Despite another abysmal year of New York Giants football in 2025, the organization and its fans have plenty of reason to be excited heading into 2026. A new coach in John Harbaugh, Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo coming back from injury, and a full season of Jaxson Dart under center. But the most exciting part of this team could end up being its tight ends.
At least that’s what the new staff seems to believe. When speaking at the Giants town hall earlier in the week, Harbs couldn't have made it more clear that it's tight ends or bust in 2026:
John Harbaugh: “There’s not a better tight end room in the league.”
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) May 18, 2026
Harbaugh's right. You'd be hard pressed to find a tight end room better top to bottom than what the G-Men plan to put out on the gridiron. This, of course, became solidified with the Isaiah Likely signing. The former Raven chose to ink a three-year deal with Big Blue in early March to reunite with his old head coach. In one of the first big moves after Harbaugh took over, the Giants added insane depth to a position that desperately needed it.
Now, Likely becomes the No. 1 tight end and alleviates that pressure off Theo Johnson. Despite his struggles in his first couple of years in the league, you can see the potential he has. Perhaps taking a little less responsibility and being coach up not just by Harbaugh, but also Likely, could help unleash Johnson to his full potential.
The Gaints' tight end room gives Dart the ultimate safety net
They say tight ends are young quarterbacks' best friends and this could not be more true for Dart's situation as he enters year two.
Teams have film on him and are going to be able to adjust to things he did well as a rookie. But with security blankets like Likely and Johnson, who combined for close to 1,000 yards on 80 catches, Dart will have his options and not have to rely on his legs quite as much to keep plays alive.
The best part for Dart, it's not just the top two guys in the tight end room he has to look for. Don't sleep on Chris Manhertz. He's not going to blow the stat sheet out of the water by any means, and honestly may not see a lot of playing time. However, he's a ten-year veteran, who's been with the Giants for a couple years, played with Dart already and won't be afraid to hit somebody on the line.
The 23-year-old is going to have his pick of the littler with this tight end room, not matter who is out there.
Plus, we can all say what we want about the Matt Nagy hiring, but one thing is certain. The guy knows how to unleash tight ends. He got Travis Kelce to the peak of his powers in Kansas City and with the talent this Giants offense has, he should be able to do the same with the tight ends in the Meadowlands.
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