Looking at the Giants offense, I'm perplexed as to who their top wide receiver will be. They have a lot of different guys who have done stuff in the past, and several guys who they're hoping will do stuff in the future. But hard to be confident any will do it this year.
We asked the question (Who will be the Giants' best wide receiver?) of our "Lightning Round" panel of writers -- the last page of the magazine, which we're diligently working on as we speak -- in part because it seemed likely there'd be a range of answers. And we were not disappointed. Four writers named four different potential No. 1s for the team, and even that falls short of the number of reasonable candidates.
First off, there are a couple of early picks who are just getting their feet wet in the NFL. Last year's second-rounder Wan'Dale Robinson caught 23 passes in six games before tearing his ACL and missing the rest of the season. They're hopeful he can step up as their slot receiver. And then they drafted Tennessee's Jalin Hyatt in the third round. He caught 67 passes for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns last year, averaging 18.9 yards per catch. He's small (6-0, 176), but so was DeSean Jackson. One of these guys could reasonably be their top wideout.
And then there's the veteran holdovers and free agency additions. There's a lot of them.
New York has no less than four different wide receivers who have averaged at least 10 fantasy points per game (PPR) during some season in their career. Including Robinson, they have five guys who averaged at least 8 PPR points per game last season. Quite reasonably, any one of those guys, or Hyatt, could emerge as the No. 1 for Daniel Jones this season.
Table shows all the Giants wide receivers currently on the roster, with their seasons of 8-plus PPR points per game. Guys who did it in 2022 are in bold.
| GIANTS WIDE RECEIVERS, PPR PER GAME | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | FF/G |
| 2020 | Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 12 | 89 | 59 | 699 | 11.9 | 6 | 172.5 | 14.4 |
| 2019 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 10 | 83 | 57 | 576 | 10.1 | 3 | 141.8 | 14.2 |
| 2020 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 12 | 90 | 66 | 656 | 9.9 | 4 | 162.5 | 13.5 |
| 2017 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 11 | 84 | 59 | 731 | 12.4 | 2 | 144.5 | 13.1 |
| 2016 | Jamison Crowder, Was. | 16 | 99 | 67 | 847 | 12.6 | 8 | 199.5 | 12.5 |
| 2019 | Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 16 | 122 | 78 | 833 | 10.7 | 6 | 197.7 | 12.4 |
| 2019 | Darius Slayton, NYG | 14 | 84 | 48 | 740 | 15.4 | 8 | 170.0 | 12.1 |
| 2016 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 16 | 105 | 65 | 683 | 10.5 | 8 | 184.4 | 11.5 |
| 2022 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 3 | 24 | 13 | 154 | 11.8 | 1 | 34.4 | 11.5 |
| 2018 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 16 | 107 | 66 | 872 | 13.2 | 4 | 182.5 | 11.4 |
| 2021 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 7 | 53 | 36 | 366 | 10.2 | 1 | 77.7 | 11.1 |
| 2017 | Jamison Crowder, Was. | 15 | 103 | 66 | 789 | 12.0 | 3 | 166.3 | 11.1 |
| 2022 | Isaiah Hodgins, 2TM | 10 | 48 | 37 | 392 | 10.6 | 4 | 102.2 | 10.2 |
| 2021 | Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 12 | 71 | 51 | 447 | 8.8 | 2 | 111.7 | 9.3 |
| 2018 | Jamison Crowder, Was. | 9 | 49 | 29 | 388 | 13.4 | 2 | 82.8 | 9.2 |
| 2020 | Darius Slayton, NYG | 16 | 96 | 50 | 751 | 15.0 | 3 | 143.0 | 8.9 |
| 2022 | Parris Campbell, Ind. | 17 | 91 | 63 | 623 | 9.9 | 3 | 149.1 | 8.8 |
| 2022 | Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 6 | 31 | 23 | 227 | 9.9 | 1 | 51.6 | 8.6 |
| 2022 | Darius Slayton, NYG | 16 | 71 | 46 | 724 | 15.7 | 2 | 130.4 | 8.2 |
Parris Campbell was the semi-big ticket free agent signing, agreeing to a deal worth "up to" $6.7 million, about half of which is guaranteed. He comes off his best season for the Colts. Jamison Crowder and Sterling Shepard have had the most notable careers to this point, but there are injury histories that need to be considered.
I wound up casting my vote for Isaiah Hodgins (pictured). He was the one signed during last season, familiar to Brian Daboll from Buffalo. He stepped up big for the team down the stretch, catching 25 passes and 4 TDs in a five-game span to close the regular season. Then he caught 8 balls for 105 yards and a score in the win over Minnesota in the playoffs.
At the moment, I'd rather bet on him than veterans coming off injury or unknown youngsters. But I'll admit that he's one of just four or five entirely reasonable candidates.
New York isn't going to have a top passing game, but no reason they can't have some viable wideouts. Something which will need to be monitored in training camp and the preseason.
--Andy Richardson