Regret doesn’t always show up right away. Sometimes it creeps in one snap at a time, and for the Giants, that feeling is starting to settle in around one of their 2026 first-round choices.
New York is still chasing a fix for an offensive line that has been a problem for what feels like forever. Different coaches have tried, different players have been plugged in, and yet the same headache keeps coming back.
This season was supposed to be the reset. Instead, six weeks in, the questions are already piling up.
The Giants traded Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in the 2026 Draft, then used it on Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa. At 21, Mauigoa was supposed to bring some power and edge to the front, even if the plan meant moving him inside from tackle to right guard. So far, that move has not looked clean.
That becomes even harder to ignore because the Ravens drafted Penn State guard Vega Ioane just four picks later, and he has been everything New York hoped Mauigoa would be.
Ioane, 22, has a 69.6 overall Pro Football Focus grade, which ranks 21st among 76 qualified guards. His 73.2 run-blocking grade is 17th, and Baltimore has even had to shift him to center after injuries scrambled its plan.
Mauigoa’s start has gone the opposite direction. He owns a 46.1 overall grade, 75th out of 77 guards. His 49.7 run-blocking mark ranks 69th, his 39.1 pass-blocking grade is 70th, and he has already allowed 13 pressures and four quarterback hits.
That’s the part that makes the Giants’ approach look shaky. Mauigoa started 42 games at right tackle for Miami, and New York knew it was drafting him with a position change in mind. Meanwhile, the best guard in the class was still on the board.
Ioane spent his entire college career at guard, and over his last two seasons at Penn State he did not allow a sack. He’s now showing up as a force in Baltimore’s run game, and his 83.1 zone-blocking grade is the highest recorded by a rookie offensive lineman since 2014.
The fit matters even more because the Giants needed help inside. They are averaging only 3.8 yards per carry, and the interior of the line has been a major reason why. Jon Runyan Jr., who signed a two-year, $22 million extension this offseason, has struggled badly at left guard, and John Michael Schmitz has already been replaced at center by Bryan Hudson.
That said, Mauigoa is still 21 and still learning a new spot against bigger, stronger, faster defensive tackles. It’s way too early to bury him, especially this deep into a young career.
Andrew Thomas had his own rough rookie season six years ago, and that story still hangs over any rush to judgment. If the struggles keep going, then the louder comparisons can come later.
Not now.
But the Giants’ decision can still take heat.
They moved their best player and defensive cornerstone for the 10th pick, then used it on a tackle they intended to convert. Four picks later, Baltimore took a true guard who already looks like one of the more promising young interior linemen in football.
Maybe Mauigoa turns into the player the Giants believe he can be. Maybe this whole thing looks different later on. For now, though, the early returns make the choice look unnecessarily complicated when a cleaner answer was sitting right there.
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McCarthys presence adds a different layer to a decision the Giants cant take lightly, because this next stretch carries real weight. Winston offers the familiarity of having already been in the role, while McCarthy brings the possibility of a different ceiling and a running game that could benefit from his skill set, which is why the choice is being watched so closely inside the building. [Read more 🡒]
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For a team that always needs usable depth up front, that matters. Davis strong showing in Week 6 only added to the sense that New York may have uncovered a valuable draft steal, one it can already trust in spots along the line. The bigger question now is how much more the Giants can ask him to handle if the need becomes more than occasional. [Read more 🡒]