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New York Giants select Francis Mauigoa in 1st round of 2026 NFL Draft

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax04/24/26BarkleyTruax

The New York Giants have selected former Miami OT Francis Mauigoa in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Mauigoa was considered one of the top overall offensive lineman during this cycle heading into draft night.

He enters the NFL having started the last 42 games of his college career at Miami. That’s including all 16 this past season en route to a national championship game appearance.

Mauigoa finished the 2025 season playing 826 total offensive snaps. He allowed just two sacks and 10 pressures across 440 pass block snaps. Mauigoa played 814 snaps at right tackle across 16 games for the Hurricanes.

Before college, Mauigoa was a Five-Star-Plus+ recruit according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 12 overall recruit and No. 2 overall in the 2023 class — and has lived up to that billing as he sets to embark on his NFL journey.

What NFL analysts are saying about Francis Mauigoa

Now that Mauigoa is in the NFL, fans should get a closer look at what they could expect out of their newest OT. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein provided in-depth analysis on the former Miami standout.

“Highly touted prospect who met expectations as a durable three-year starter at right tackle,” Zierlein wrote. “Mauigoa has a guard’s broad build, but he moves like a tackle in pass sets. He’s highly experienced with an impressive football IQ that pops on tape. He has good contact balance and a strong core. He delivers firm first contact but excessive leaning diminishes not only his leverage and sustain as a run blocker but also his ability to deal with spin counters when protecting. He’s good at trapping rushers at the turn and can smother their momentum. He has the footwork, anchor and punch timing to diversify his pass-set approach. He works with an innate feel for pocket depth and is rarely out-paced to the top by speed.

“Mauigoa has a high ceiling but the leaning must be eradicated. He’ll be an early starter at right tackle but a move to guard could be on the table in the future.”