It is almost too easy to pick a breakout candidate on offense for the New York Giants. It has to be tight end Isaiah Likely.
Breakout players often post unexpected production above anything they previously accomplished. Sometimes, though, you can see a breakout season coming. There can be an “or else” feel to it. As in, Player X needs to be more productive “or else” there is going to be a problem.
That is the case with Likely and the Giants.
Likely averaged 33.75 receptions, 392 yards, and 3.75 touchdowns
during his four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens after being a 2022 fourth-round pick by Baltimore.
That isn’t bad. It isn’t, though, enough to justify the three-year, $40 million contract ($20.5 million guaranteed) the Giants gave him in free agency this offseason.
The Giants made him the fourth-highest paid tight end in football by Average Per Year ($13.333 million) because of what they think he can do. Not because of what he has done.
Here is what Harbaugh said about Likely at the NFL owner’s meetings in late March:
“He’s a playmaking football player,” Harbaugh said. “I think Jaxson is going to really like him running the routes and being in his line of vision. He’s got a big catch radius. He can make plays after the catch.
“He can get upfield. He can make people miss. He can run people over. He’s a very good perimeter blocker. You’ll see that. That’ll be good for our run game. All those things he brings to the table …
… “I’ve seen him every day in practice [in Baltimore]. I’ve seen him make plays. I know how he plays the game. You try to create a vision for a player.
“When you see a player do it every day, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what he’s capable of. I’m certain he’s going to be able to put up the numbers. That wasn’t part of the thing in Baltimore, just because of the supporting cast [with Mark Andrews]. He’s going to be big here.”
Second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart needs Harbaugh’s bet on Likely’s upside to pay off.
Malik Nabers is a great player. Until proven otherwise, though, his 2026 health and effective remain a question mark. The Giants have a number of veteran wide receivers with nice resumes. It is questionable, though, whether any of them are at a point in their career where they can be counted on to produce like a like a WR2. Wan’Dale Robinson, who caught more than 90 passes for the Giants and had more than 1,000 receiving yards last season, is now a member of the Tennessee Titans. Malachi Fields is an unproven rookie third-round pick.
At tight end, Theo Johnson is a talented, but inconsistent player with an 8.5% drop rate over his two NFL seasons.
The Giants need Likely, who could often be aligned as a big slot receiver, to be their second receiving option behind Nabers. Maybe their first option if Nabers is limited or unavailable early in the season as he recovers from his 2025 torn ACL.
Harbaugh has said the tight end position group, with Likely, Johnson, Chris Manhertz, and probably second-year player Thomas Fidone, could be the best in the league.
“I feel like you want to prove it every day. I mean, the mantra in the meeting room and practice, it’s one thing to say it. It’s another thing to do it,” Likely said. “So I feel like I love that coach has the confidence to be able to say that about the tight end room, but obviously we got to back Coach up and be able to put in on film every day. I mean every tight end personnel room in the NFL probably thinks they have the best room. So, it’s really just us going out there and proving it.”
Likely, 26, said he “absolutely” believes he can produce better numbers than he did in Baltimore.
“I feel like New York was just the best place for me to pick to be able to blossom, show my talents, and show that I’m a top tight end caliber player in this league now,” Likely said shortly after he signed with the Giants.
On paper, the addition of Likely is the biggest one the Giants made to their pass catchers this offseason. They need him to be that on the field this fall.
