Jaxson Dart didn’t sound worried about the Giants’ revamped offense. If anything, he sounded eager to get started.
At Fanatics Fest on Sunday, Dart was asked about a group that looks almost nothing like the one around him last season. The Giants have poured resources into the skill spots this offseason, headlined by a $40 million tight end and a flurry of receiver additions after letting their top slot target walk for $78 million. Dart’s answer was immediate.
“We’ve got a lot of good options,” Dart said, in comments I captured on video. “The guys are fully bought in, they’re really hard workers, they compete, so they’re going to do an amazing job.
And I think that we’re very versatile in the skill sets that we have as an offense. We’re going to be able to run the ball really well, we’ve got playmakers.”
One of those new faces drew a direct mention from Dart. “I think the new pieces we have like Isaiah Likely are going to pay dividends throughout the year,” Dart said.
Likely is the biggest swing in the group. He signed a three-year deal worth $40 million with upside to $47.5 million, including $20.5 million fully guaranteed and up to $27 million in total guarantees.
That contract makes him the third-highest-paid tight end in football, just behind Mark Andrews, the player who blocked him from a bigger role in Baltimore for four seasons. Likely came over with Harbaugh from the Ravens, along with fullback Patrick Ricard, safety Ar’Darius Washington and punter Jordan Stout.
For the Giants, the bet only makes sense if Likely becomes a major part of the passing game. The expectation is that he’ll be heavily featured as the team’s top target this season.
The rest of the receiver room has been built in a different way. When Wan’Dale Robinson left for Tennessee on a four-year, $78 million deal with $38 million guaranteed and reunited with Brian Daboll, the Giants didn’t replace him with one splash move. They spread the money and the chances around.
Their 2026 skill-position additions include Likely, Darnell Mooney on a one-year, $3 million fully guaranteed deal, third-round rookie Malachi Fields, and veterans Odell Beckham Jr., JuJu Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berrios, each on minimum contracts that can rise to $1.3 million. Calvin Austin III and Mooney arrived earlier in free agency, while Isaiah Hodgins also re-signed.
The late wave of veteran signings came days after Gunner Olszewski tore his Achilles in an OTA practice, with Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton both rehabbing. Smith-Schuster’s addition carries a built-in layer of familiarity, too: he spent the last two seasons in Kansas City catching passes in Matt Nagy’s system, and Nagy is now the Giants’ offensive coordinator.
Dart also made clear he’s waiting on one of the Giants’ most important pieces to get back. “I obviously can’t wait to get Leek back,” he said of Nabers, who is expected to open camp on the PUP list. He and Cam Skattebo, Dart noted, had only about three and a half games together before the rookie’s ankle injury ended his season in Week 8.
Dart’s own numbers give the Giants reason to believe the offense can keep moving even with all the turnover. He threw for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, and added nine rushing scores across 12 starts last season, doing it after Nabers tore his ACL in Week 4.
The roster he described on Sunday is still mostly theoretical. This week, though, he’ll finally start getting real work with the new group as the Giants open training camp in West Virginia.
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
Former NFL player and analyst Ryan Clark floated an eye-catching comparison for Giants tight end Isaiah Likely during an appearance on NFL Live, suggesting the new addition could bring a different kind of spark to New Yorks offense. The idea is easy to understand from the Giants perspective: they signed Likely to a three-year contract this offseason, signaling they want him to play a much bigger role than he has in the past.
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 🡒]