The NFL draft is a gamble. Every year, teams spin the wheel hoping to land a future All-Pro, only to succeed, or walk away with a backup depth piece or a guy who’s out of the league after a couple of seasons. That’s why re-drafts are always fun—they let fans dream about what could’ve been if front offices had hindsight in their war room toolkits.
Pro Football Focus recently jumped into the time machine and took a swing at redoing the 2006 NFL Draft. With the benefit of nearly two decades of data and hindsight, they slotted safety Donte Whitner to the New York Giants at pick No. 25—a pick New York had traded away to Pittsburgh before ultimately selecting edge rusher Mathias Kiwanuka at 32 in real universe life.
So, how does swapping a punishing safety for a Super Bowl-winning edge rusher stack up?
Mathias Kiwanuka helped build a championship defense for the Giants
Let’s start with this: Donte Whitner was a good NFL player. He was a three-time Pro Bowler, delivered highlight-reel hits, and helped anchor a top-tier 49ers defense in the early 2010s. But here’s the thing—he wasn’t what the Giants needed in 2006. And more importantly, he wasn’t Mathias Kiwanuka.
PFF’s argument boils down to this: Whitner had the better individual career. But that’s a narrow lens for a franchise that was building one of the best defensive fronts in football history. Kiwanuka wasn’t just a solid pick—he was the perfect fit for a defense loaded with guys like Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora.
He was tough. He was smart. He was versatile. And he played whatever role the team needed—defensive end, strongside linebacker, even rotational pass rusher when called upon. His 38.5 career sacks are still top 10 in franchise history, and his contributions during the 2007 and 2011 Super Bowl runs speak louder than any individual accolade or stat sheet would suggest.
Whitner might’ve made more noise individually. Kiwanuka helped win two rings.
Re-drafts always lean toward individual awards, and that’s fair in a vacuum. But this franchise doesn’t hang banners for Pro Bowls. It hangs them for Super Bowls. And Kiwanuka’s fingerprints are all over two of them.
Whitner was a good player. But if the Giants were running it back with what they know now? They’d take Kiwanuka again... even if they stayed at No. 25. And they’d do it with a Lombardi Trophy in each hand. You don’t mess with what worked. The G-Men got it right the first time.