The Giants have a couple of new quarterbacks. Now can we see some downfield passing? That offense featured too much dink and dunk last year.
They now have a pair of quarterbacks with a willingness to push it deep. Russell Wilson is declining, but he still drops in one of the better deep balls in the league. And Jameis Winston has never been shy about letting it rip on downfield throws, whether the guy is double-covered or not.
The offense last year featured too much short passing (in part, I think, because they wanted to make things easier for the offensive line). And Daniel Jones has never been much of a downfield thrower.
Malik Nabers was misused. He saw plenty of action, catching 109 passes despite missing two games, but he averaged only 11 yards per reception. He came on some at the end, with 59- and 45-yard touchdowns in his last two games, but for most of the season he was spending too much time catching passes around the line of scrimmage.
I would think if Wilson and Winston are handling most of the quarterbacking, Nabers should average at least a yard more per catch this year. If Nabers isn’t catching a touchdown from 40-plus every month, he’s not being used right. They've also got Darius Slayton, who's got some ability to get deep.
The Giants used an early second-round pick on a wide receiver in 2022, Wan’Dale Robinson (pictured), and he’s been even more of a short-range option. Robinson last year caught 93 passes but finished with only 699 yards. That’s only 7.5 yards per catch, which is less than what you see out of some running backs.
Since the merger in 1970, 265 other receivers have had seasons with at least 90 catches. All of those guys averaged at least a yard more per catch than Robinson. Only a dozen others have even finished under 10.
| PEASHOOTER WIDE RECEIVERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2024 | Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 140 | 93 | 699 | 7.5 | 3 |
| 2020 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 128 | 97 | 831 | 8.6 | 9 |
| 2017 | Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 161 | 112 | 987 | 8.8 | 9 |
| 2015 | Golden Tate, Det. | 128 | 90 | 813 | 9.0 | 6 |
| 2002 | Troy Brown, N.E. | 141 | 97 | 890 | 9.2 | 3 |
| 2022 | Michael Pittman, Ind. | 141 | 99 | 925 | 9.3 | 4 |
| 2016 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ari. | 150 | 107 | 1,023 | 9.6 | 6 |
| 2021 | Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 140 | 104 | 1,015 | 9.8 | 6 |
| 2008 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cin. | 137 | 92 | 904 | 9.8 | 4 |
| 2022 | Chris Godwin, T.B. | 142 | 104 | 1,023 | 9.8 | 3 |
| 2023 | Adam Thielen, Car. | 137 | 103 | 1,014 | 9.8 | 4 |
| 2024 | DJ Moore, Chi. | 140 | 98 | 966 | 9.9 | 6 |
| 2020 | Keenan Allen, LAC | 147 | 100 | 992 | 9.9 | 8 |
| 2018 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 149 | 102 | 1,021 | 10.0 | 9 |
Robinson is a different style of receiver. At only 5-foot-8, he’s definitely a slot kind of guy. They’ll never be trying to get him behind defenses too often. But his average also could be rising by a couple yards per catch.
—Ian Allan