If you had to give an award to the "most improved Giant" in 2025, it would almost certainly have to go to WanDale Robinson. After years of never living up to his potential, he finally came through in a bounce-back year by surpassing 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career this season.
The craziest part is that the fourth-year receiver is doing this in a contract year, which continued in the New York Giants' 34-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. And that is what prompted Bleacher Report to call Wan'Dale (and his looming payday) the biggest winner of the weekend for Big Blue.
"In March, Robinson could garner interest from teams willing to pay him close to $20 million annually, which is comparable to the Jacksonville Jaguars' extension for Jakobi Meyers, who also has one 1,000-yard receiving season."Bleacher Report on Wan'Dale Robinson
The 24-year-old caught a career-high 11 passes for 113 yards in Week 17, as he and Jaxson Dart came through in a game many Giants fans wanted them to lose. However, that didn't stop him from sending a clear message to Joe Schoen: he needs to be retained in New York by any means necessary.
Wan'Dale Robinson could make around $20 million per year in free agency
The Kentucky product has stepped up with Malik Nabers recovering from a season-ending ACL tear, as he leads the team in both receptions and receiving yards by a vast margin this season. Theo Johnson is Dart's other top target, and Robinson is nearly doubling his production in both categories in 2025.
There is a real chance the G-Men draft a receiver in the first round (or at some point early on) in the 2026 NFL Draft, but that likely wouldn't be a replacement for him. Both Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson are prototypical "X" receivers, which means drafting one of them wouldn't affect a WR who mainly plays out of the slot.
He is one of the best receivers set to hit the open market, so at this point, the best chance the G-Men have to retain their budding star receiver is to franchise tag him. Players hate playing on the tag, but at least it will buy them time to agree to an extension since they can't extend Nabers anytime soon.
As Bleacher Report said, Jakobi Meyers' new contract with the Jaguars is a good benchmark for what to expect from the 2022 second-round pick on the open market. He signed a three-year $60 million extension in Jacksonville a few weeks back despite being 29, so a receiver five years younger and just as productive can make just as much, if not more, in free agency.