EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants’ first draft with John Harbaugh as the head coach had a very John Harbaugh feel:
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They drafted a physical player in linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5 overall. He is 20 years old, ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot-4, 241 pounds and describes his own play as “violent.”
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They grabbed a massive 6-5, 329-pound road-grading offensive lineman in Francis Mauigoa with their second pick, No. 10 overall.
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The cornerback they selected early in Round 2 at No. 37, Colton Hood, Harbaugh called a “pit bull” because of the way he plays and competes.
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Third-round pick Malachi Fields is a big-bodied pass catcher at 6-4, 223 pounds, who general manager Joe Schoen said can be their “power forward” in the wide receiver room. Fields said he takes pride in his blocking, and it’s one of his strengths.
It’s a draft haul that reeks of Harbaugh’s influence. And that doesn’t even account for the three sixth-round selections who followed the same trend — a massive nose tackle in Bobby Jamison-Travis, another physical offensive lineman in J.C. Davis and Jack Kelly, who Scout’s Inc. called “a thickly built linebacker.”
It was the latest step in the reshaping of the roster for Harbaugh this offseason with big and physical players.
“Definitely a priority,” he said after the 2026 draft. “It’s important.”
Harbaugh said New York added a bunch of players this offseason who are giants, both literally and figuratively. Which is necessary for a team that wants to run power concepts on offense and impose their will on defense. Not the other way around.
They aren’t done yet either with the additions.
They signed veteran DL Shelby Harris on Thursday and plan to sign another veteran defensive lineman in the coming weeks with the idea of fortifying the front. The focus has been on 330-pound DJ Reader, who spent the past two seasons with the Detroit Lions, but Schoen said after the draft, there may even be a few more visits for some unsigned veterans.
“Certainly on our radar,” he said.
It’s not abnormal for a new coach and regime to want guys who fit their mold. And that is what has happened with the Giants so far this offseason. They’ve brought in players who fit what Harbaugh wants to do on the field. It’s a process that will likely even take another full offseason to complete.
But the process continued in this year’s draft. The Giants ran what Harbaugh said, hyperbolically, were a million mock drafts in the leadup to the first round, and none produced Reese at the No. 5 pick and Mauigoa at No. 10. It was a pleasant surprise given that the Giants would have taken Mauigoa with the fifth pick if Reese had been off the board.
The thought is that adding Reese won’t just be an asset as a pass rusher. He will begin as an inside, weakside linebacker, which should help their run defense with his rare skill and physicality.
Mauigoa, meanwhile, will slide inside to right guard where the Giants didn’t have a clear-cut starter last season. He played tackle in college at Miami and will be an immediate force as a run blocker.
The Giants raved afterward about landing two of the top five players on their board. Reese was New York’s top-ranked nonquarterback in this year’s draft.
“We want guys that fit how we want to play, and some of these guys, they really fit how we want to play,” Harbaugh said. “The fact that they’re bigger players, longer, heavy-handed type guys is important, because especially in this division, you’ve got to play that way. Your interior offensive line has to be physical. Look at the defensive tackles in this league. Right down the road especially.”
Harbaugh’s talking specifically about the reigning NFC East champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, who have 650 pounds of interior defensive linemen with Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis in the middle. Clearly he’s building a team with them in mind.
Schoen has been Harbaugh’s trusty sidekick throughout the process since the Giants hired Harbaugh in January. But it hasn’t stopped there from being talk around the league about whether Schoen would remain. He is in the final year of his current contract.
But Harbaugh has been complimentary, at least publicly.
“Joe and I have been working together every single day, I mean, hours on end, whether it’s planning or organizing or just talking about players or watching tape again over and over again on these guys,” Harbaugh said. “I feel like it’s gone very well.”
With Harbaugh having more say in personnel than Giants coaches of the past, they finally seem to have an identity. The draft was the latest step in putting the pieces in place for Harbaugh and his newly installed staff.
“On the surface right now, I feel great about it. I don’t feel we could have done any better,” he said. “I think we made the most of the draft, made the most of the resources we had. I’m really happy with the way it went.
I hope Joe feels the same.”
