Jaxson Dart took 53 sacks last season behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league. The Giants hold the fifth pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The math isn’t complicated.
With Greg Van Roten unsigned, Jon Runyan Jr. entering the final year of his deal, and John Michael Schmitz Jr. yet to justify his draft pedigree, the offensive line is the franchise’s most urgent long-term project. Three prospects stand above the rest.
1. Spencer Fano | OT | Utah
Fano is the safest offensive lineman in this class. A unanimous All-American and Outland Trophy winner in 2025, he allowed just four sacks across his entire college career. At the 2026 Combine, he posted the top overall score among all tackles, finishing first in the three-cone and second in the forty.
The one legitimate knock is arm length. At 32⅛ inches, he falls below the 33-inch standard most teams prefer at the position. Real concern, not a disqualifying one. In a Greg Roman offense built on zone-blocking and lateral movement, Fano’s hip fluidity and ability to reach, pull, and climb make him a near-perfect schematic fit.
He gives Dart a dependable blindside anchor from day one. In a class short on certainties, that matters.
2. Francis Mauigoa | OT/G | Miami
Where Fano wins with technique, Mauigoa wins with force. The five-star from American Samoa is the most physically dominant lineman in this class. Same size, same island bloodlines, same blend of raw power and functional athleticism as Penei Sewell. He allowed zero sacks across four College Football Playoff games as Miami reached the National Championship. In 42 career starts, he was never a liability.
The central question is positional. Mauigoa played right tackle at Miami, but a credible faction of evaluators believe his long-term home is inside at guard. That debate matters enormously at No. 5. A tackle projection justifies the pick; a guard projection might not. He also skipped the Combine, leaving teams without the athletic testing that could have settled the argument.
For a Giants team that wants to impose its will up front, Mauigoa is the most tantalizing option in this group. The risk is real. So is the ceiling.
3. Vega Ioane | LG | Penn State
His parents didn’t know he was playing football until he kept missing dinner sophomore year of high school. By 2025, he was a unanimous All-American and the consensus top guard in this class, allowing zero sacks and just four pressures across 613 pass-blocking snaps. There is a reasonable argument he is the best offensive lineman in the draft, period.
Strong interior rushers simply do not move him. He bends his knees, drops his hips, and absorbs contact with a leverage and balance that most guards spend years developing. Scheme-versatile, high football IQ, plug-and-play ready.
The complication is purely about value. Guards do not go fifth overall. The smarter play is a trade down: move back ten spots, stay in the first round, and land the most polished lineman in the draft while banking extra capital. If Schoen can make that deal, Ioane becomes an easy choice.
The Bottom Line
Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles has the best odds to be selected with the No. 5 pick, according to the odds.
But that doesn’t mean that the Giants aren’t considering all of their options at No. 5.
Fano, Mauigoa, and Ioane are all consensus first-round talents and the decision could come down to what the Giants decide to prioritize on the offensive line. Fano plays a premium position, Mauigoa has the most upside, and Ioane has the tape and traits to be a cleanest fit on the roster.
Dart is still just 22 years old. He needs a line built around him now, not in two years. The prospects are there. On April 23rd in Pittsburgh, the Giants have the chance to set the foundation for the next decade of the Joh Harbaugh era.
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