Before John Harbaugh took over, the New York Giants were stuck in tight end purgatory. Since letting Evan Engram go, we've had to endure players like Darren Waller and Theo Johnson, but Harbs knew getting TE right was a priority after his offenses in Baltimore always ran through a star tight end.
So in his first offseason with the Giants, Harbaugh brought over Isaiah Likely with a big free-agent deal designed to make him the TE1 New York has been missing--and so far he's been as advertised. He broke out in the Week 1 win over Dallas, and has shined even without Jaxson Dart.
While the Jameis Winston experience hasn’t helped every Giants pass-catcher; it’s safe to say Likely hasn’t suffered much from the quarterback change. The 36-24 victory saw Likely turn in his best performance since the opener, as only Malik Nabers amassed more yards than his 66 against this Arizona defense.
Moreover Isaiah Likely led the team in both receptions (7) and targets (12) on Sunday, as he racked up an impressive 41% target share. The talent was always there, all he needed was opportunity and he's finally gotten that.
The fact of the matter is that Likely could've enjoyed an even bigger day had Jameis not airmailed him on a rep where he was wide open. Instead of moving the chains and picking up another chunk gain, he threw a meatball sub that sailed right into the arms of Budda Baker for a brutal interception.
He may be the second option in the passing game behind Nabers, but Harbaugh wants to get the football in the hands of his trusted playmaker regardless of who's quarterbacking, as evidenced by the 34% target share he's received in Winston's two starts.
Isaiah Likely is already becoming a focal point of the Giants’ offense
While the Nabers breakout game and Malachi Fields' big day overshadowed his quality performance, he continues to be the constant within this Big Blue offense. He's consistently getting open, he's become a safety valve when the Giants need to move the chains, and Matt Nagy has lined him up as a jumbo receiver at points since he stands at 6-foot-4 and 241 pounds.
Through four weeks, only seven pass-catchers at wide receiver and tight end have a target share north of 30%: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, DeVonta Smith, Isaiah Likely, CeeDee Lamb, Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and Zay Flowers. For starters, that's some elite company for a guy who doesn't have a 500-yard season under his belt, but it goes to show you how he can thrive regardless of the QB situation.
The 26-year-old is quite literally up there with the two best tight ends in the NFL (Bowers and McBride) in terms of usage this season, and he has a target share higher than both of them. I'm no OC, but you don't feed a player with that many targets unless you trust them to make the most of it.
Even though many fans didn't agree with the deal at the time, this three-year, $40 million deal has aged better and better across the last couple of months. The Coastal Carolina product has made the most of his opportunities, and is probably a big reason this team is sitting at 3-1 in the first place.
Likely came to New York with the opportunity to finally shine as a featured tight end after spending four years in Mark Andrews’ shadow, and he’s making the most of it. If this is the kind of production the Giants are going to get from their new TE1, that $40 million gamble is already looking a whole lot better than it did when he signed.
Add us as a preferred source on Google