The tripleheader of wide receiver signings by the New York Giants on Monday completed what is a stunning makeover at the position since the end of the 2025 season.
Here is what the Giants’ wide receiver depth chart looked like in the 2025 Week 18 season finale against the Dallas Cowboys:
IR — Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson
Robinson spent the final week of the season on IR after crossing the 1,000-yard mark for the season the week before, the only time in his four years with the Giants that he did so.
Game day roster — Darius Slayton, Ryan Miller, Jalin Hyatt, Gunner Olszewski, Dalen Cambre, Isaiah Hodgins
Practice squad — Xavier Gipson, Ihmir Smith-Marsette
While Nabers is the team’s No. 1 wide receiver, his uncertain status as he grinds away at rehab from a pair of surgeries for a torn ACL and other injuries makes it possible that the only wide receiver from the group above who could be on the Week 1 roster is Slayton.
The Giants have added five capable veteran wide receivers in free agency. They signed Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin earlier in free agency, then struck deals with Odell Beckham Jr., Braxton Berrios, and JuJu Smith-Schuster on Monday.
They surrendered a pair of draft picks to move up in the 2026 NFL Draft and select wide receiver Malachi Fields in Round 3.
Add the tight end swap on Isaiah Likely in place of Daniel Bellinger, and the Giants have transformed their receiving group into a much deeper, more experienced group for Jaxson Dart to throw to.
Monday’s moves by the Giants seem only partially necessitated by Friday’s season-ending injury to Gunner Olszewski. It is entirely possible that Harbaugh and the Giants looked at the receivers after two weeks of OTAs and realized they did not have enough firepower.
Let’s break down the wide receivers on the 90-man roster and see where the pieces might fit. Below, my initial expectations on who will and will not make the team, and thoughts on each player.
PUP
Malik Nabers — I think this is where the situation with Nabers is headed. The last time he spoke about Nabers, head coach John Harbaugh did not seem optimistic that he would be healthy enough to begin the season. Nabers did participate in the Brian Burns Charity Softball Game, but seemed to move carefully and was said to be limping.
Nabers has said there was a lot going on with his knee, and he had a second “clean up” surgery this offseason. Just an educated guess, but I think one of the reasons the Giants were so aggressive on Monday in adding wide receivers is that they aren’t sure when Nabers will be ready to play.
On the 53-man roster
Darius Slayton — Don’t forget about the 29-year-old, now the longest-tenured Giant. He has missed spring workouts due to surgery to repair a sports hernia, but he will almost certainly be on the roster and have a role in the offense. Cutting Slayton would cost the Giants $15.749 million in dead money against the cap, and it would be stunning if they were to take that hit.
Slayton did not have his best season in 2025. His 37 catches and 538 receiving yards were the second-lowest totals of his career, and his drop rate of 7.9% spiked to its highest mark since he dropped 9.9% of passes thrown to him in 2022. Still, Slayton has always shown the ability to bounce back and play himself into having a key role. Despite all the changes, that could be the case again.
Darnell Mooney — Mooney’s best has been better than Slayton’s best. Mooney has 1,000-yard and 900-yard receiving seasons on his resume. Slayton’s best is 770 yards. Mooney has 81, 64, and 61-catch seasons across his six-year career. Slayton’s best is 50 catches.
Mooney, 28, had his best season — 81 catches, 1,055 yards — playing for Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy with the Chicago Bears in 2021.
The Giants would take a $3 million cap hit if they cut Mooney. If they traded him, which seems unlikely, that hit would reduce to $1.785 million.
Mooney has been working with the first team during OTAs, and his spot should be safe.
Malachi Fields — The Giants gave up a pair of draft picks to move up into the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft to select Fields. At 6-foot-4, 222 pounds, he possesses size and a contested-catch skill set that makes him unique on this Giants’ roster.
Calvin Austin III — The 5-9, 162-pound Austin has been a constant target for Dart early in training camp. Austin’s importance may have grown with the Olszewski injury, because he has significant punt and kickoff return experience. Austin and the newly-signed Braxton Berrios seem like the top candidates to fill Olszewski’s role as a returner.
On the bubble
Odell Beckham Jr. — No, I don’t think the Giants signed Beckham to cut him. That kind of tease would crush fans who have been longing for a Beckham return.
I think that if the oft-injured 33-year-old Beckham stays healthy throughout the rest of the spring and training camp, and shows that he has enough left in the tank to contribute on at least a part-time basis, he will open the season on the roster.
I can’t, though, call a player who did not play in 2025 and had just nine catches in nine games for an average of 6.1 yards per catch in 2024 a lock to make the roster. He is close to that, in my view, but I can’t completely discount the possibility that the spring and summer reveal that Father Time has caught up to Beckham.
Beckham reportedly signed a veteran minimum deal with the Giants, so they are only guaranteeing him a chance. Let’s see what he does with it.
JuJu Smith-Schuster — The Beckham signing, of course, drew the majority of the attention on Monday. That will continue to be the case. I am expecting Wednesday, the first day media has access to the team after the wide receiver signings, to be a madhouse thanks to Beckham-Mania.
It was the Smith-Schuster signing, though, that got my attention. Smith-Schuster spent three of the past four seasons playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, where Nagy was a key member of head coach Andy Reid’s staff. Smith-Schuster, 6-1, 215 pounds, is not a great player, but he is a useful one.
I was a little surprised that the Giants added Beckham AND Smith-Schuster. To me, the Smith-Schuster addition is a hedge against the health of Nabers and Beckham. Smith-Schuster has 481 career receptions. No one should be surprised if he emerges as a regular contributor this season.
Braxton Berrios — Signing Berrios seems like an obvious move to as directly as possible replace Olszewski’s skill set. Berrios is all the things Olszewski was — backup wide receiver, and experienced/capable kickoff and punt returner. He gives the Giants an option in the return game other than Austin. Like Beckham and Smith-Schuster, he signed a minimum contract and will need to earn a roster spot.
Isaiah Hodgins — There was joy in the fan base when the Giants finally brought Hodgins back last season, although not Beckham-level euphoria. Hodgins is decent receiving depth, but contributes nothing on special teams. That might leave Hodgins on the outside looking in.
Dalen Cambre — The 25-year-old former undrafted free agent showed value on kickoff and punt coverage in seven games last season. In Harbaugh’s world, that special teams ability equals value. Will it be enough to land him on the 53-man roster? Maybe not, but landing on the practice squad would not be a terrible outcome for Cambre.
Probably not
Jalin Hyatt — The 2023 third-round pick’s time with the Giants has been a massive disappointment. I think he’s out of chances.
Beaux Collins — I don’t see a path to the roster for the former undrafted free agent.
Ryan Miller — The Giants brought Miller in from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, and Miller brought a reputation as a quality special teams player with him. We haven’t really seen it, but Miller is in the same position as Cambre. If he is going to make the roster, he is going to have to convince Harbaugh the Giants need him on special teams.
Xavier Gipson — I can’t imagine that a player with 12 fumbles in 157 career touches will be one Harbaugh trusts.
Roster projection
Without seeing what any of the new trio of receivers look like on the field, I see seven wide receivers making the team. Here is how I would project the group that makes the 53-man roster:
Darius Slayton
Darnell Mooney
Calvin Austin III
Malachi Fields
Odell Beckham Jr.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Braxton Berrios
