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Giants Now: Dane Brugler's draft class rankings

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Dane Brugler's draft class rankings

The Giants emerged from draft weekend with seven players and a draft class that has received plenty of praise from analysts across the NFL landscape.

As a refresher, here are all seven members of the Giants' 2026 Draft Class:

  • Round 1, Pick No. 5 - Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State
  • Round 1, Pick No. 10 - Francis Mauigoa, OL, Miami
  • Round 2, Pick No. 37 - Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
  • Round 3, Pick No. 74 - Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame
  • Round 6, Pick No. 186 - Bobby Jamison-Travis, DL, Auburn
  • Round 6, Pick. No. 192 (from MIA) - J.C. Davis, OL, Illinois
  • Round 6, Pick No. 193 (from DAL) - Jack Kelly, LB, BYU

"I think we have a bunch of Giants, figuratively and literally," head coach John Harbaugh said Saturday about the whole draft class. "We have guys that we really like that are going to make a difference."

The Athletic's Dane Brugler, author of The Beast and one of the top draft analysts in the business, released his annual draft class rankings this morning, ranking each team's draft haul from 1 to 32.

Brugler has the Giants all the way up at No. 2, trailing only the Cleveland Browns.

When it came to his favorite pick made by the Giants, he went with the team's first selection.

"There are multiple contenders for this spot — Francis Mauigoa, Colton Hood, Malachi Fields," wrote Brugler. "But Reese was my No. 1 player in the entire class, and his addition will allow the Giants to mix up their pressure packages. Quarterbacks won't have fun facing this front seven."

Reese had a breakout season for the Buckeyes in 2025. The talented linebacker totaled 69 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.

His performance led to him being named Consensus All-American with first-team honors from the Associated Press, Football Coaches Association of America and Walter Camp. He was also named the Big Ten Conference's Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten selection.

During his three years at Ohio State, Reese was a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Brugler also selected a Day 3 pick that could surprise, in which he went with BYU linebacker Jack Kelly, the Giants' final selection.

"With his explosive speed and compete skills, Kelly likely wasn't a hard sell in the war room," Brugler wrote. "He'll be a special teams dynamo from day one and will push for defensive snaps early in his career."

Kelly racked up 10 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss across 12 games last season to go with his 55 total tackles, two forced fumbles and one pass defensed. It marked the second consecutive year in which he reached double-digit tackles for loss (he had 10.0 in 2024).

He was named first-team All-Big 12 as he finished as one of just 17 players across the nation with 10 or more sacks.

This performance came after he was named Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Transfer of the Year by College Football Network in 2024.

"Jack Kelly, another guy we spent time with down at the All-Star game," general manager Joe Schoen said after the draft. "Ran really well. Super productive player. He was playing off the ball for BYU. At Weber State he played off the edge. He's got 30-plus career sacks. So a lot of versatility in him and also the ability to play special teams."

View photos of the collegiate careers of every member of the New York Giants' 2026 Draft Class.

The Giants' 2026 draft picks have arrived at their new home.

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