The New York Giants are turning to J.J. McCarthy for his first start of the season on Sunday against the Texans, and if his relief appearance against the Saints is any indication, it's about damn time. He looked a lot better than Jameis Winston did, and is more Jaxson Dart-coded than Famous Jameis is.
But with that in mind, we still have to address the elephant in the room here. In 10 career starts, he's thrown 12 interceptions, and his below-average decision-making is still a concern to some. But he was a former top-10 pick for a reason, so it doesn't hurt the Giants to see what they have in this kid.
But John Harbaugh knew the risks of turning to McCarthy when Big Blue traded for him. He watched him win a national championship when being coached by his little brother, but it's on the Giants to make sure they make things easy on "Nine" and help set him up for success as their starter in Week 7.
And that means catering the offense to his strengths against a tough Houston defense. Typically J.J.'s best when he has a solid run game to take pressure off him, but that's a no-go. So that means this is on the receivers, and while it's easy to pinpoint Malik Nabers as the biggest beneficiary of this move, it's actually Isaiah Likely.
Likely signed a three-year, $40 million contract to follow Harbaugh to New York in free agency, where he would finally get a chance to prove himself as a TE1--and he's been worth every penny and then some. He leads all tight ends with 383 receiving yards and is tied for the league lead among TEs with five touchdowns, and given McCarthy's limitations, the Giants need to get their tight end going in Week 7.
Isaiah Likely can be the safety valve the Giants know J.J. McCarthy needs
All season, feeding Likely has been in the gameplan. His 29.1% target share is good for eighth among all pass-catchers and first at his position. He's been everything the Giants could've asked for and more despite the turnover at QB, so thankfully, J.J. McCarthy is perfectly suited to look his way a lot.
McCarthy is at his best when he has quality tight ends to throw to. At Michigan, he turned Luke Schoonmaker into a future second-round pick, and once Schoonmaker went pro, Colston Loveland became his new primary safety valve with the Wolverines when they won the national championship.
Even in Minnesota, he had T.J. Hockenson. At every stage of his career, there has been a security blanket at TE designed to make his life easier. The 23-year-old isn't a Josh Allen who is going to light you up downfield. He's a game manager who makes you pay on those short and intermediate routes.
And that's where guys like Likely come in handy. He's the second option in this offense behind Malik Nabers, and given Nabers will see shadow coverage from Derek Stingley Jr., they'll need someone else to step up in the passing game--and I wouldn't exactly call Malachi Fields up to the task yet.
The gameplan on Sunday with J.J. McCarthy is going to be to get the playmakers (both Nabers and Likely) the ball in space, and given it will also be National Tight Ends Day, feeding Isaiah Likely to make things easier on the new QB1 will likely be in the cards.
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