They traded three picks, including a fourth-rounder in 2027, to select Malachi Fields 74th overall in the 2026 NFL draft, but the New York Giants already face a “real concern” about the former Notre Dame wide receiver.
Fields became the player the Giants traded into the third round to acquire, when they sent picks 105, 145 and next year’s fourth-rounder to the Cleveland Browns on Friday, April 25, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
It marked the second pick of the night for the Giants. Earlier, Big Blue took Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood, a potential steal, near the top of Round 2.
Fields was the first skill player added to the Giants’ offense following the team selecting powerful offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa with the 10th pick in the first round. They took Mauigoa, despite a potential “red flag,” but the Giants may have overlooked another reason to worry when they sent Fields’ name to the podium.
No sooner had Fields heard his name called, the Giants were being warned about why his “inability to create separation should be a real concern.” That’s according to Josh Norris and Hayden Winks of Underdog NFL Draft, who both cited Fields’ having problems finding space in coverage among other core issues in his game.
Malachi Fields Needs a ‘Better Use Case’
Winks pointed out how “we just didn’t see a whole lot of, like, in-breakers on tape. You just don’t see a bunch of dig routes and stuff, which was interesting because I think that would be a better use case for him because he can slam on the brakes. I would like to see out-routes, in-routes, some slant routes mixed in there. I’m just not sure if he has the crazy enough wiggle to be a true difference-maker in that area, so the lack of separation is really, really hard to overcome.”
Perhaps the Fighting Irish didn’t use these routes because Fields, as Norris put it, “just struggles to separate. I mean, it really is that simple. Class high 37 percent of his targets being contested catches this past year. Nearly converted 48 percent of those.”
The numbers don’t look overly impressive, but Fields still brings a 6-foot-4, 218-pound frame to the Giants’ receiver room. It’s a room that’s been lacking a truly physically imposing target who can high-point the football.
Perhaps that’s why the Giants weren’t worried about the perceived limitations in Fields’ game.
Giants ‘Coveted’ Something New
General manager Joe Schoen wasn’t about to let any underlying worries about Fields deter him from making this pick. Instead, Schoen revealed “Fields was a player the Giants ‘coveted,’ per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
The latter pointed out Fields has “the different body type Giants wanted for their wide receiving corps. Schoen referred to Fields as their power forward. The Giants also thought that Fields was the ‘best receiver down there’ at the Senior Bowl earlier this year.”
That’s no faint praise, but this line of thinking does make some sense. Especially when the depth chart at wideout is populated by two less-than towering newcomers from free agency, 5-foot-11 Darnell Mooney and 5-foot-9 Calvin Austin III.
Even go-to target Malik Nabers stands just 6-foot, so the Giants had room for somebody of Fields’ dimensions. The 22-year-old will join veteran 6-foot-4 tight end Isaiah Likely to give second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart a pair of contested-catch vertical threats.
This double act will need to produce a lot of big plays to justify what the Giants gave up in trade.
Giants Face ‘Real Concern’ After Malachi Fields Draft Trade