These 5 under-the-radar NY Giants have breakout potential in 2026

EAST RUTHERFORD - The roster building season for John Harbaugh's first year as head coach of the New York Giants , for all intents and purposes, is over. There can still be changes, of course, and there will be. But the focus now turns to team building season as the Giants continue organized team activity (OTA) practices this week heading into Thursday's third session.

And make no mistake, those players remaining on the roster find themselves within of a group that went 7-27 over the last two seasons, winning just once against NFC East rivals Eagles and Cowboys with four losses in that span while failing to beat the Commanders in four tries. This is a new era, however, and as clean slates go, altering the perspective is a priority. "I could [not] care less about what's happened last year or the year before that or 10 years before that," Harbaugh said during the Giants' Town Hall event on Monday, May 18.

"All I care about is tomorrow's practice, because if tomorrow's practice is the way it's supposed to be, that will be one more step in the direction of being a good enough football team to kick the Cowboys' ass. " From a personnel standpoint, the state of the roster and the anticipated development of players new and old will determine just how close the Giants are to competing in the NFC East, not to mention the chances of challenging for a spot in the playoffs in Harbaugh's debut season. How does a team that many oddsmakers believe will be challenged to win more than seven games defy expectations the way the Giants did for Brian Daboll in his first season as head coach in 2022?

Good players play great. Foundational franchise players wreck games, and in a good way. Rookies and younger players come of age quicker than the masses believe they will.