The New York Giants select Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the No. 5 overall pick in Ryan Wilson’s 2026 mock draft 7.0 for CBS Sports.
Downs is widely regarded as the top safety in the 2026 NFL draft class. The Georgia native earned consensus first-team All-American honors in 2025. Last season at Ohio State, he recorded two interceptions, two passes defended, one sack, and two forced fumbles.
The Giants have starting safeties Tyler Nubin and Jevon Holland under contract for the upcoming season. However, New York risks losing safety Dane Belton in free agency. Praised for his intangibles, Downs is seen as a reliable, high-upside safety worth investing in on draft day.
Here’s what Wilson had to say about his projected pick:
In a quirky draft where one, maybe two QBs go in Round 1, and the board is littered with really good football players, we could see an off-ball linebacker and a safety go in the top five. History says that’s crazy talk, but both Styles and Downs will immediately make their football teams better.
The Giants have invested heavily in their secondary through the draft and free agency over the past four years. They selected cornerback Cor’Dale Flott (pending free agent) in 2022. General manager Joe Schoen added safety Tyler Nubin and cornerback Andru Phillips in 2024. In 2025, New York signed cornerback Paulson Adebo to a three-year, $54 million deal.
Downs has the potential to become another key addition to the Giants’ secondary in this year’s draft.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants select game-changing defender in latest CBS Sports mock draft
Reporting by Matt Legros, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
