With the draft complete, the Giants.com crew breaks down the 2025 class and what it means for the team's future.

John Schmeelk: The first thing I want to talk about is pick value, where I think the Giants did very well in this draft. I've spoken on our shows about where I had the picks in my original rankings, but let's look at a consensus board evaluation from NFL Mock Draft Database. Using this, offensive lineman Marcus Mbow looks to be the biggest steal, with the Giants selecting him at No. 154 when the average draft analyst predicted he would go No. 65.

As you will see, the Giants picked most of their players either right where they were supposed to be picked or anywhere from a half-round to more than two rounds later than where the consensus thought they should be. This is especially true when you get deeper in the class. From Round 3 onward, each pick was taken at a minimum of 14 spots later than what the consensus said.

The consensus board is not perfect and there's no guarantee of success, but it does provide a good early guide as to whether the team maximized the value of the draft slot. The wisdom of the crowd and market is a real thing. In this year's draft, the Giants appeared to do that.

The last two years, it seems like the Giants' draft process has been strong and yielded positive results. When they make trades, the price is always reasonable, and they are targeting the right players in the correct rounds. Despite uneven results, I don't think the process in the 2022 or 2023 drafts were poor either, given where most of the players in those classes were supposed to be selected and where the Giants picked them.

What made the haul more impressive is that the Giants also checked a lot of their "need" boxes along the way. The Giants wanted to reinforce the trenches and did so with an edge rusher, defensive tackle and guard. They wanted some weapons and playmakers on offense and brought in a running back and tight end.

But the most important box they checked was finding a player they think can be their future franchise quarterback. They traded up for Jaxson Dart to make sure they got him, and only gave up a pick at the very end of the third round in 2025 (pick No. 99) and a third-round pick in 2026 for the right to swap picks 25 and 34. It is a low price to pay in order to bring in a player the team thinks can be a starter at the most important position on the field. If Dart ends up hitting his ceiling, it is the bargain of all bargains.

The reality is that good process is fun to talk about, but it doesn't mean anything if it doesn't turn into victories. All the planning, preparing and the majority of the roster-building for the Giants is now complete. Now it is time to get ready to play football. The players are back in the building and OTAs begin in a few weeks. It will be a challenging year with the toughest schedule in the league according to 2024 opponent winning percentage, but the Giants hope they have improved the roster enough to overcome those obstacles.

Dan Salomone: The unit that stands to benefit the most from Abdul Carter is not the defense. It is the offense.

There is some hyperbole in that statement, of course, but you get the idea. The best offense can be good defense.

It is hard to evaluate the latter when the former has averaged fewer than 16 points per game since their 2022 postseason appearance. The Giants started four different quarterbacks in 2024 and three in 2023, leading many to wonder for months if they would go that route with the No. 3 pick in the draft. Instead, they chose to get after the quarterback.

They reinforced that strategy with taking defensive tackle Darius Alexander. The Giants think the third-round pick from Toledo has a "high ceiling" after he develops in a defensive front that includes Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux (who had his fifth-year option exercised by the team), and now Carter.

"There's a lot of depth," general manager Joe Schoen said. "There's a lot of depth there. I'm excited about the group. Again, we've got to do a better job stopping the run this year, and I think we helped that with some of the depth. If we can get to third down, we've got a lot of options in terms of where guys can line up in terms of versatility. (Defensive lineman) Chauncey (Golston) has got some versatility. Darius has got some versatility. Obviously with Carter, there's some versatile pieces in there that can move around, and that can be difficult for offenses."

In turn, that will make it easier for their offense.

Matt Citak: Upon reflection, there seems to be a clear characteristic that can be used to describe each of the team's picks – toughness. We all witnessed Abdul Carter's toughness during Penn State's College Football Playoff run, where the talented edge rusher battled through injury and was still able to wreak havoc on Notre Dame with a sack and two tackles for loss in the semifinal. Jaxson Dart's toughness was on full display throughout his time at Ole Miss, as well, as the young quarterback had a tendency to take off with the football and absorb a good number of hits, rather than sliding to avoid contact.

Th grit attribute extends to the Giants' picks on Days 2 and 3. Here are quotes from over the weekend.

Third-round pick Darius Alexander: "I love taking my opponents will and just watching them go to the sideline…"

Fourth-round pick Cam Skattebo: "Physicality is definitely contagious. If someone gets ran over, it hypes the other guys up and it gets them going. I'm going to continue to bring that and hopefully it feeds off on to my teammates."

Fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow: "Putting people on the ground, winning reps, demoralizing people. It's always fun. It's definitely part of the reason I love the game."

Seventh-round pick Thomas Fidone II: "Very physical. I'm a physical player, also a very competitive player."

The Giants went into the 2025 NFL Draft looking for players with a certain level of edge and swagger. This draft class represents a focus on bringing in players with some nastiness to them, and let me be clear, I mean that in the best way possible. But don't take it from me. Here is what head coach Brian Daboll had to say following the conclusion of the draft.

"Toughness all the way through the draft was something that we have talked about, both mental and physical," Daboll said Saturday night.

The current roster looks improved on paper, but we won't know that for sure until the regular season actually begins. But one thing I can say with some certainty right now is that the 2025 Giants are forming a new identity, and it revolves around being a tough, physical team.