It's still unbelievable to me that the New York Giants were able to land Colton Hood in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Hood was undoubtedly a first-round talent, so he was quickly labeled as one of the steals of this draft, a reputation he's quickly lived up since making his way to New York.
Of the Giants' 2026 rookie class, Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa have gotten all of the shine, but the 21-year-old has forced his way into the conversations the fanbase has had since he took the field during rookie minicamp and OTAs--and it wouldn't be remotely surprising if he was a Day 1 starter.
In Giants.com's John Schmeelk takeaways from Tuesday's session of OTA's he pinpointed the young cornerback as one of the standouts. Hood reportedly forced multiple incompletions and Schmeelk praised him for his ability to play with leverage and limit the space of the receivers he was covering.
"Colton Hood played strong coverage on his side of the field with a pair of forced incompletions," Schmeelk wrote. "He is excellent at playing with leverage to limit the wide receiver's space near the sideline. He had a leaping deflection of a pass inside the red zone to prevent a completion and the entire defense cheered when he broke out his signature hoodie celebration."
Colton Hood looks poised to become a star after Day 2 of Giants' OTAs
Schmeelk even noted that the entire defense cheered when he broke out his signature hoodie celebration after a pass deflection in the red zone. The defense already looks to be rallying around him, and drafting him allowed John Harbaugh to stabilize a cornerback room that is pretty bleak.
Right now, Hood's main competition for the CB2 job isn't anyone all that threatening. Greg Newsome is best suited for a depth role, Deonte Banks is almost certainly a lost cause, and Dru Phillips is the nickel corner, so it sounds like his job to lose. And frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually supplants Paulson Adebo as New York's top cornerback.
The former Tennessee Volunteer isn't the biggest cornerback, but he has solid speed, and good ball skills and physicality, which were put on full display throughout OTAs. And we're two days in. If the hype is like this now, just wait until we get to training camp or see him in action during the preseason.
Big Blue's pass coverage has been a major sore spot, but with Dennard Wilson coming in at defensive coordinator, the Giants are ushering in a new era on defense. When they won the Super Bowl in 2011, they had Prince Amukamara, Corey Webster, and Aaron Ross, and Harbaugh is trying to use Hood to turn back the clock and ignite the spark for a dying secondary.
He's garnering rave reviews this quickly, so if he's able to keep on this pace, I wouldn't be surprised if we look back on this draft in a few years and Colton Hood is one of the biggest impact players taken. Hopefully his strong start to his time of a Giant isn't a mirage and instead is a sign of what's to come.
Add us as a preferred source on Google