Isaiah Likely’s role in the Giants offense has changed fast, and not by choice. With Jaxson Dart done for the season after knee surgery, the tight end the team paid to stretch the field now sits at the center of a passing game that has to adjust around Jameis Winston.
Likely already leads the Giants in targets, and that alone tells you where this is headed. New York didn’t hand him a three-year, $40 million deal in March, with the contract able to climb to $47.5 million and including $20.5 million fully guaranteed, just to be a side piece. The plan was bigger than that: move him around the formation, use him down the seam, and let him become a movable problem for defenses.
That idea showed up right away in Week 1. Against Dallas, Likely caught all eight of his targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns, a performance that landed him among the top two fantasy tight ends that week.
Then the offense lost Dart in Week 2, but Likely’s usage only grew. In the loss to the Rams, he led all Giants receivers with 10 targets, played 69% of the snaps, and finished with five catches for 33 yards.
Split Targets Rec Rec Yds TD Snap %
Week 1 vs. DAL 8 8 78 2 ~50%
Week 2 at LAR 10 5 33 0 69%
That snap count matters. A tight end who is on the field for two-thirds of the offense’s plays and also draws the team’s target lead is the kind of player an offense starts leaning on when everything gets messy. The box score from Week 2 doesn’t fully capture how central he’s become.
Now the job gets even bigger for Winston. He steps into a passing game that managed 11 completions in his first game under center, and he needs dependable answers underneath and in the intermediate area to keep drives alive. Likely gives him that, along with the red-zone threat he flashed with those two touchdowns in the opener.
Tennessee comes in for Week 3 at 0-2, and the Giants, now down to their backup quarterback, have to squeeze production out of their most expensive skill players. Likely is at the top of that list. New York paid premium money for a tight end, and now he’s the most important healthy weapon on the roster.
In Other News...
Giants QB Search Already Hit One Very Public Dead End
The Giants quarterback search has quickly become one of the leagues more watched side stories after Jaxson Darts season-ending knee injury left the team scrambling for answers. Jameis Winston is the current primary option, but the usual swirl of names followed almost immediately, with Shedeur Sanders and Jimmy Garoppolo both surfacing as possible alternatives as New York looks for stability under center.
One of those possibilities, at least publicly, has already gone nowhere. Derek Carr, who retired and has spent his time away from football focusing on personal interests like gaming, has dismissed any notion of a comeback, knocking down the kind of rumor that tends to follow a team when it is searching for help at quarterback. For the Giants, it is a reminder that finding a viable solution may be easier to discuss than to actually secure. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Suddenly Have A Familiar Quarterback Decision To Make
The Giants are back in the market for quarterback help after Jaxson Dart was ruled out for the season with a knee injury, and the timing has quickly turned a familiar name into a possible solution. One of the options being discussed is a trade for Tommy DeVito, now with the New England Patriots, as the team sorts through how to shore up the spot behind its current starter.
DeVito would bring something the Giants value in this kind of emergency, namely NFL reps and some comfort with the organizations overall environment. He has played in 12 games and made eight starts, completing 65.3 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and three interceptions, which is enough to make him a credible backup candidate while the Giants decide how aggressive they want to be. [Read more 🡒]
Jaxson Dart Gave Giants Fans One Reason To Smile This Week
The Giants got a sobering update on Jaxson Dart this week, with the rookie quarterbacks left knee injury serious enough to require surgery and end his 2026 season. The damage includes his MCL, PCL and meniscus, while the ACL remains intact, and head coach John Harbaugh confirmed Dart will miss the regular season as Jameis Winston steps into the starting role.
Even with the long recovery ahead, there was at least one encouraging note for Giants fans to hang onto: Harbaugh said Dart has a slim chance to return if the team reaches the playoffs. It is hardly the kind of news anyone wanted to be discussing after the injury, but in a season suddenly without its young quarterback, even a small opening can feel meaningful. [Read more 🡒]