March 20, 2026, 10:01 a.m. ET
When NFL free agency opened last week, the first thing the New York Giants did was sign tight end Isaiah Likely to a three-year, $40 million deal.
Why? Likely was a part-time player for the new Giants head coach, John Harbaugh, in Baltimore, and such a contract was not particularly warranted. Especially from a team like the Giants, who have a decent tight end room already and really needed a boundary wideout.
The answer is clear. They like the idea of the mismatch that Likely brings in the passing game. While observers are talking about the Giants employing two-tight end sets with Likely and Theo Johnson, the out-of-the-box thinkers are envisioning Likely as a slot receiver.
A 6-foot-4, 245-pound fleet slot receiver with a penchant for making plays in the open field is hard to find. The Giants just found one. While Giants Nation wept over the loss of Wan’Dale Robinson, who was given a whopping payout from the Tennessee Titans, the Giants grabbed Likely, a bigger, more explosive target for second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart to play catch with.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently named the Giants’ addition of Likely his best overall move in free agency thus far.
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The Giants signing tight end Isaiah Likely. A tight end who gets open is a friendly addition for a young quarterback, and Likely will be that for Jaxson Dart. His presence allows New York to lean into two tight end sets, and at $40 million over three years, Likely’s contract is cheaper than that of former Giants receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who signed a four-year, $78 million deal with Tennessee.
Likely loves the idea of lining up in the slot. Once he gets past the line of scrimmage, he immediately becomes the biggest (and perhaps the most athletic) player on the field. Good luck dealing with that, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington.
“I feel like in the slot you get to see a lot more, right now, right then and there,” Likely told reporters last week. “When you’re in line, hand in the dirt, obviously, you have to look up, you have to evade defensive ends, outside linebackers. So really just, in the slot, just being able to look up, understand the snap count, and really just (inaudible) it from there.”
The Giants also recently signed two wide receivers who are arguably as productive as Robinson has been in their careers. Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin III have both been playmakers in this league for several years. The price was right, too.
Anyone who doubts the Giants’ offense is not better now than it was two weeks ago should re-examine those moves. They are bigger and faster these days, and there’s a lot more coming.
