B
New York Giants
The Giants robbed the room for Rodriguez. Final grade: B.
by isle ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. Jacob Rodriguez at pick 74 is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
They will answer for taking linebacker early while edge rusher, quarterback and other spots went begging. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The Trevor Penning pickup adds a known quantity to a class of unknowns.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 22 they get a three-down second-level presence, outstanding value to boot. Need was not the driver here.
Brandon Cisse in the 37th pick is fair value, right on his grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They jumped the gun on Gennings Dunker, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Lee Hunter in pick 55. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending the 74th overall pick on Jacob Rodriguez with edge rusher, quarterback and other spots unsolved.
Bryce Lance at the Round 4 slot is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They read the board right and Brenen Thompson was the payoff at pick No. 109. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They liked Kaleb Proctor enough to skip the value, taking him in Round 4, Pick 23. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Isaiah World in Round 5, Pick 5 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A straight-up fair deal on Matt Gulbin at the Round 6 slot, value and slot in agreement. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
DJ Campbell at pick No. 192 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
VJ Payne in No. 193 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.