The New York Giants had a disastrous 2025 season that saw everything go completely wrong. They lost their rookie running back to a gruesome ankle injury, lost their star wide receiver to an ACL injury, and have lost their head coach and defensive coordinator. It’s also likely that the front office could see a shakeup during the long offseason, with Joe Schoen close to being ousted.

There have been a few silver linings during this season, however. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart is proving doubters wrong with his versatile play, Brian Burns is the new captain of the defense, Cor’Dale Flott is playing good secondary, and the offensive line is as sturdy as it’s been in years. For all the ups and downs this team has, it has the foundations of a stellar team in due time.

With the season ending next month, now is a good time to take inventory of what the Giants have, what they need, and how they can get it in the offseason.

Today’s Hottest Take: New York Must Trade Down In Round One

Last week, it was a matter of possibly trading down in the first round. This week, it's no longer a matter of "should we" but rather "who can we get?"

As of Dec. 8, the Giants hold possession of the first overall pick if the season ended today. There are still a lot of factors at play where they could lose that spot, including a sudden winning streak to end the year or if the Tennessee Titans or Las Vegas Raiders play worse than them. They are not in control of their own destiny yet when it comes to the draft order, but they are in a good spot to get a high pick.

If they end up with the first overall pick, their best bet might be to trade down with a quarterback-needy team. The New York Jets might be an option, so would the New Orleans Saints, and maybe the Arizona Cardinals if they want to move on from Kyler Murray. Some other teams exist, but they would be further down the draft board.

The Giants need more than one player to try and help them in 2026, so they can get a king’s ransom if they do secure the first overall pick this year. A first-round pick this year and then one next year is obviously the goal, but they can tag on second- and third-rounders if they want to get greedy. They can turn these into secondary players or perhaps a wideout later in the draft to supplement Nabers and give a new weapon to Dart.

Either way, the worse the Giants play, the more value they could get in the 2026 draft.

What You Should Know: The Giants Have No Depth In Wide Receiver, Secondary

The Giants' wide receiver corps has been stretched completely thin this year with the loss of Nabers. Wan’Dale Robinson has been good, but outside of that, Dart doesn’t really have any weapons. Darius Slayton’s mainly been missing in action, and Jalin Hyatt hasn’t lived up to his potential.

Despite all of this, the team is essentially at the league average when it comes to passing yards and passing yards per play. Their sack rate is high, but it's also not the highest in the league, bringing on a great "what if" question if Nabers wasn't hurt this year, or Dart started in the first game of the season.

There’s also been no secret that the team’s secondary has been one of the worst in the NFL this year. Thanks to Shane Bowen’s mismanagement in play-calling and a lack of talent outside of Flott, there’s been nothing to show against deep-ball plays. Holland Adebo also hasn't been the answer the Giants wanted this year. While some mock drafts suggest the team could go for a wide receiver, most agree that defense is a priority.

Two players immediately come to mind for the Giants to look at: wide reciever Jordyn Tyson and safety Caleb Downs.

Tyson is the standout receiver in a rather lackluster receiver corps this draft cycle. Tyson has only one 1,000-yard season under his belt at ASU, but he's still an explosive receiver off the line. He'd fit perfectly as a WR2 with Nabers as WR1 and give Dart a secondary option he can rely on.

Downs, on the other hand, has the makings of a day-one impact player in their secondary. The Big Ten defensive player of the year shut down wideouts with only 23 receptions for 136 yards and zero touchdowns. That’s not including two deflected passes and two interceptions on top of one sack. A shutdown safety is what the Giants need, and they have to get.

Before You Go: Don’t Rule Out Player Trades

To net picks and free up some salary cap, there could be some trades made by the Giants during the offseason. Deonte Banks, Darius Slayton, Jameis Winston and other small-role players could be on the block for picks. This team needs to rebuild into something more cohesive.

The Giants do not have a third-round pick, which was used to trade with the Houston Texans for the rights to select Dart last year. They do, however, have three sixth-round picks they could use to trade up in another round or sweeten a prospective deal. Expect Schoen or whoever is at the helm to deal at least two of these picks for either players or higher-round selections.

Banks could slide into a roster elsewhere nicely, and Darius Slayton’s experience can help a younger quarterback in another city. They will likely move if the front office's marching orders call for it.