still there. I think there’s a chance they’d have taken Downs at No. 5 if Reese had been picked in the top four. But what became clear to me after the draft in talking to people around that situation is that the Giants were determined to use one of their two top-10 picks on an offensive player in an effort to support second-year quarterbackJaxson Dart. That could have meant running backJeremiyah Loveif he’d been there at No. 5. It could have meant wide receiversCarnell TateorJordyn Tysonif they’d been there at No. 10. Ultimately, it meant locking in the player the Giants identified as the best offensive lineman in the draft to help fortify Dart’s protection.
They’re far from the only team that operated this way. Tennessee and New Orleans — both of whom are building around promising second-year quarterbacks — drafted Tate and Tyson, respectively, with their first-round picks. Teams try to maximize young quarterbacks’ chances to succeed whenever they can, and picking Mauigoa over a second defensive standout was the Giants’ way of doing that.”
The Giants are about improving in the trenches under new head coach John Harbaugh. He had more fingerprints on this team during the draft than general manager Joe Schoen did. New York is looking to be a much-improved team this season after just finishing with a 4-13 record last season. The Giants offensive line should be good this season and hopefully they can keep quarterback Jaxson Dart out of the blue medical tent.
New York with Reese and Mauigoa on the team now want to impose their will on other NFL teams. It will be interesting to see how this team is going to operate in 2026. They needed a safety and maybe they will regret not drafting Downs, but the Giants realized that winning in the trenches is important here.
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