Picking fifth in the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Giants may not have to move around to get their guy. Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs look to be the frontrunners to be the pick, but knowing how John Harbaugh operates, don't put it past them to go with the best player available in Jeremiyah Love.
Of those three, Love is the least likely to drop down to five, so if the Giants really want him, they might have to trade up. The Tennessee Titans are rumored to be interested in the Doak Walker Award winner with the fourth overall pick, and their offense needs to surround Cam Ward with playmakers.
So this led ESPN's Miike Tannenbaum to pitch a scenario on Get Up where New York trades up to secure Love. He floated an idea where they trade up to the third overall pick with the Arizona Cardinals in order to leapfrog the Titans for the man deemed the best offensive player in this draft.
""Jeremiyah Love might be the best player in this draft. He's explosive with the ball in his hands, he's an impeccable pass-blocker. He catches balls... If I'm the New York Giants and I'm John Harbaugh, do I actually think about trading up above the Tennessee Titans at 4?""
Tannenbaum noted that this would be the first time a team traded up in the first round for a running back since the 2015 NFL Draft, when the then-San Diego Chargers did so for Melvin Gordon. But unfortunately for him, this idea is ridiculous and has virtually no chance of coming to fruition, especially given the state of the Giants' RB room.
The New York Giants are not drafting Jeremiyah Love, let alone trading up for him
Unless the Giants are genuinely terrified that Brian Daboll will dash their draft plans, this isn't a move you make. And even if Love is off the board, I don't think anyone in East Rutherford should complain about adding Styles or Downs to a talented defense.
We've seen Joe Schoen trade up a few picks to secure his guy before, like when he moved up one spot in 2023 to draft Deonte Banks, but Harbaugh doesn't hold the same strategy. The Ravens haven't traded out of their original first-rounder with Harbs since 2018, when they traded down twice.
There's a reason that this streak has persisted for so long. Teams tend to trade up for more valuable positions like QB (which the Giants did last draft), receiver, or edge rusher, so even though RBs are starting to increase in importance, it is not premium enough of a position to warrant trading up for.
Because of the Jaxson Dart trade, the Giants only have two top-100 picks in this draft, so even if they wanted to move up, they may not have the draft capital it takes to warrant moving up inside the top five for Love, so they're better suited staying at five and hoping he falls into their lap.