This New York Giants insider has revealed some polarizing information that will probably divide the fanbase.
The New York Giants are a mystery heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. What will they do at No. 5? Will they take Sonny Styles? Will they nab Caleb Downs? Is Jeremiyah Love really an option? Or will the Giants trade down?
We will find out later this month. For now, all we can do is speculate, but Ian O'Connor of The Athletic is starting to put the pieces together.
O'Connor hearkened back to some quotes from Giants head coach John Harbaugh at the annual league meeting to make his prediction for what New York will do with its top draft choice, and he thinks Styles will be the pick.
"For the 5th pick I'm still putting my $20 on Sonny Styles over Caleb Downs to the Giants," O'Connor posted on X.
O'Connor then quoted Harbaugh.
"If they run the ball for four, five yards, that is the end of the world. That's a disaster," Harbaugh said. "If it breaks out past that, we can't even breathe. ... We want the run stopped."
The Giants had one of the worst run defenses in football last season, and they signed linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in free agency to help address it. Would they really draft another linebacker in Styles?
Sonny Styles. Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images."Harbaugh wants a big, physical, all-weather defense that mirrors the championship Giants teams of the past," O'Connor continued in his X post. "Styles is 5 inches taller & 40 pounds heavier than the safety, Downs. He's going to look awfully good walking off that bus and then staring across the line at the QB."
Well, to be fair, New York's most recent championship teams in 2007-08 and 2011-12 relied more on a dominant pass rush rather than rugged linebackers, so I'm not sure the comparison is entirely apt.
But there is no question that both of those Giants defenses were very physical.
As good of a player as Styles is, though, does it really make sense to take an off-ball linebacker with a top-five pick?
Whether people want to admit or not, positional value matters, which is why moving down from No. 5 and taking a cornerback or a defensive tackle (or possibly even a guard) a bit later in the first round actually makes the most sense for New York.
Of course, that's easier said than done, and it's entirely possible that the Giants might just have to stay at 5 and make a pick.
But would Harbaugh completely forego the idea of trading down just to take Styles? If he does, he might be making a big mistake.
Some Big Blue fans seem to be salivating over the idea of adding Styles to the front seven, but others feel that taking a linebacker that high in the draft would be unwise.
I guess we'll just have to see what happens on April 23.
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