If there’s any silver lining to starting the 2025 season 1-3, the New York Giants might have finally found their next franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart. The 22-year-old rookie only has one start under his belt, but stealing a 21-18 victory over the previously undefeated Los Angeles Chargers will raise some eyebrows.
Along with Dart, there is talent scattered throughout the roster — you just have to look hard enough. One area that was addressed heavily during the offseason was the secondary. It’s an area that needed upgrades and, quite honestly, still might — especially at safety.
Tyler Nubin hasn’t been able to build off an impressive rookie season, and the G-Men’s three-year, $45 million investment in Jevón Holland looks worse by the week. That leaves the door wide open for an upgrade. Enter Ohio State’s Caleb Downs, who Blake Brockermeyer mocked to Big Blue in his latest article for CBS Sports.
Giants draft Caleb Downs to address secondary concerns in 2026 mock draft
Typically, safeties aren’t selected in the top five of the draft, but Downs could be the exception. His selection would align with Joe Schoen’s best-player-available approach — the one that’s been working for the past two drafts.
Brockermeyer sees the Giants falling in love with his versatility and selecting him fourth overall, writing:
"Not a sexy pick this early, but Downs is the safest player in the draft and a Day 1 starter. He's a high IQ player who is a leader and an alpha and will be a future multi-year Pro Bowler."Blake Brockermeyer
Listen, Brockermeyer hit the nail on the head — this pick isn’t sexy. But that’s kind of the point. At the end of the day, talent is talent. This team can’t afford to pass on it simply because there’s another position of need they could fill. Teams that draft for need tend to regret doing exactly that in due time.
The 20-year-old struggles with forcing turnovers and man-to-man coverage, but his versatility, IQ, physicality, and playmaking abilities will help New York win games immediately.
Unfortunately, Holland’s addition hasn’t helped the team as much as it had hoped for. The 25-year-old is getting burned in coverage and plays more like an undersized linebacker than anything else. There’s some concern that Downs is just a better version of the fifth-year pro (they're both 6-foot-1 and weigh around 205 pounds), but an upgrade is an upgrade.
Selecting Downs fourth overall would mean two things: one, fans should expect another brutal season. And two, Schoen already regrets handing Holland $45 million.
Fans certainly haven’t forgotten that this team let Julian Love and Xavier McKinney walk for more money, only to see both become two of the league’s better safeties elsewhere. At some point, this organization needs to keep talent in-house rather than let it walk and overspend in free agency trying to replace it. Downs could be the reset this safety room needs.