Giants may have made Jeremiyah Love, Caleb Downs NFL Draft choice

On Wednesday, SNY NFL insider Connor Hughes mentioned that there is a realistic scenario that involves Notre Dame Fighting Irish star running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs falling to the New York Giants at the fifth overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Also on Wednesday, Giants reporter Jordan Raanan of ESPN addressed how head coach John Harbaugh may react if he is able to choose between Love and Downs on Thursday night. 

"Hard to see" Giants making this Jeremiyah Love, Caleb Downs decision?

"It's hard to see Harbaugh passing on Love if he's available at No. 5," Raanan explained. "The bigger question is: Will he be available?"

Specifically, a Wednesday update indicated that the Arizona Cardinals will grab Love at pick No. 3 if they can't trade their top draft choice for additional assets. Some think the Los Angeles Rams or a different team could trade with the Cardinals for the right to draft Love. 

"There are teams and scouts that consider Love the best prospect in the draft," Raanan continued. "He's dynamic, not just as a runner but also with his pass-catching ability. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said Love grades out in the same stratosphere as Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson coming out of college. That's pretty special. [Giants general manager Joe Schoen] said the Giants view him as an 'offensive weapon.' Would they really pass on the best skill position player in this draft? The answer seems to be no."

That said, there's no indication the Giants want Love badly enough to trade up for him if any team is willing to make him a top-four selection. If anything, the Giants may be more likely to move down the draft order than up for any one player. 

Giants' John Harbaugh won't lose sleep about drafting Caleb Downs

"The Giants are especially high on Downs," Raanan shared, "to the point where he's square in the running at No. 5 no matter who is on the board. The buzz around Downs to the Giants has only continued to grow around the league in recent weeks. Executives and coaches seem to think he will be one of their two first-round choices."

Harbaugh also possesses the draft's 10th overall pick after the Giants traded wantaway defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II to the Cincinnati Bengals. 

"Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson are defensive backs at heart," Raanan continued. "They like to build their defense from the back forward. Downs has the versatility and physicality that will allow them to stop the run and disguise their coverages. The hope is that Downs can be the Giants' Ed Reed or Kyle Hamilton."

Reed and Hamilton are two safeties who became vital parts of Harbaugh's defenses when he was head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. If Harbaugh thinks Downs can follow in the footsteps of those two stars, the coach likely will be just fine with landing the product of Ohio State at pick No. 5.