NY Giants 2026 NFL Draft: Linebacker options on all 3 days of the draft

The New York Giants released Bobby Okereke and signed Tremaine Edmunds to a three-year contract worth $36-million with $23.7-million in guarantees. Joe Schoen and company also resigned Micah McFadden, giving the Giants — at least — two competent starting options if New York opts to not select a linebacker. However, this draft is LOADED at the linebacker position, and the Giants are linked to some at the top of the draft.

Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles is constantly mocked to the New York Giants; we will start there, but we should not rule out fellow Buckeye, Arvell Reese, who was included as an edge defender in this article. Here are linebacker options for the Giants for each day of the draft.

Day 1

Sonny Styles, Ohio State

Styles is the most common name currently mocked to the New York Giants, and that’s for good reason. The 21-year old is a prototype athlete with insanely impressive movement skills and testing numbers.

But his athletic traits do translate to the football field; that, combined with his processing, give him elite play speed. He’s only played linebacker for two years after switching positions from safety, and he helped the Buckeyes win a National Championship in his first year starting as a linebacker for Matt Patricia (defensive coordinator) and James Laurinaitis (LB coach).

Styles recorded 43 STOPs in 2024 and 47 in the following season. He finished his college career with 111 STOPs and 39 pressures and he SIGNIFICANTLY improved his missed tackle rate from his first to second season starting at LB: He missed 18.4% of his tackles in 2024 (19 missed tackles) and he missed just 2.2% in 2025 (two tackles).

Styles has an elite size + athletic profile and his best football has yet to be played, but that doesn’t mean he is purely a projection. Yes, Styles has only played two seasons at linebacker and is new to the position, but he won a National Championship as a linebacker and wore the Green Dot in a complex Matt Patricia coached defense. He is a very smart and talented young man with elite physical tools.

Styles’ progression from 2024 to 2025 as a linebacker was evident, and his tackling mechanics highlighted this, as did his ability to quickly process and fit the run, while shedding and maintaining his gap-responsibility at beyond a competent level. Not only is Styles physical in the box, but his sideline-to-sideline range allowed him to be excellent in pursuit from the backside. He is a dangerous read defender and does an excellent job diagnosing plays around the line of scrimmage.

Styles ceiling is in the clouds and his baseline athletic traits suggest he has a high floor as well. New York needs defensive playmakers, and Sonny Styles would provide that for them if the Giants select him in the first round.

Day 2

Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech

A physical NOSE for the football. Jacob Rodriguez is a great athlete who is also newer to the linebacker position. He made the transition from the offensive side of the ball and know uses that knowledge to thrive as a cerebrally gifted missile that is a tackling machine. Rodriguez recorded an insane 70 STOPs in 2025 — he was consistently around the line of scrimmage.

With combined tackles included, Rodriguez recorded 317 total tackles in his college career — most coming in the last two seasons. He had 127 in 2024 and 128 in 2025, with a total of 21.5 tackels for a loss over those two seasons. He missed 20 tackles, which was just a 13.9% missed tackle rate in 2025. He doesn’t have ideal measurable, but his testing was solid:

The 11th percentile arm length hinders his tackle radius, and he’s not an ideal coverage player, but he sifts through traffic well, is prompt with his decision making, and has elite comprehension of the game, all while producing (tackles) like an industrial aged assembly line. If the Giants want to upgrade their linebacking corps, and they forgo Styles in Round 1, the 23-year-old would be an excellent pick at 37 and would have a Cam Skattebo type of effect on the fanbase and team.

Anthony Hill Jr., Texas

Hill Jr. was a productive, fast, and physical Longhorns defender who should be an option for the Giants in the second round. He recorded 113 tackles and 16.5 tackles for a loss, with eight sacks, and four forced fumbles in 2024. His 2025: He had 69 tackles, seven for a loss, with four sacks, and three forced fumbles in 2025. The 21-year old had solid testing and is built well:

Hill Jr. added 58 career pressures and 13 sacks. What I appreciate about Hill Jr. the most is his versatility. He can attack downhill with brute physicality as a linebacker should, but is also fluid in coverage. He is a three-down linebacker with very good instincts with everything he does; he’s an asset when blitzing, too. Anthony Hill Jr. is a controlled mover who fixed his high 2024 missed tackle rate (15.3%) in 2025 by only missing three tackles (4.5%). He would look good in Giants blue.

Jake Golday, Cincinnati

Golday was used all across the second level of the Bearcats’ defense. He recorded 105 tackles and six tackles for a loss, with 3.5 sacks and 43 STOPs in 2025. He had 110 STOPs across his five seasons in college — two which were played at Cincinnati, and the other three were at Central Arkansas. He also maintained a low 10.5% missed tackle rate with 61 total pressures and impressive Pro Football Focus Grades. Golday was on Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks” and here’s his testing from the combine:

Golday was a hybrid LB/Slot in his two seasons with the Bearcats. He played a total of 965 Box snaps, 522 slot snaps with 585 snaps at edge and on the defensive line (312 were in 2022 and 117 were in 2025). Golday will be in attendance at the 2025 East-West Shrine Game.

Jake Golday has an excellent blend of size and athletic ability with the great acceleration and range to get outside the numbers and make tackles in pursuit. He’s a sure-tackler with solid fundamentals, which allowed him to miss just 10.5% of his college tackles. He uses his hands well and operates in the box to execute his assignment, while possessing blitzing upside in sub-packages.

While he is very athletic, and he can match in man coverage, his zone awareness was marginal and must improve. Golday’s overall play strength is solid, but his anchor against pulling offensive lineman was poor; he too frequently found himself on the ground; with better technique and approach, he could limit this vulnerability, but it is a concern.

Golday’s reactive quickness was sub-par as well, which put him behind the eight-ball with other critical aspects of playing linebacker. Overall, Jake Golday has plenty of special teams upside and excellent athletic traits to earn a role on a defense in the right environment, but his strength in certain contexts and awareness in zone coverage needs to improve for him to earn defensive snaps. Still, his size and AA will likely earn him a role

Day 3

Keyshaun Elliott, Arizona State

Elliott is a former two-star recruit who managed to be a very productive college football player at New Mexico State and then Arizona State. He had 301 total tackles, 28.5 for a loss, 11.5 sacks, and 128 STOPs, with a 19.1% missed tackle rate, which mostly came during his last season at New Mexico State (2023). Elliott was one of just two FBS players with 90+ tackles, 14+ tackles for a loss and 7 sacks, which earned him a 2025 All Big-12 Second Team Defense honor. He had just 15 pressures in 2025 but turned them into 7 sacks. Elliott tested well in the explosive drills at the 2026 NFL Combine:

Keyshaun Elliott is a tackling machine with excellent vision and reactive quickness in the tackle box. He displays a very good ability to avoid clean contact in the hole and to execute his run assignment – he’s impressive as a run defender and he’s physical with excellent play strength. Elliott is smart with a long tackle radius, and the necessary pop on contact to halt rushers, while also possessing upside as a blitzing asset.

The issue with Elliott is his overall athletic ability. He doesn’t have sideline-to-sideline range and, while sufficient as an athlete against the run, he’s susceptible in coverage against athletic backs and tight ends, which could lead to exploitation at the next level. His testing will be important, but he’s a very good run defender who has an NFL future.

Harold Perkins Jr., LSU

The former five-star recruit started his college career off hot, earning himself a Freshman All-American honor. He also concluded his collegiate career with a productive season that featured 27 STOPs, 19 pressures, 56 total tackles, eight tackles for a loss, and four sacks, along with three passes defensed. He had 72 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks during his freshman season and then 75 tackles, 13 TFLS, and 5.5 sacks in 2023 before he tore his ACL in 2024.

Perkins Jr. did not test at the combine, but he came in a fourth percentile weight (223 pounds), with just 31 3/8” arms (23rd percentile) and a 31st percentile (6’1) height. He also has very small hands, for what that is worth — 81/8” (0 percentile). Still, the 21-year-old isn’t the most physical player, and is a bit undersized, but he has produced at the highest level of college football and appeared healthy in 2025, post-injury. He could be a flier option with excellent pedigree on day three.

Scooby Williams, Texas A&M

Williams spent three years at Florida and transferred to Texas A&M after the 2023 season. Williams hurt his ankle after securing an interception against Notre Dame in 2025. He didn’t start a game after the injury and only played 52 total snaps, while missing Weeks 4-6 and Weeks 10-15. Williams has tweener size for a linebacker and both Florida and Texas A&M would align him on the edge in certain packages.

He had a high missed tackle rate through college, missing 19.7% of his tackle attempts, but he did finish with 66 STOPs and 31 pressures. He did finish his college career with 132 tackles, 15.5 TFLs and one sack, with three forced fumbles and two interceptions. The 6-2, 231-pound linebacker with 32-inch arms could be a special teams and depth option for the Giants with one of their last picks.

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