The Giants agreed to terms with wide receiver Darnell Mooney over the weekend and made their third safety signing in the past week with the Miami Dolphins’ Elijah Campbell.
Mooney, 28, throws two established receiver free agent signings into the mix on this roster along with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Calvin Austin II.
That’s on top of incumbents Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton, the re-signed Isaiah Hodgins, Jalin Hyatt, punt returner Gunner Olszewski and a host of others competing on the roster fringe.
Assuming the Giants plan to draft another receiver in April, that promises to push some players out of the rotation and even off the team.
Signing both Mooney and Austin, though, also could be related to Nabers’ availability. The Giants’ top receiver is recovering from a torn ACL and torn meniscus in his right knee.
The Giants have postured positively about Nabers’ timeline, but it would be a surprise if he didn’t miss time. And when he does come back, who is to say Nabers will be anywhere close to his true self until late in the 2026 or early 2027 season?
John Harbaugh’s team has to be prepared for all possibilities.
Mooney was drafted by the Chicago Bears when Matt Nagy, the Giants’ offensive coordinator, was the Bears’ head coach. So familiarity was definitely a factor here.
He has deep ability, but he also had a higher drop rate last season (15.8%) than Slayton (14.0%), per Pro Football Focus.
His contract is reportedly a one-year contract worth up to $10 million. It will be interesting to see where the actual base amount and guarantees lie.
In the long term, he could be a cheaper version of Slayton’s $15.9 million cap hit for what amounts to a serviceable third receiver on a deep roster. But for now, he’s more of a threat to Hyatt’s spot on the team.
The Giants have no flexibility on Slayton’s contract anyway, without a pay cut or restructure, until at least June 1. After that date, they could save $12.9 million against the cap by trading him away if they wished.
But again, Nabers’ health, the Giants’ draft and the fits of players like Mooney and Austin throughout training camp will help dictate where this all goes.
Campbell, 30, meanwhile, is a special teamer. This is the true replacement signing for Dane Belton, who left the Giants to sign with the Jets.
It continues two Harbaugh trends in free agency: Prioritizing special teams and attacking the safety position with numbers.
Harbaugh now has brought on Baltimore Ravens punter Jordan Stout and Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders on top of several players, including safeties Campbell and Jason Pinnock, with an eye on special teams. That was a major weak point for the Giants in 2025.
At safety, meanwhile, adding the Ravens’ Ar’Darius Washington, Pinnock and Campbell, on top of incumbents Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin, stacks that position room with a lot of bodies before Ohio State’s Caleb Downs rolls around as a possibility at the No. 5 overall pick.
This does not preclude the Giants from drafting Downs, especially if they create more specialized usage for Nubin as they once did with Isaiah Simmons. But it does put a lot of Harbaugh players in that position, with Washington and Pinnock capable of playing real defensive snaps and starting games there when needed.