The Giants had two chances to land All-American defenders, but instead, the Cowboys grabbed one of them after New York went another path.
FRISCO, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys will travel to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Giants in Week 1 of the 2026 season, and coming with them is a painful reminder for their NFC East rivals of what could have been in the NFL Draft.
The Giants landed elite edge rusher prospect Arvell Reese with the No. 5 pick - a position lower than many had for him. A few picks later, at No. 10, New York could have taken do-everything safety Caleb Downs, also an All-American from Ohio State.
Instead, the selection was offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa from Miami. Dallas made sure to grab the potentially generational defensive cornerstone Downs immediately after, trading up from No. 12 to 11 to make it happen.
We've seen the reaction of Giants wideout Malik Nabers shaking his head at his new reality, and soon, fans of the G-Men might also be wondering what could have been.
Of course, Mauigoa could still turn into an All-Pro caliber player as he competed with Spencer Fano for being rated the best lineman prospect in the draft.
But as poor as the Giants' defense has been in recent history, and how scouts so obviously have labeled Downs a player capable of shouldering a turnaround, now fans are stuck scratching their heads.
However, ESPN's Dan Graziano explained the insight into why Downs wasn't the Giants' pick at No. 10 overall.
"Well, they felt they'd made their defensive pick at No. 5 when Reese was still there," Graziano said about the Giants. He mentioned how Downs might have been the choice if Reese had gone No. 2 to the Jets, No. 3 to the Cardinals, or No. 4 to the Titans.
"But," the insider added, "what became clear to me after the draft in talking to people around that situation is that the Giants were determined to use one of their two top-10 picks on an offensive player in an effort to support second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart."
Offensive help, as Graziano alludes to, could have been skill-position players like Jeremiyah Love, Jordyn Tyson, or Carnell Tate, but they were each chosen ahead of the Giants' pick, so Mauigoa it was.
And for Dart, as daring a running quarterback as there is in the game today, the investment in his health is still a worthy draft strategy. The former Ole Miss Rebel showed flashes of immense talent and figures to be the Giants' Week 1 starter against Dallas as he officially takes over the organization.
Last season, the Cowboys faced Dart just once, a regular-season finale loss. In Week 2, Russell Wilson was the starter and nearly pulled out an overtime win on the road in Arlington.
"They're far from the only team that operated this way," Graziano adds about the Giants' draft. "Tennessee and New Orleans - both of whom are building around promising second-year quarterbacks - drafted Tate and Tyson, respectively, with their first-round picks. Teams try to maximize young quarterbacks' chances to succeed whenever they can, and picking Mauigoa over a second defensive standout was the Giants' way of doing that."
For the Cowboys, the same can be said for their woeful defense, now led by new coordinator and experienced secondary coach Christian Parker.
Dallas can be thankful for New York's balanced strategy that it landed an early Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate in Caleb Downs.
