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Giants select star offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa with No. 10 pick in 2026 NFL Draft
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- Giants select star offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa with No. 10 pick in 2026 NFL Draft
Giants draft OL
It is not standard operating procedure to select a player in the top 10 in an NFL draft and immediately put in motion a position change with him.
That is what the Giants are doing with Francis Mauigoa.
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It sounds like he is unbothered by this.
“It don’t matter, man,’’ Mauigoa said Thursday night. “I’m a resource. Whatever they need me at, I’ll do it.”
This new resource now has as his job description to keep quarterback Jaxson Dart upright and protected in the pocket.
The Giants picked Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. AP
“I’m ready to die for you, man,’’ Mauigoa said shortly after getting selected, responding to what message he wanted to convey to Dart.
Put this in the category of the Giants not anticipating that they would be able to get Mauigoa at No. 10, considering they had him ranked as the fifth-best prospect in this entire draft.
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At 6-foot-5 and 329 pounds, Mauigoa was a three-year starter for the Hurricanes, starting 42 consecutive games at right tackle. The Giants have a veteran at that spot, Jermaine Eluemunor , who was re-signed before he hit free agency to a three-year, $39 million contract. He is not going anywhere. The Giants are set at left tackle with Andrew Thomas . This means Mauigoa is moving to guard, a spot he played only 10 snaps while in college. Many NFL scouts believed Mauigoa’s best position in the NFL would be at guard.
It just so happens a starting spot at right guard is open. Mauigoa now becomes the favorite to earn that spot. Mauigoa was the second offensive lineman to come off the board. Spencer Fano went one pick in front of the Giants, going to the Browns at No. 9. The Giants had Mauigoa rated higher.
It was revealed that Mauigoa has a herniated disc in his back but the Giants clearly gave him a clean bill of health.
“We were comfortable with it,’’ said Schoen, noting that the Giants have a new head trainer (Adam Bennett) who was the head athletic trainer at Miami and completely familiar with Mauigoa’s physical condition.
Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. Getty Images
“They were saying I’m good,’’ Mauigoa said. “They did all the testing and stuff, and they didn’t find anything, so it’s just an image at that point but I wasn’t really paying attention. I was just ready to play ball.”
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Mauigoa’s older brother, Kiko, is a linebacker taken by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2025 draft.
The Giants gained the No. 10 pick in the trade that sent nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals.
“A win for everybody,’’ coach John Harbaugh said. “We wanted Dexter to be happy but we wanted the Giants to be taken care of first, that was our responsibility. To get the 10th pick in the draft and see it played out, it’s pretty clear cut it’s a ‘W’ for us. Not that it wouldn’t have been a ‘W’ to keep Dexter, it sure would have been, but that didn’t turn out to be possible, it wasn’t something he was really prioritizing, and that’s OK. The Bengals got a great player.” and so everybody’s a winner in this one.’’
