Jaxson Dart didn’t blink when asked about the Giants’ rebuilt offense.
At Fanatics Fest on Sunday, the second-year quarterback was pressed on whether a group that has been almost completely remade around him can actually deliver. Dart’s answer was immediate and upbeat.
“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.”
The Giants have spent the offseason turning the skill group over almost from top to bottom. They poured $40 million into a tight end, added six receivers and watched their leading slot target leave for a deal worth $78 million. Dart, speaking during a panel at a live taping of The Fantasy Footballers with Mike Wright and Jason Moore, went through the new pieces one by one with Cam Skattebo.
One player clearly stood out to him.
“I think the new pieces we have like Isaiah Likely are going to pay dividends throughout the year,” Dart said.
Likely arrives with real expectations attached. He signed a three-year contract worth $40 million, with upside to $47.5 million, including $20.5 million fully guaranteed and as much as $27 million in total guarantees.
That deal makes him the third-highest-paid tight end in football, just ahead of Mark Andrews, the player who kept him in a backup role for four seasons in Baltimore. Likely came over from the Ravens with John Harbaugh, along with fullback Patrick Ricard, safety Ar’Darius Washington and punter Jordan Stout.
For the Giants, that kind of money only makes sense if Likely becomes a central part of the passing game. The expectation is that he’ll be heavily featured as the team’s top target this season.
The receiver room, meanwhile, has become a numbers game.
Wan’Dale Robinson left for Tennessee on a four-year, $78 million contract with $38 million guaranteed, reuniting with Brian Daboll. The Giants responded by spreading the money and the bets around instead of chasing one direct replacement. Their 2026 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 on minimum deals that can climb to $1.3 million.
Calvin Austin III and Mooney had already been brought in earlier in free agency, and Isaiah Hodgins re-signed as well. The cluster of veteran-minimum additions in June came shortly after Gunner Olszewski tore his Achilles in OTA practice, with Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton both rehabbing. Smith-Schuster also brings a familiar fit, having 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 that the biggest thing he wants from this group is simple: availability.
“I obviously can’t wait to get Leek back,” he said of Nabers, who is expected to open camp on the PUP list. He also pointed out that he and Skattebo had only about three and a half games together before the ankle injury that ended the rookie’s season in Week 8.
Dart’s own numbers from last season give the Giants reason to believe they can build around him. He threw for 2,272 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, and added nine rushing scores across 12 starts. He did that after Nabers tore his ACL in Week 4.
The offense he described on Sunday is still mostly theoretical. This week, though, the Giants finally get a chance to see it in real time when they 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 🡒]