The Giants’ 2026 outlook is already being shaped by a few big names, and the most important one may be the quarterback the staff is trying to teach, not just trust. Jaxson Dart is drawing attention for the right reasons and the wrong ones, and the message from New York’s coaches is clear: the talent is there, but the hits have to be managed.
Matt Nagy said the staff is using film to make the point. The goal isn’t to strip away Dart’s confidence or swagger. It’s to show him exactly where the unnecessary punishment is coming from.
“You can’t just say, ‘Don’t run the football here, because you could get hurt’ - you have to show him the evidence,” said Nagy. “ ‘Where did you take the extra hits?
Was it necessary?’ You have to show them clips.”
That approach matters because Dart’s availability has already been an issue. He visited the blue tent in the preseason, in his first start and repeatedly through the season, and the Giants want him to sharpen his risk-reward decisions before those moments pile up again.
Cam Skattebo is part of the same conversation around the Giants’ high-wire style. The team’s young offensive core has become a fascination, but also a potential problem if the loose, fearless approach starts to override discipline. The concern is simple: when personality and freedom take over, it can be hard to pull everything back together.
There’s also plenty of attention on Malik Nabers, whose injury situation looms over the offense. Nabers tore his right ACL in Week 4 of the 2025 season and had surgery a month later to repair the ligament and damage to his meniscus. This spring, he needed a second procedure on the same knee, which is not a great sign for how his recovery has gone.
The numbers from his rookie year only sharpen the concern. Nabers caught 109 passes on 170 targets for 1,204 yards in 15 games, and his rise helped push the Giants toward letting Wan’Dale Robinson leave in free agency after Robinson’s strong 2025 season. To cover that loss, the Giants have added Calvin Austin III, Darnell Mooney, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Braxton Berrios and even Odell Beckham Jr. in hopes that one of them can absorb Robinson’s snaps.
If Nabers misses regular-season time, the Giants’ receiver room could end up looking old and not very productive.
On the defensive side, Charlie Bullen is a name to watch. The outside linebackers/run game coordinator was kept from the previous coaching staff and received an expanded role, a sign that the organization believes in him. He’ll work with a group that already includes Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux, and the Giants added Arvell Reese in the spring, giving Bullen a deep room and a real chance to make his mark.
Reese is already getting national notice, too. He was named to the NFLPA’s 2026 Rising Stars list as one of only five defenders, ranking eighth among the ten rookies on the list. The NFLPA says the list is meant to provide “an early look at the players expected to drive the next wave of consumer demand across licensed products, collectibles and brand partnerships.”
The Giants are also heading into 2026 with a scheduling wrinkle that could become a talking point fast: they are set to play 15 games on artificial turf, the most in the NFL. Tennessee is the only other team with as many turf games, while Dallas, Minnesota and New Orleans are next with 13 each.
And in the background of all of it, the Giants’ young, unpredictable core keeps drawing the kind of attention that can feel equal parts exciting and dangerous. John Harbaugh has already been impressed by Dart, but New York’s challenge is bigger than praise. It’s turning that energy into something sustainable.
In Other News...
Isaiah Likely Could Be The Answer Giants Fans Have Waited For
Isaiah Likelys arrival gives the Giants something they have spent plenty of time searching for: a tight end who can be more than just a body in the formation. In Baltimore, he was the secondary option behind Mark Andrews, but in New York the opportunity looks different, with the Giants expecting him to handle dependable snaps and present a tougher problem for defenses than the position has offered in recent seasons.
For a young quarterback like Jaxson Dart, that kind of target can matter quickly. Likelys ability to create space and give the offense an easier outlet should help the passing game settle in, and it also gives the Giants another piece defenses have to account for before they can load up on Malik Nabers. The fit is obvious enough, even if the full payoff still has to be earned on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Fans Just Got A Wild Isaiah Likely Comparison
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There is still a gap between projection and production, though, and that is what makes the discussion so intriguing. Likely has not yet put together a season that matches the kind of impact Clark was pointing toward, and the Giants are still sorting out how their passing game will look as they build around him. With Malik Nabers health still uncertain, every possible weapon matters a little more, which is why this comparison has already become such a talking point. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Still Have One Offensive Line Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Giants have spent enough time trying to stabilize the middle of their offensive line to know the center spot matters as much as any other, and John Michael Schmitz Jr. remains the player under the brightest spotlight. New York has upgraded the group around him, including rookie Francis Mauigoa at right guard, but the bigger question is whether Schmitz fits what the line is being asked to do now, especially with a heavier emphasis on gap run-blocking.
Schmitz has looked more comfortable in zone concepts than in schemes that ask him to move and adjust on the fly, and last seasons protection issues only sharpened the concern. He enters the final year of his rookie deal with a chance to change the conversation, but also with the kind of pressure that can turn every snap into a referendum on whether the Giants have found their long-term answer at center. [Read more 🡒]