There was no doubt the Giants viewed cornerback as a position of need on their roster. 

They did not address that need in the first round of the NFL Draft — there was no real opportunity to do so — but they did not wait long to get to it. They selected Colton Hood from Tennessee Friday night with their second round pick, No. 37 overall. 

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“It’s amazing how one addition changes the math in the room,’’ coach John Harbaugh said. “The cornerback room was good and now it’s really good.’’ 

The Giants went into this draft without a third-round pick, dealing it away last year in the trade up for quarterback Jaxson Dart. They made a move Friday night to gain a third rounder and get Dart some help. 

To get up to No. 74 overall, the Giants sent their fourth-round pick (No. 105), their fifth-round pick (No. 154) and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Browns to get in position to select wide receiver Malachi Fields. 

“Certainly a different body type than we currently have,’’ general manager Joe Schoen said. 

Indeed, Fields is 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds and is a big target for Dart. 

“We felt for us maybe a second-round value,’’ coach John Harbaugh said. “We wanted this player and we got him,’’ 

As for Harbaugh’s good-to-really-good assessment of the Giants cornerback room, that is not a widely-held belief outside the building, as the depth chart was not exactly teeming with proven talent at the cornerback position. The leader is Paulson Adebo, a free agent pickup in 2025, who did not have a strong debut season with the Giants. They lost Cor’Dale Flott in free agency and signed Greg Newsome III, a former first-round pick of the Browns, to a one-year contract and Dru Phillips returns after a tepid season as a slot corner. There is also Deonte Banks, the 2023 first-round pick, who is clinging to a roster spot as a draft bust. 

“I don’t care what the perception is,’’ Harbaugh said. “I see a good room, but I want a great room, I want a dominant room, I want a bunch of pitbulls out there flying around, making plays on the football.’’ 

Harbaugh said this of Banks: “He hasn’t played that great, he’ll tell you that. Is he capable of playing a lot better? I think he is. Imagine if he takes a step. Is Paulson capable of playing better than he did last year? I’d say so, so let’s go.’’ 

Hood played at three different schools in the past three years — Auburn, Colorado and Tennessee. At 5-foot-11 and 193 pounds, he has good size and good speed (4.44 in the 40-yard dash). He is best-suited playing up at the line as a press corner. Hood thought he would be taken earlier and attended the first round Thursday night in Pittsburgh. He returned home to Atlanta to hear that the Giants made him their pick. 

There were two cornerbacks taken before Hood: Mansoor Delane and Chris Johnson, both in the first round.There will be an avenue to immediate playing time for Hood. 

“This is a corner with traits and ball skills, plus he’s a high character guy,’’ Harbaugh said. “He’s going to light a fire in that room. They better be ready to complete.’’ 

It felt as if the Giants were sitting pretty, needing a defensive tackle after trading away Dexter Lawrence, with Kayden McDonald from Ohio State on the board. 

Right before the Giants were on the clock, though, the Texans made a deal with the Raiders, trading up to No. 36, to take McDonald, no doubt sensing the Giants’ interest. 

That turned out to be a miss-read by the Texans. The Giants were not targeting McDonald. Hood was their highest-rated player going into the second round. 

“We had targeted Colton Hood as a guy, a corner is a premium position and a player we really liked,’’ general manager Joe Schoen said. “There were some good players taken in front of us, certainly.’’