What Role Will Kadarius Toney Assume With the New York Giants?
Former Florida Gators wide receiver Kadarius Toney is headed to the Big Apple to perform under the lights.
Partaking in an eventful first round, the Giants would trade back from 11 to the 20th pick with the Bears, allowing general manager Dave Gettleman to gather more draft capital while equipping Joe Judge with an offensive weapon that changes the way the team operates.
As the Judge enters his second year as head coach, the focal point for the Giants roster construction has been adding weapons to the mix for quarterback Daniel Jones in his junior NFL campaign.
Selecting Toney as the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Giants would capitalize by selecting a high upside athlete that they believe will successfully aid the offensive stagnancy seen in New York in the past. Attempting to provide life into their franchise, the Giants gained an affable locker room presence who brings swagger, maximum effort and exhilaration to the Giants squad, especially with the ball in his hands.
That marks the question: How does Kadarius Toney fit the mold of the roster's construction, and what role will he assume in the New York Giants' offense?
Excitement. Energy. Juice.
Whatever you want to call it, Toney is a spark whose skillset and big personality fits perfectly into the bright lights of New York and the identity the Giants have begun to create this offseason.
Seeing a massive jump in his development and production in the 2020 season, Toney catapulted himself in first-round territory with an impressive senior season, accounting for 1,145 yards on 99 total touches — a remarkable 12 yard per touch — and 11 touchdowns.
Playing in a way that emphasizes suddenness and unpredictability, Toney slashed through defenses at the college ranks with ease, bringing a nearly unstoppable force to the Dan Mullen-led offense.
Looking to continue that trend at the next level, Toney is set to fill the role as an explosive playmaker in the Giants' offense.
Making moves in free agency to acquire Kenny Golladay, Kyle Rudolph and John Ross III to pair alongside Darius Slayton and Evan Engram, the Giants have been adamant about giving Jones weapons to work with as he enters what is a crucial third year in his career.
As a result, the Giants' skill position makeup contains a desirable mix of exhilarating youth and dependable experience.
With the explosive entities of Golladay — who fits in as the teams true X and number one wide receiver — and Ross — who looks to showcase his speed in New York after a failed start to his career in Cincinnati — the Giants have built their offense to be home-run hitters through and through.
Likely to operate as the Y receiver out of the slot for a majority of his snaps, Toney will be used in rotation with Ross, providing opposing defenses a number of different looks.
However, Toney was not drafted to merely be a rotational piece. More likely, the former Gators was brought in to be an explosive feature piece to utilize alongside the likes of Golladay and Saquon Barkley.
As the epitome of versatility, Toney allows the Giants to be creative in the way they get the ball in his hands, likely to see time in the backfield as well as the slot for Big Blue.
Equipped with tremendous balance, body control and lateral quickness in the open field, Toney is able to make opponents miss on a consistent basis, providing a juice for a Giants offense that has been rather dull in recent memory outside of Barkley’s dominance in his rookie season. Pairing those tools with deceiving strength that allows him to fight through contact at point, Toney is a beast to bring down in one-on-one scenarios.
With the addition of Toney, the Giants now sport one of the most explosive lineups in football for Daniel Jones to utilize at his disposal. Now, the big men upfront and the signal-caller of the New York offense will be the deciding factor for how much damage the talented unit is able to do.
