Last year, the New York Giants made a splash with their moves ahead of and during the NFL draft, and it appears they are headed toward an encore of sorts. The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday, April 23 from Pittsburgh and the Giants are already one of the leaders in draft headlines.
For starters, they are participants in the biggest pre-draft trade to date. Over the weekend, they sent defensive end Dexter Lawrence, a three-time All Pro, to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for the No. 10 overall pick in the draft.
Coincidentally, this is one of the rare NFL trades in which there seems to be a legitimate split among football analysts and observers as to which side got the better part of the deal. The Giants parted with a key member of their formidable defensive front but also freed up some salary cap space by eliminating the decision of whether to sign the 28-year-old Lawrence, who had just .5 sacks and four tackles for loss last season, to the lucrative extension he sought.
For the Bengals, the move suggests at least an ample attempt to address a woeful defense that ranked in the bottom three in most major categories last year, including having the league’s worst rushing defense (141.7 ypg). This unit lost its arguably best player when veteran edge rusher Trey Hendrickson signed with the AFC North rivals Baltimore Ravens, so at a minimum this trade fills a massive need with a proven player. Moreover, many NFL analysts believe this draft is top-heavy on the defensive side and the Bengals likely got a better solution for their defense in Lawerence than they would have if they had selected a defender in the No. 10 draft slot.
The trade generated little movement in the NFL Super Bowl future odds, aside from a slight uptick of optimism on the Bengals side. For example, FanDuel opened them with Super Bowl odds of +2800 and had already dropped them to +2600 based on early action before this trade was announced. They are now offered at +2500, while the Giants maintained their pre-trade Super Bowl future odds of +5000.
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However, coming off what was widely viewed as a successful draft last season, the Giants, under first-year coach John Harbaugh, are positioned to make important selections at No. 5 and No. 10 overall in this year’s draft. Last year, they traded up to grab former Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart in the first round and appear to have a hit on a franchise signal-caller. Dart saw action in 14 games and finished with 2,272 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. The dual-threat quarterback also rushed for 487 yards and nine touchdowns.
Versatile running back Cam Skattebo appeared to be one of the steals of the draft as a fourth-round pick before the Arizona State product suffered a season-ending injury midway through the season. He still managed 410 rushing yards and five TDs to go along with 207 receiving yards and two scores in eight games played. Third overall pick Abdul Carter provided modest production relative to expectations, but the former Penn State star still posted 25 solo tackles, four sacks and seven tackles for loss in 17 games.
With this year’s pair of first round picks, the Giants are reportedly interested in adding defensive muscle and picking up a valuable playmaker on offense. With that, we are going to make a couple of recommended plays with the NFL draft odds to see if we can hit a New York Giants exacta at draft slots No. 5 and 10 and perhaps cash a juicy ticket. Here’s who we are targeting.
Caleb Downs, Ohio State S (+400 at pick No. 5): Downs reminds some analysts of Kyle Hamilton, the free safety/rover who was the quarterback of Harbaugh’s Baltimore defensive units. Downs has the natural instincts, ball skills and leadership qualities to evolve into that Hamilton-type role, and reports have surfaced that the Giants have their eyes on Downs with just that potential ceiling in mind. At DraftKings, Downs is offered at +400 to go to the Giants at No. 5 overall, and +500 to go anywhere in the top five. We love the value on both but especially the former as we believe there’s an excellent chance the Giants grab the former Ohio State star to anchor the first defense of the Harbaugh era.
Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State WR (+400 at pick No. 10): The Giants also reportedly are interested in grabbing a receiver to add depth and complement star Malik Nabers, who has appeared in 17 games over his first two seasons because of injuries. Tyson is viewed as perhaps the draft’s most polished and versatile receiver, with the ability to win on all levels. He has steep DraftKings odds of -370 to go anywhere in the top 10, but he’s +400 to hear his name called by the Giants at No. 10. We believe the Downs/Tyson sequence is in play, but hitting just one of these two bets will yield a nice profit.
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