The 2023 NFL Draft is fast approaching. Fans of the New York Football Giants have been occupied with quite an entertaining offseason. Between re-signing Daniel Jones, trading for Darren Waller, and all the contract drama with Saquon Barkley (among other things), there’s been plenty to follow.
But for now, the focus will turn to which players they’ll select during the NFL Draft, which will be taking place in Kansas City this year. The Giants currently have 10 selections to make next week, but it’ll be the early-round selections that grab the most immediate headlines. After posting a 9-7-1 record and returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, Big Blue holds the 25th overall pick in the first round.
Naturally, I was wondering about all the players New York has taken with a first-round selection since the NFL Draft became a thing. With that in mind, here are all the players who have been selected in the first round by the Giants.
Giants first-round NFL Draft picks
1930s and 1940s
- 1937: Ed Widseth, OT from Minnesota (fourth overall)
- 1938: George Karamatic, FB from Gonzaga (eighth)
- 1939: Walt Nielsen, FB from Arizona (10th)
- 1940: Grenny Lansdell, HB from USC (10th)
- 1941: George Franck, HB from Minnesota (sixth)
- 1942: Merle Hapes, FB from Mississippi (eighth)
- 1943: Steve Filipowicz, FB from Fordham (sixth)
- 1944: Billy Hillenbrand, HB from Indiana (sixth)
- 1945: Elmer Barbour, BB from Wake Forest (10th)
- 1946: George Connor, OT from Notre Dame (fifth)
- 1947: Vic Schwall, HB from Northwestern (10th)
- 1948: Skippy Minisi, HB from Pennsylvania (second)
- 1949: Paul Page, HB from SMU (fourth
1950s and 1960s
- 1950: Travis Tidwell, QB from Auburn (seventh)
- 1951: Kyle Rote, E from SMU (first) and Jim Spavaital, B from Oklahoma State (13th)
- 1952: Frank Gifford, HB from USC (11th)
- 1953: Bobby Marlow, B from Alabama (eighth)
- 1954: No pick (traded it to the Green Bay Packers)
- 1955: Joe Heap, HB from Notre Dame (eighth)
- 1956: No pick (traded it to the Los Angeles Rams)
- 1957: No pick (also traded it to the Los Angeles Rams)
- 1958: Phil King, HB from Vanderbilt (12th)
- 1959: Lee Grosscup, QB from Utah (10th)
- 1960: Lou Cordileone, DT from Clemson (12th)
- 1961: No pick (traded it to the Baltimore Colts)
- 1962: Jerry Hillebrand, LB from Colorado (13th)
- 1963: No pick (traded it to the St. Louis Cardinals)
- 1964: Joe Don Looney, HB from Oklahoma (12th)
- 1965: Tucker Frederickson, RB from Auburn (first)
- 1966: Francis Peay, OT from Missouri (10th)
- 1967: No pick (traded to the Minnesota Vikings)
- 1968: No pick (traded to the Minnesota Vikings)
- 1969: Fred Dryer, DE from San Diego State (13th)
1970s and 1980s
- 1970: Jim Files, LB from Oklahoma (13th)
- 1971: Rocky Thompson, RB from West Texas A&M (18th)
- 1972: Larry Jacobson, DT from Nebraska (24th) and Eldridge Small, DB from Texas A&M-Kingsville (17th)
- 1973: No pick (traded to the Cleveland Browns)
- 1974: John Hicks, G from Ohio State (third)
- 1975: No pick (traded to the Dallas Cowboys)
- 1976: Troy Archer, DT from Colorado (13th)
- 1977: Gary Jeter, DE from USC (fifth)
- 1978: Gordon King, OT from Stanford (10th)
- 1979: Phil Simms, QB from Morehead State (seventh)
- 1980: Mark Haynes, DB from Colorado (eighth)
- 1981: Lawrence Taylor, LB from North Carolina (second)
- 1982: Butch Woolfolk, RB from Michigan (18th)
- 1983: Terry Kinard, DB from Clemson (10th)
- 1984: Carl Banks, LB from Michigan State (third) and William Roberts, G from Ohio State (27th)
- 1985: George Adams, RB from Kentucky (19th)
- 1986: Eric Dorsey, DE from Notre Dame (19th)
- 1987: Mark Ingram, WR from Michigan State (28th)
- 1988: Eric Moore, G from Indiana (10th)
- 1989: Brian Williams, C from Minnesota (18th)
Giants first-round NFL Draft picks
1990s and 2000s
- 1990: Rodney Hampton, RB from Georgia (24th)
- 1991: Jarrod Bunch, FB from Michigan (27th)
- 1992: Derek Brown, TE from Notre Dame (14th)
- 1993: No pick (forfeited after taking Dave Brown in the Supplemental Draft)
- 1994: Thomas Lewis, WR from Indiana (24th)
- 1995: Tyrone Wheatley, RB from Michigan (17th)
- 1996: Cedric Jones, DE from Oklahoma (fifth)
- 1997: Ike Hilliard, WR from Florida (seventh)
- 1998: Shaun Williams, DB from UCLA (24th)
- 1999: Luke Petitgout, OT from Notre Dame (19th)
- 2000: Ron Dayne, RB from Wisconsin (11th)
- 2001: Will Allen, DB from Syracuse (22nd)
- 2002: Jeremy Shockey, TE from Miami (14th)
- 2003: William Joseph, DT from Miami (25th)
- 2004: Philip Rivers, QB from North Carolina State (fourth)
- 2005: No pick (traded it to the San Diego Chargers)
- 2006: Mathias Kiwanuka, DE from Boston College (32nd)
- 2007: Aaron Ross, DB from Texas (20th)
- 2008: Kenny Phillips, DB from Miami (31st)
- 2009: Hakeem Nicks, WR from North Carolina (29th)
2010s to Present Day
- 2010: Jason Pierre-Paul, DE from South Florida (15th)
- 2011: Prince Amukamara, DB from Nebraska (19th)
- 2012: David Wilson, RB from Virginia Tech (32nd)
- 2013: Justin Pugh, OL from Syracuse (19th)
- 2014: Odell Beckham Jr., WR from LSU (12th)
- 2015: Ereck Flowers, OL from Miami (ninth)
- 2016: Eli Apple, CB from Ohio State (10th)
- 2017: Evan Engram, TE from Mississippi (23rd)
- 2018: Saquon Barkley, RB from Penn State (second)
- 2019: Daniel Jones, QB from Duke (sixth), Dexter Lawrence, DT from Clemson (17th), and Deandre Baker, CB from Georgia (30th)
- 2020: Andrew Thomas, OT from Georgia (fourth)
- 2021: Kadarius Toney, WR from Florida (20th)
- 2022: Kayvon Thibodeaux, EDGE from Oregon (fifth) and Evan Neal, OT from Alabama (seventh)
Who adds their name to this list? We’re getting closer to finding out.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
