Giants' Jordyn Tyson-Carnell Tate No. 5 pick rumor better be a smokescreen

The rumors are flying fast and furious with the 2026 NFL Draft nearly upon us and the New York Giants are the center of many of them.

It's not hard to see why. The Giants sport a pair of top-10 picks and have a slew of needs up and down the roster they could address with those selections.

However, we believe New York should be targeting defense with its No. 5 pick because the most sure prospects in this draft are on that side of the ball and the Giants should be in best-player-available mode with its first first-round pick.

From there, the Giants can swing around at 10 and target any of the top receivers, or whichever defender is the highest on their board.

But could the Giants take a wide receiver with the No. 5 pick instead? A new rumor points to that as a possibility.

Giants' Jordyn Tyson-Carnell Tate rumor

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According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, both Jordyn Tyson and Carnell Tate "are in play" for the Giants with the No. 5 pick.

And, in what is another surprising nugget, the Tate is considered more likely, given the fact he carries less risk. The belief has been that Tyson is this year's No. 1 wide receiver, even with his injury risk.

Here's Breer's full report on the Giants rumor:

The Giants, I’ve heard, are in play to take one of them at No. 5. And, yes, GM Joe Schoen led a New York contingent to Tyson’s pro day last week. The Giants also had Tyson to New Jersey for a 30 visit, and John Harbaugh was at the first ASU pro day (Tyson didn’t work out at that one). But Schoen and Harbaugh were at Tate’s pro day, met with him there, and had him to Jersey for a 30 visit, too. So all the work’s been done on both. Most teams I’ve talked to give Tate the edge, particularly if you’re taking one in the top five, because there’s a lot less risk.

It's not necessarily surprising the Giants are targeting a wide receiver. In fact, we fully expect them to draft one at some point.

After all, the team needs more wide receiver help for Jaxson Dart after Wan'Dale Robinson left in free agency. Since then, the team's only significant addition at wideout has been Darnell Mooney, if you want to call that significant.

We also know there is uncertainty surrounding Malik Nabers' status for Week 1 as he continues to recover from a torn ACL.

Why Tyson or Tate at 5 would be a mistake

We are truly hoping this rumor is just some kind of smokescreen. The No. 5 pick is just too early for the Giants to take Tate or Tyson, and for a few reasons.

While Tyson is considered the best receiver in the draft by many, his injury history remains a concern. Tate is viewed as the WR2 in this class by most experts, but we aren't sure he has the ceiling of a No. 1 wide receiver, which is what you'd expect from a wideout taken in the top five.

Also bear in mind, even with the uncertainty surrounding Nabers' injury, we know he's going to be back at some point and return to his elite form, which means the Giants don't need to spend any of their top-10 picks on a player who is going to play second fiddle to the LSU product.

Putting all that aside for now, the Giants have an opportunity to get one of the very best players in the draft in the top five, with guys like Sonny Styles and/or Caleb Downs almost certainly set to be on the board in that spot.

Furthermore, the Giants can probably get one of Tate or Tyson with the 10th pick, but they are highly unlikely to get a true blue-chipper like Styles or Downs.

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