The 2025 NFL season is supposed to be the bounce-back campaign for general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. After going 9-25 over the past two years and making back-to-back top-10 picks, the New York Giants finally put together an offseason with real purpose—and some teeth.
They revamped the secondary with Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland. They bolstered the defensive front with Chauncey Golston and No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter. They added some serious late-round value in Cam Skattebo and Marcus Mbow. But most importantly, they overhauled the quarterback room, bringing in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and traded back into Round 1 for Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart.
The vibes? Good. The roster? Better. Giants fans have real reason to be optimistic. But apparently, one ESPN Draft analyst didn’t get the memo.
ESPN has Giants selecting Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor in 2026 mock draft
In his way-too-early 2026 NFL mock, ESPN’s Jordan Reid has the G-Men taking Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor with the second overall pick. The logic behind the player is sound:
"Proctor is a massive prospect at 6-foot-7 and 360 pounds. He's a mauler in the run game, and if he gets hands on rushers cleanly, he can quickly neutralize them. The pop in his hands and overall strength are his best traits, but he must become more consistent in pass protection. The 19-year-old has the potential to be a top-five pick. The Giants do have Andrew Thomas at left tackle, but their offensive line remains a work in progress."
And Reid’s not wrong about the need. Even with Andrew Thomas locked in on the left side, the rest of the offensive line is still a work in progress. So yeah, drafting a tackle like Proctor would make sense on paper. But that’s not really the problem here.
The problem is that Reid has the Giants picking second overall. Again. As in, the second-worst team in the league. After a full-on roster overhaul, back-to-back A-level drafts, and what might be the deepest quarterback room they’ve had in the past five years, ESPN is still penciling Big Blue in as basement dwellers?
That’s a tough place to land, especially after everything that’s changed. Even after all the offseason transformation and improvements, the G-Men don’t have too many people in their corner for the upcoming season.
There are still holes to be filled for sure, but it feels like Reid is ignoring a lot of good here. It’s kind of wild to think there’s only one team perceived to be worse than the Giants right now. That's a brutal reality check.
Regardless, mock drafts in May are mostly speculative and inaccurate. But Reid’s projection doesn’t feel projection-based—it feels like muscle memory. The Giants have been bad for a while, so people are just assuming they’ll keep being bad. That’s fine. But if this team does somehow lose another 14 games in 2025, the story won’t be about Kadyn Proctor walking through the door. It’ll be about a whole new front office walking in with him.