Let’s play a game similar to 20 questions. I’m going to throw out hints as to which free agent I’m suggesting just became the New York Giants’ top target after John Harbaugh hired Matt Nagy to be Big Blue’s next offensive coordinator.
For this game to work, I’m going to ask you to do me a favor. If you have an X account, head on over to @GMENHQ and comment on the post I have up for the game. Drop the clue number you figured it out on in the comments. No comments with the answer. No one likes a buzzkill.
Ready to play?
First clue: My middle name is Leroy.
Second clue: I grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Third clue: I only received three scholarship offers coming out of Everett High School and played my college ball at Coastal Carolina.
Fourth clue: On draft weekend, I waited until the fourth round to hear my name called by the Baltimore Ravens, taken just outside the top 140.
Fifth clue: Mark Andrews sits in front of me on the depth chart.
Sixth clue: I play tight end, wear No. 80, and my last name is likely to be used for unlimited play-on words and puns.
Answer: Isaiah Likely
Isaiah Likely makes tons of sense for the Giants and it’s not hard to see why
If you landed on Isaiah Likely before the final clue, you probably felt the same thing I did once the answer was out there. It wasn’t some galaxy-brain reach. It actually felt pretty obvious. And that’s where the Nagy hire starts to connect the dots for the Giants’ free-agency plans.
I'm not the only one who sees the fit. Bleacher Report's Alex Kay listed the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder as the top free-agent priority for the G-Men this offseason. Great minds think alike.
The 47-year-old has always leaned on his tight ends. Even before his Travis Kelce days in Kansas City, he was working with Trey Burton, Jimmy Graham, and Cole Kmet in Chicago. Likely's not your traditional hand-in-the-dirt blocking tight end, but he's more than capable. He's more of a vertical threat who can create mismatches in the passing game, making him the perfect chess piece for Jaxson Dart.
The fourth-round pick already has the Harbaugh connection from four years together in Baltimore -- so we know that fit is obvious. What makes the signing feel inevitable now that Nagy is the OC is the way his system has always leaned on tight ends who can move and create mismatches, two things the 25-year-old excels at.
Related: 5 familiar names Matt Nagy could bring with him to the Giants offense
New York's tight end room is looking pretty empty as free agency approaches. Both Daniel Bellinger and Chris Manhertz are hitting the open market, leaving the G-Men with Theo Johnson and Thomas Fidone II.
We saw last year how much Dart relied on his 6-foot-6, 260-pound redzone mismatch. Imagine what he could do with a guy like Likely next to him or subbing in for him. Defenses couldn't take a play off. Likely feels like the kind of player who could totally put up career-best numbers with Nagy calling the shots under Harby.