5 stud WRs the Giants can target for Daniel Jones after his mega-deal

The NY Gians finally have a franchise quarterback. Right before the franchise tag deadline, Joe Schoen and Daniel Jones came to an agreement on a mega-deal, solidifying Jones’ status as Big Blue’s QB1 moving foward.

Jones’ contract of four years and $160 million turned plenty of heads. Now that Jones is getting paid like a Top 10 quarterback, the pressure is going to be on him to perform like that week in and week out.

Joe Schoen can help relieve some of that pressure by surrounding his quarterback with elite weapons. The Giants placed the franchise tag on Saquon Barkley, ensuring one of the NFL’s best running backs will be back in blue next year.

Wide receivers Collin Johnson, Isaiah Hodgins, and Wan’Dale Robinson will all return in 2023. All three of those players are young and have a ton of upside, but none of them are the alpha wideout Danny Dimes needs. Here are five stud WRs the Giants can target for Jones after his mega-deal:

5. WR Gabriel Davis

An intriguing new name has entered the Giants offseason rumor mill: Buffalo Bills wide receIver Gabriel Davis. New York Daily News reporter Pat Leonard recently mentioned that Big Blue has been surveying the wide receiver trade market, and that Davis could be a potential trade target.

Davis is currently entering the last year of his rookie contract, which will put him in line for a big payday next offseason. The Bills have a veteran heavy team, and can’t pay everyone, which could lead them to trade Davis this offseason, in order to maximize the return.

Davis is very familiar with Daboll and Schoen from their time together in Buffalo. Schoen helped draft Davis, while Daboll turned him into a very good wide receiver. The last time we saw Daboll and Davis work together was the memorable AFC Divisional Round loss to the Chiefs. Davis put up historic numbers in that game, hauling in eight passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns.

The Giants lacked explosive plays in 2022, and Davis is an explosive play machine. In 2022, Davis ranking second in the NFL in yards per catch. Additionally, 73 percent of his receptions resulted in first downs. Davis, who is only 24 years old, would add an explosive element to the Giants offense that was sorely lacking in 2022.

4. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The Giants have many holes on the roster to fill, including ILB, CB, and OL, so it may be smarter to draft a wide reciever rather than trade for one like Davis, in order to preserve the draft capital to fill those holes.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba could be a WR1 as soon as he enters the NFL, making him an ideal draft selection. Smith-Njigba played sparingly as a freshman in 2020 and missed most of 2022 with an injury, but had a historic 2021 season in Columbus. The Buckeyes wide reciever hauled in 95 Stroud for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns that fall.

To cap off the 2021 season, Smith-Njigba posted the best individual performance in Rose Bowl history, catching 15 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns against Utah. Smith-Njigba was the best wide reciever on the Buckeyes roster in 2021. That roster included 2022 first-round picks in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, as well as likely 2024 first round pick Marvin Harrison Jr.

The Ohio State wideout is 6-1, 200 pounds, the perfect build for a wide reciever. His blazing speed, contested catch ability, and physical build are all similar to Ja’Marr Chase, who is 6-0, 201 pounds. Wilson had 1,103 receiving yards for the Jets as a rookie in 2022, and Smith-Njigba can have that type of impact in 2023. The Giants may need to trade up to land him, but he’d be worth it.

3. WR Jordan Addison

If Jordan Addison is the Giants first-round pick in April’s draft, Big Blue fans will be very happy. Addison had the best college career of all draft eligible receivers, and put up some outrageous numbers in the process.

Addison had 666 yards and four touchdowns during his freshman season at Pittsburgh, and then hauled in 100 balls for 1,593 and 17 touchdowns in 2021. The wideout transferred to USC for the 2022 season, catching 59 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns.

Addison knows what it is like to play with NFL quarterbacks, having hauled in passes from Kenny Pickett while at Pittsburgh, and then from Caleb Williams, the likely No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, while at USC. Addison ran a 4.49 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine, which is slower than many expected. That could be a good thing for the Giants, as it could push Addison down the board right into their laps.

Addison is known for his ability to create separtion and prowess for catching the deep ball, two things the Giants offense desperately needs. Jones to Addison has a nice ring to it and it’s something plenty of people in East Rutherford would love to see.

2. WR Quentin Johnston

Many draft anaylsts have Quentin Johnston as WR1 in the upcoming draft, so the Giants may need to move up if they want to snag him. The TCU standout is a big wideout, standing at 6-4, 215 pounds. Don’t let his big frame fool you, as Johnston has some serious speed. This was on full display in TCU’s stunning win over Michigan in the College Football Playoff.

Johnston had 487 yards in 2020, and 612 yards in 2021, but broke out in 2022, hauling in 60 Max Duggan passes for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns. Johnston has excellent speed, power, contested catch skills, and the ability to get yards after the catch. The TCU product is the complete package.

At the NFL Combine he mentioned he would like to play in blue, and boy would we like to have him. Schoen reportedly had a good meeting with him as well. Again, Johnston may be off the board by the time NY is up at No. 25 overall. However, if the Giants front office is that high on him, then they should make landing him on draft night a top priority.

1. WR Odell Beckham Jr.

Look, Odell Beckham Jr. is not going to be a No. 1 wide reciever in 2023. However, he would be a low-risk, high-reward sigining – the type of signing that could pay dividens for the Giants. The last time we saw Beckham play in a football game, he was hauling in a touchdown in the first quarter of the Rams Super Bowl victory against Bengals, but then tore his ACL. Had he not suffered the brutal injury, he was well on his way to winning Super Bowl MVP.

Schoen will no doubt look to get Jones a WR1, but there is no guarantee he will be able to pull it off. The free agent market for wide recievers stinks, and the top 3 wideouts in the draft seem to be moving up the draft board.  In no scenario should Beckham be the Giants biggest addition to the wide reciever room, but why not draft a rookie and sign him?

Don’t you all feel like you were robbed of seeing Beckham spend his prime playing with Saquon Barkley?  With Beckham hosting a workout for teams in Arizona on Friday, it was great to see that the Giants were on hand. Now, everyone will be waiting to see if Schoen puts an offer on the table or not.

NY Giants fans are buzzing over the latest Odell Beckham Jr. news

Star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. will host a private workout for teams in Arizona on Friday and the NY Giants will be on hand to see him in action.