Steve Tisch is trolling the NFL. And/or the NFL is trolling the rest of us.
Tisch, who recently transferred his ownership interest in the Giants to a trust for his children, was in the Giants’ draft room last night. And he was back tonight.
Front and center, for the perfunctory group applause following the making of a pick.
Tisch appeared in the latest batch of Epstein files, through emails sent to and from disgraced (and deceased) sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The language was pervy and creepy, and reporting from multiple outlets raised fair questions as to whether Tisch was trading “help” for unrelated favors through dates arranged by Epstein. The league, by all appearances, did not investigate Tisch.
The league has circled the wagons and/or buried its head in the sand. Last month, Commissioner Roger Goodell pointed out that Tisch is no longer an owner when justifying the decision not to scrutinize him.
If the fact that he’s not an owner has helped insulate him from scrutiny, he should scram. Vamoose. Get lost.
He hasn’t; beyond being in the draft room, he’s still reportedly the chairman of the board. And there’s no indication the league will make him clear out for good.
It’s no surprise. Because even though the league insists that owners are held to a higher standard than players, the NFL has proven repeatedly that the bar for the billionaires is far lower.
Giants Clips
Cornerback Colton Hood was one of two players in attendance for the first round of the draft who did not get picked, but he didn’t have to wait long to hear his name called in the second round.
The Giants selected Hood with the 37th overall pick. Hood did not return to the draft for the second round, but defensive tackle Kayden McDonald did and went to the Texans one pick before Hood came off the board.
Hood played at Auburn and Colorado before landing at Tennessee for the 2025 season. He had 50 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and an interception return for a touchdown for the Volunteers.
The Giants picked up linebacker Arvell Reese and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa in the first round. They do not have any more picks on Friday, but have five picks on the final day.
The Giants are . . . or are not trading Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Less than 24 hours after a report that the Giants don’t intend to trade the defensive end, Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report reports that the team is engaging in trade conversations about Thibodeaux. The Saints are among the teams showing strong interest, per Schultz.
Speculation about a deal involving Thibodeaux only increased after the Giants selected Arvell Reese with the fifth overall pick on Thursday night.
The Giants also have Brian Burns and 2025 first-rounder Abdul Carter at edge rusher.
Thibodeaux finished with two sacks last season, playing only 10 games due to a shoulder injury. It was the third time in his four NFL seasons that he has missed time with an injury.
Thibodeaux, 25, has 23.5 sacks in four seasons, including 11.5 in 2023.
The Giants picked up the 10th pick in the draft by trading defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals last weekend and they used that pick to bolster the other side of the ball.
Offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa was the team’s choice and they made that call despite Mauigoa having a disc issue in his back that required him to return to Indianapolis for a second medical check this month. Word was that doctors found Mauigoa does not need immediate surgery and General Manager Joe Schoen confirmed that Mauigoa is “good right now.”
Schoen also noted that the team’s new trainer Adam Bennett worked with Mauigoa at Miami and that relationship helped pave the way for Thursday’s pick.
“We’re comfortable with it,” Schoen said, via a transcript from the team. “We’re fortunate that the former trainer from the University of Miami is now one of our trainers. So we have somebody that’s been with him for his entire time at Miami, and lived with him through the process. It was an injury that occurred in the Texas A & M game, and we were certainly comfortable with it.”
Schoen said that the team plans to start Mauigoa at guard with Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor at tackle. Mauigoa said he’s ready to fit in anywhere the Giants want him to play and all involved will be hoping for a long, healthy run in any spot up front.
The months leading into the draft feature countless mock drafts that set expectations about where players will wind up once the actual event gets underway, but every year provides reminders that the real thing takes twists few people see coming.
On Thursday night, one of those twists involved Arvell Reese. He was seen as a possible choice at No. 2, but wound up being on the board for the Giants at No. 5 and their General Manager Joe Schoen said in a press conference that “there weren’t a lot of scenarios that we went through where they were going to be available” because he was the top non-quarterback on their board.
Reese will now have to find his role in the Giants’ defense. He mostly played off-ball linebacker at Ohio State, but showed ability as an edge rusher and Reese said after the draft that most teams he spoke to saw him filling that role. The Giants plan to play him as an inside linebacker with designs on moving him and other defensive pieces around as they see fit.
“They told me how they would use me. From that I just say I’m going to be used in a unique way. I’m a weapon. That’s how it’s supposed to be,” Reese said, via a transcript from the team.
Giants head coach John Harbaugh confirmed that the Giants don’t intend to trade Kayvon Thibodeaux, who is part of an edge rushing group with Brian Burns and Abdul Carter. Reese said it “sounds like a great situation playing alongside those guys” and the Giants hope the payoff is a major jump in the standings during Harbaugh’s first season with the team.
The Giants got their defensive player at pick No. 5, taking Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese. They got their offensive player at No. 10.
The Giants selected University of Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa.
It marks the third time in six years the Giants have had two first-round picks.
The Giants re-signed veteran right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who is coming off the best year of his career with a single-season best 1,088 offensive snaps. The Giants could move Mauigoa to guard, where they have a bigger need.
Greg Van Roten, who started at right guard the past two seasons, remains a free agent. Left guard Jon Runyan Jr. is in the final year of his contract.
Mauigoa will start somewhere in 2026, and he had a message for quarterback Jaxson Dart.
“I am ready to die for you,” Mauigoa said after donning a Giants cap.
The Giants made Arvell Reese the fifth overall pick in the draft on Thursday night, but the addition of another edge rusher reportedly hasn’t changed their view of trading Kayvon Thibodeaux.
A report this week indicated that the Giants were unlikely to deal the 2022 first-round pick and Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that they don’t intend to move him despite adding Reese to a group that also includes Brian Burns and 2025 first-rounder Abdul Carter.
Giants head coach John Harbaugh said he looks forward to seeing Thibodeaux in the defense, but added that everybody’s tradable when asked about chatter concerning the edge rusher.
That means that the door is probably still open for someone to change the Giants’ minds about moving on from Thibodeaux and we’ll see if anything develops over the coming days and weeks.
The Giants have two picks in the top 10 of tonight’s NFL draft.
When their turn came to select No. 5, the Giants had their choice of a trio of Ohio State players. They selected linebacker Arvell Reese, taking him over his teammates, safety Caleb Downs and linebacker Sonny Styles.
The Giants have received trade interest regarding edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, and the selection of Reese makes that a possibility. Thibodeaux was the fifth overall pick in 2022, and the Giants selected edge rusher Abdul Carter third in 2025.
Their defense should be even better than it was in 2025 with the addition of Reese, who totaled 69 tackles, 10 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss last season, his third at Ohio State.
He was a consensus All-American and Big Ten linebacker of the year.
All of the talk about the Jets’ plans for the second overall pick heading into the draft centered on whether they would take David Bailey or Arvell Reese to bolster their defense.
The answer to their edge rusher question finally came on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. The Jets made Bailey their choice shortly after the Raiders made it official with Fernando Mendoza.
Bailey led the nation with 14.5 sacks for Texas Tech during the 2025 season and the Jets’ level of interest in him became a talking point over the last week because the team canceled a visit with him during the pre-draft process. They had other interactions over the last few months, however, and Jets General Manager Darren Mougey obviously saw enough to make Bailey the man.
The Jets also have the No. 16 pick, so they’ll be heard from again on Thursday night.
At long last, we’ll find out where the 2026 NFL draftees are headed, starting tomorrow night with the first round.
One player who likely won’t have to wait very long to hear his name called is running back Jeremiyah Love.
Considered by some to be the best player in this year’s class, Love appears certain to be a top-10 pick, and could even go within the top five.
Where will he go? He’s not sure, but he’s aware of the candidates.
“I have no idea where I’m going, but there’s a lot of talk of me going to the Titans, Cardinals, Giants,” Love said Wednesday, via Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com. “Honestly, I’d be blessed to go anywhere.
“Whatever team I go to, I’mma make them better.”
Love, who turns 21 at the end of May, rushed for 1,372 yards with 18 touchdowns and caught 27 passes for 280 yards with three TDs in 12 games for Notre Dame in 2025.
