What should the Giants do with the No. 5 pick?

The New York Giants and John Harbaugh will have the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after finishing 4-13 in 2025. They will have a wide variety of options, and getting it right will be one of the first crucial tasks of the Harbaugh era. Picking the right guy could set you up to compete foir the playoffs every year, while picking the wrong guy could set you back.

It’s clear that the offensive line needs to be addressed if the Giants truly want to take that next step forward. That makes Miami OT Francis Mauigoa a strong possibility for the Giants. However, he could be taken before pick No. 5 or Harbaugh may go a different direction as far as tuning up the offensive line.

The next option is to draft a wide receiver, and many mock drafts have the Giants selecting Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate. If they do this it would provide depth to the WR room, which they need since Malik Nabers is coming off an ACL injury and Wan’Dale Robinson is hitting free agency. Drafting a receiver like Tate would open up the playbook a lot more and would assist in maximizing Jaxson Dart.

A third option would be to trade back. The thinking here would be to add some extra assets by moving the No. 5 pick. For a roster that lacks depth at multiple positions, this would allow the Giants to address more needs by acquiring a few extra selections.

Drafting a defensive player at pick No. 5 seems unlikely and would arguably be a mistake. The defense isn’t the main concern for this team, offense is. However if they believe they could get a blue chip defensive player at No. 5 then it is possible they take the risk. Players who could tempt the Giants into such a course of action would most likely be Arvell Reese, Rueben Bain Jr., Jermod McCoy, Mansoor Delane or Caleb Downs.

The Giants have multiple directions they could go with this No. 5 pick and it will be one of the first huge decisions for the new era of the Giants with Harbaugh.