Giants’ GM Joe Schoen: A ‘pipe dream’ to land Arvell Reese and Sisi Mauigoa

Giants 2026 Round 1 draft picks Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa with head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen | Tom Horak-Imagn Images “We didn’t mock that one … That was a pipe dream. ” Those were the words of New York Giants GM Joe Schoen and he hugged Head Coach John Harbaugh after the Giants drafted linebacker Arvell Reese and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. “We only did a million of ‘em,” Harbaugh replied, as Schoen added, “That was a pipe dream.

” The exchange, with the two caught up in emotions that were somewhere between “ecstatic” and “disbelief” was captured by the cameras of “Giants Life” in the Giants’ war room . Those cameras brought us new insight into the Giants’ war room on the first night of the 2026 NFL Draft. The moments released by the Giants also give us some tantalizing insights into the Giants’ pre-draft evaluations.

“We got our guy! ” The Giants’ leadership said after the first night of the draft that they got two of the five highest graded players on their draft board. And while there wasn’t outright doubt as to that statement, there was a tendency to take that statement with a grain of salt.

The raw responses to how the first nine picks unfolded, however, back up what the Giants said in that first press conference. The 2026 draft was an unusual one in that there were few “elite” prospects and best players weren’t at premium positions, however the talent pool beyond those few top players was both broad and deep. That made for a very unpredictable first round, starting with the New York Jets at second overall.