Sunday’s 34-10 Giants win over the tanking Las Vegas Raiders likely cost them the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But the bigger news coming out of the Giants’ first win in 10 games was the revelation of who will be running New York’s draft in April.
Joe Schoen, the fourth-year GM with a 6-27 record since the start of 2024, apparently has the inside track on returning for a fifth season.
An NFL Network pregame report indicated that Schoen is “likely to remain with [the] team for [the] draft.” And league sources confirmed to the Daily News that Schoen is conducting himself as if he is coming back, preparing to interview head coaching candidates and continuing to spearhead the organization’s scouting process.
That is jarring news for Giants fans to hear on top of the other loss they suffered Sunday: the likely loss of the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft.
The Giants still have a 20% chance to get the No. 1 pick, but they need to lose to the Dallas Cowboys next week and have the Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs, per ESPN Analytics. The Raiders now have an 80% chance to land that No. 1 overall selection due to Sunday’s loss to New York.
Winning against the Raiders was important for a lot of people inside the Giants’ building, including Mike Kafka (1-5), who got his first win as interim head coach.
The team snapped a franchise record 13-game road losing streak, avoided tying last year’s franchise record 10-game losing skid and dodged the first winless Giants road season since 1976 (0-7).
But the Giants (3-13) could have put themselves in line to hold the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft if they had lost to the Raiders (2-14), who represented their only real competition for the pick after the Cleveland Browns’ early win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17.
In fact, NFL Network reported that the Giants would consider drafting Heisman Trophy winning Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza over rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart if they landed that pick.
“Expect them to evaluate all options,” the report said, “including looking into Fernando Mendoza, before they make a decision of how they are going to proceed, if they have this pick.”
That is a fascinating window into how Schoen, who traded up to draft Dart in the first round last April, may be thinking entering his fifth draft.
Owning a high draft pick seemingly will be a great opportunity for the Giants to trade down and acquire significant assets to rebuild a barren roster — if not land a single premier player at another position of need.
The Giants leaking that they may be waffling on Dart, though, put significant pressure on their starting quarterback entering Sunday’s game. So it was only fair that Kafka incorporate more running into the game plan to let Dart do what he does best.
Sure enough, Dart responded with a big bounce back from his 33-yard passing performance in Week 16 against Minnesota.
He carried the ball seven times for 48 yards and two touchdowns, threw for 207 yards and didn’t turn the ball over. He took some solid hits but bounced up when he did.
Corner Deonte Banks, of all people, sealed the Giants likely losing the No. 1 overall pick with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Linebacker Bobby Okereke and safety Dane Belton both intercepted Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, the former Giant. And running back Devin Singletary scored on an early 1-yard TD run.
The Raiders helped the Giants’ cause, though, by overtly tanking the game before they kicked the ball off.
Las Vegas shut down its two best players, edge rusher Maxx Crosby and tight end Brock Bowers, with knee injuries during the week. Crosby was furious, left the facility and posted a video of him shooting jump shots on a basketball court Sunday morning.
Vegas is expected to fire head coach Pete Carroll, and owner Mark Davis and minority owner Tom Brady apparently were angling for a new franchise quarterback and a way to rebuild their horrible roster.
It could cost them their best player if Crosby escalates his displeasure to a trade demand.
The Giants were playing without some key players of their own, too.
They placed left tackle Andrew Thomas (hamstring), center John Michael Schmitz (finger), safety Tyler Nubin (neck) and defensive lineman D.J. Davidson (neck/concussion) on season-ending injured reserve on Saturday. And corner Cor’Dale Flott (knee), tight end Theo Johnson (illness) and defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches (ankle/toe) all sat out Sunday’s game, as well.
Kafka got the players to play hard in a win, however, with only their Week 18 season finale at MetLife Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys remaining before another pivotal offseason.
So again the attention turns to Schoen and the direction of this rudderless organization.
Schoen has a 4-24 record (.142) in the Giants’ last 28 games, a 6-27 record (.181) in the last 33 games, a 5-18-1 record (.208) against NFC East opponents, a 2-14-0 record (.125) against the Eagles and Cowboys and a 21-45-1 overall record (.313) in four regular seasons.
And yet, based on how Sunday unfolded — with a national news leak that crafted a new narrative to shape the future in Schoen’s favor — it sounds like 2026 will be more of the same at the top of this franchise:
Schoen, sources indicate, seems like he will remain in a position of power — which promises to keep the Giants in the No. 1 overall pick conversation in future years to come.
