When the New York Giants signed Isaiah Likely to a three-year, $40 million deal, the message felt pretty obvious. He wasn’t coming to North Jersey to play a small role in new head coach John Harbaugh’s revamped, slobberknocker-style offense. He's coming to lead the charge.
So it's no surprise that Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton included the soon-to-be 26-year-old in his "players primed for a 2026 breakout" piece, noting that the former Baltimore Raven has already shown he can produce in a limited role and is now getting paid like a featured option in an offense that’s set up for him to actually be one. After all, they didn't make the guy the fourth-highest paid tight end (annual salary) for nothing.
Without Wan'Dale Robinson on the field seeing 140 targets (a number he has hit in back-to-back seasons), there's a considerable target share the 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end can eat from, all but guaranteeing a big season coming his way in 2026. And Harbaugh has 40 million reasons to make sure of it.
Isaiah Likely is stepping into a Giants spotlight whether he’s ready or not
Through four seasons, the former Coastal Carolina standout has caught 135 passes for 1,568 yards and 15 touchdowns. His next season with over 500 receiving yards will be his first. That’s life when you’ve got Mark Andrews in front of you. But with an expanded role, which should open the door for a pretty big season in 2026.
The hype is understandable, though. Now that he's finally free from Andrews' spell and is de facto TE1, one can't help but get excited about the possibilities. And while he won't exactly replace Robinson in the slot, he can replace a lot of his usage from the tight end spot.
And while excitement is at an all-time high, it's important to stay grounded because winning in the offseason means nothing if the team can't win in the regular season.
Likely hasn't even attended a practice yet, let alone a game, and there's already talk about how expendable Theo Johnson now is. The third-year tight end is coming off a breakout sophomore season of sorts, posting career highs in catches (45), receiving yards (528), and touchdowns (five).
But moving on from a 6-foot-6, 250-pound athletic marvel who's shown signs of being a respectable run and pass blocker before he's given a chance to play alongside Likely feels borderline foolish.
Still, expecting Likely to come in and put up astronomical numbers would be a mistake. The G-Men haven't had a tight end go over 700 receiving yards in a season since Evan Engram did it back in 2017, and they haven't had a guy go over 1,000 since... ever.
The Giants haven’t gotten this kind of production from a tight end in years, and now Harbaugh is betting big that Likely is the guy to change that. He paid him like a centerpiece without the résumé to fully back it up yet. That’s a pretty bold swing this early into his tenure, and it’s one that'll need to hit if this team is going anywhere anytime soon.
Otherwise, it's just another expensive deal holding the team back for another year or two.