The New York Giants will likely be picking top 10 again in the 2026 NFL Draft. At 2-10, the Giants are the first team in the league officially eliminated from playoff contention, and are barreling toward a high draft pick.
Among the many weaknesses that have plagued the team this season, their run defense might be chief among them. The Giants have surrendered 5.9 yards per carry this season, the worst mark by a team defense in league history.
With their top draft pick, the G-Men could take another defensive lineman early, as they have twice since 2022, finally fortifying a unit that is in desperate need of run-stopping prowess on the interior.
Giants could draft star Clemson DT Peter Woods in the 2026 NFL Draft
Among the top defensive prospects in the upcoming draft class is Clemson’s Peter Woods. The 310-pound, 20-year-old defensive tackle currently ranks 10th among all prospects on Jordan Reid of ESPN’s Big Board.
“Woods entered the season as my top-ranked player, and even though Clemson hasn’t had the season it envisioned, Woods continues to flash in a major way,” Reid wrote in his scouting profile of Woods. “He is an explosive penetrator who causes frequent disruption at the first level in defending the run and rushing the passer. He has two sacks this season after notching three as a sophomore in 2024.”
Woods has been a dominant run-stopper for Clemson over the last three seasons, but he has also developed into an impressive pass-rusher. He has totaled 12.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks over the last two seasons.
Woods would help fortify the Giants’ defensive line
This season, the Giants’ interior defensive line has been exposed as a massive weakness. The unit is headlined by former second-team All-Pro Dexter Lawrence, but alongside him has been a subpar and largely ineffective rotation of Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DJ Davidson, Roy Robertson-Harris, and the developing third-round rookie Darius Alexander, among others.
Lawrence is the only consistently disruptive starter on the interior defensive line, and even his efficiency has taken a hit this season.
The Giants have invested tons of resources on the edge, though. They spent a fifth-overall pick on Kayvon Thibodeaux in 2022, traded a second-round pick and some change for Brian Burns in 2024, and drafted Abdul Carter third overall in 2025.
However, despite this allocation of resources into the edges of the defensive line, the interior is still a weakness that needs to be addressed.
Woods could address that weakness and turn that unit into a strength. He’s an NFL-ready prospect with the potential to be a serious difference maker against both the run and the pass.
The Giants will likely be picking high enough to take Woods and could pair the Clemson defensive tackle with Lawrence, a fellow Clemson alum. The duo would be a lot for offensive lines to handle.