The Athletic's Dane Brugler projects first 2 rounds of draft
Mock draft season rolls on as one of the top analysts in the business just released his latest projections.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler came out with his new predictions for the first two rounds of the draft, which has the Giants addressing areas of need on both sides of the ball with their first two picks.
First up is the fifth overall pick, where Brugler went with Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles.
"For much of the season and pre-draft process, I felt like I had to convince doubters of why Styles deserved to be a top-10 pick," wrote Brugler. "After his workout in Indianapolis, the skeptics have disappeared. But it wasn't just what Styles did on the field. His interviews with NFL teams were 'phenomenal,' according to a team source, with one team even giving him a standing ovation at the end of a session."
As Brugler notes, Styles dazzled during the on-field drills at the Combine last week.
His 43.5-inch vertical was the highest for any player 6-foot-4 or taller and any player weighing 240 or more pounds since at least 2003. Additionally, his 11-foot-2 broad jump was the best mark among the linebackers and D-linemen last Thursday and the fourth-best mark of any linebacker in the last 15 years. On top of that, he also ran a 4.46 40-yard dash, which tied his college teammate Arvell Reese for the fastest time of any linebacker or defensive linemen this year.
His 9.99 Relative Athletic Score ranked 4th out of 3,216 qualifying linebackers dating back to 1987. According to NFL Research, Styles is the only player to run a sub-4.5 40-yard dash with a vertical of 40+ inches and a broad jump of 11+ feet while weighing at least 230 pounds since 2003.
During Ohio State's run to a National Championship in 2024, Styles played 16 games and finished the season with 100 total tackes (48 solo), six sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and five passes defensed, which led to him being named second-team All-Big Ten.
He followed that up this past season by earning first-team All-American honors in addition to a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
After going defense at No. 5, Brugler has the Giants adding an offensive playmaker at No. 37 with the selection of Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard.
Bernard began his collegiate career at Michigan State, where he played one season before transferring to Washington. The following year, he left for Alabama, where he caught 114 passes for 1,656 yards and nine touchdowns across two seasons while adding three more scores on the ground.
The 6-foot-1, 206-pound wideout put up career-high numbers in 2025 as he finished the season with 64 receptions for 862 yards and seven touchdowns.
"Bernard is a versatile wideout with ascending production over the last three years," wrote NFL.com's Lance Zierlein. "He has good size, accelerates to top speed quickly and is a smooth route runner with well-disguised breaks and clean footwork getting in and out. He can line up outside or in the slot and is capable of running a full route tree across all three levels. He has impressive run-after-catch ability."
Last week in Indianapolis, Bernard ran a 4.48 40-yard dash.
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his second ranking of the top 50 prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft.
No. 50 Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia
No. 49 Deion Burks, WR, Oklahoma
No. 48 Jake Golday, LB, Cincinnati
No. 47 Zion Young, Edge, Missouri
No. 46 Antonio Williams, WR, Clemson
No. 45 Keionte Scott, CB, Miami
No. 44 Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame
No. 43 Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame
No. 42 Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Texas
No. 41 Christen Miller, DT, Georgia
No. 40 Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama
No. 39 R Mason Thomas, Edge, Oklahoma
No. 38 Peter Woods, DT, Clemson
No. 37 Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
No. 36 Caleb Banks, DT, Florida
No. 35 Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State
No. 34 Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State
No. 33 KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M
No. 32 T.J. Parker, Edge, Clemson
No. 31 Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah
No. 30 Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson
No. 29 Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
No. 28 Keldric Faulk, Edge, Auburn
No. 27 Lee Hunter, DT, Texas Tech
No. 26 Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
No. 25 Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
No. 24 Blake Miller, OT, Clemson
No. 23 Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
No. 22 CJ Allen, LB, Georgia
No. 21 Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M
No. 20 Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
No. 19 Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana
No. 18 Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
No. 17 Jordan Tyson, WR, Arizona State
No. 16 Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon
No. 15 Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
No. 14 Spencer Fano, OT, Utah
No. 13 Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
No. 12 Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami
No. 11 Olaivavega Ioane, IOL, Penn State
No. 10 Makai Lemon, WR, USC
No. 9 Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
No. 8 Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
No. 7 Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
No. 6 Rueben Bain Jr., Edge, Miami
No. 5 Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
No. 4 Arvell Reese, Edge, Ohio State
No. 3 David Bailey, Edge, Texas Tech
No. 2 Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
No. 1 Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
View photos from the Giants' suite in Indianapolis, where the team is gathered to evaluate the top draft prospects.
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