The biggest question about the New York Giants' offseason has been lingering for a while now: who will emerge as the second option in the passing game? Since Malik Nabers is trending to return Week 1, he'll resume his role as the alpha, but he can't put the passing game on his back like he did in 2024.
Malachi Fields and Darnell Mooney could be options, but Isaiah Likely makes the most sense. The Giants sign him to a three-year, $40 million contract in free agency, so the price tag is there for him to thrive, but the early returns in training camp suggest that John Harbaugh pulled off a full-on heist.
In order to escape Mark Andrews' shadow in Baltimore, Likely followed his former Ravens coach up I-95 to New York earlier this offseason, and his first taste of life as a TE1 has gone swimmingly, as he's starting to erase all doubt that he has what it takes to be a top receiving option for this offense.
Isaiah Likely has been as advertised for the New York Giants this summer
During joint practices with the Miami Dolphins in Miami, the 26-year-old was one of the stars of the show. While Jaxson Dart completed 16 of 22 pass attempts on Thursday afternoon, six of those completions went to Likely, with Nabers sidelined. As we know, JD6 loves his tight ends.
It marked one of Dart's best practices of training camp, but even when he's been struggling, he's often been looking the way of No. 9. He's become something of the security blanket for this offense, and after QB1 started the day 5-for-5, three of those passes went in the direction of his new TE.
To be fair to Likely, he was always winning this competition to the point where it would be disingenuous to even label it as such. Fields is more of a big-bodied WR meant to complement Nabers, Mooney has been floated in trade talks, and Darius Slayton is fresh off core muscle surgery.
At this point, it would be a surprise if the 2022 fourth-round pick wasn't Dart's favorite target outside of Nabers. Their connection has been on fire all summer long, and they had a couple of downfield shots on Thursday too. Frankly, if Leek was in danger of missing Week 1, Likely would be the top option.
The Coastal Carolina product is more of a jumbo receiver for the G-Men than a true tight end, and I'm sure Big Blue is ready to utilize both his size and athleticism to move him around the formation. No wonder the hype train has started to leave the station, because he feels like an offensive X-Factor.
As crazy as it sounds, Isaiah Likely has never reached 500 yards in a season, but as long as he keeps establishing himself as a reliable target, he'll certainly surpass that number with the New York Giants in 2026, so you fantasy football managers better keep an eye on him.
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