The New York Giants got off to an aggressive start in the NFL’s legal tampering period, agreeing to deals with multiple free agents. Once those players are officially signed, they will address several needs that New York had to fix for the team to improve. However, the team’s work is far from done. Not only will the Giants keep adding free agents, they still have a draft to look forward to.
How the draft unfolds ultimately depends on what happens in free agency. While there are still plenty of moves to be made, New York has already agreed to one deal that should influence its first-round pick. ESPN draft analyst Field Yates laid that out in a mini mock draft. Predicting the top-10 picks in 2026, after watching how day one in free agency played out, Yates projected that New York would draft safety Caleb Downs with the fifth-overall pick.
Giants projected to select Caleb Downs in post-free agency mock draft
Downs was already considered one of New York’s top prospects prior to free agency, but so was his Ohio State teammate linebacker Sonny Styles. However, on Monday, the Giants agreed to a three-year deal with veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, and Yates argues that the presence of Edmunds could encourage the Giants to lean in Downs’ direction over Styles.
"A busy start to free agency for the Giants included inking former Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds to a three-year deal. This pick for me ultimately came down to Downs and his college teammate Sonny Styles, but adding Edmunds reduced the need for a linebacker at this spot."Field Yates (ESPN)
Of course, the Giants could still select Styles to pair with Edmunds, and the linebacker will remain high on the team’s board, but it’s understandable that New York could now opt to select the best safety in the draft. That’s especially the case after the Giants agreed to a one-year deal with linebacker Micah McFadden on Tuesday.
Caleb Downs is an elite safety, and some even consider him to be the best overall prospect in 2026. The safety was a day-one starter as a freshman at Alabama for Nick Saban, before transferring to Ohio State, where he led a top defense filled with top-10 prospects. He could now be added to the Giants defense, where he’ll play alongside Tremaine Edmunds, and help New York get things turned around.