New York Giants Land Receiver Kenny Golladay

Exhale, Giants fans! The Giants and receiver Kenny Golladay have an agreement in place.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Mar 20, 2021 3:44 PM EDT

The Giants got their man.

That’s right, 5,847 days after signing a big-bodied free agent receiver by the name of Plaxico Burress to a multi-year deal, the Giants finally have another big, bodied receiver, former Detroit Lions star Kenny Golladay, in the fold.

The 27-year-old Golladay made a rare in-person visit to meet with the Giants to undergo a physical on his hip flexor injury that cut short his season and to give the Giants a chance to assess if he'd be a fit for their locker room. He stands 6’4” and weighs 214 pounds, and had his best season as a pro in 2019 when he finished as the NFL receiving touchdowns leader (11) and earned a Pro Bowl berth.

A 2017 third-round pick by the Lions out of Northern Illinois, Golladay finished in the sixth league-wide in receiving yards (1,190) in 2019, his last full season (he missed 11 games in 2020 with a hip injury).

The Skinny

Here are Golladay’s career stats.

Per Pro Football Focus, Golladay plays primarily as an X-receiver, though he’s had nearly 400 snaps as a slot receiver over his career. According to NextGen Stats, Golladay’s 15.4 average air yards in 2019, his last full season, was sixth among receivers. Also, in 2019, Golladay’s pass targets were almost evenly distributed depth-wise (short, medium, and deep) with his targets.

Simply put, Golladay is the receiver the Giants haven’t had since Burress (you could make an argument since Hakeem Nicks, but Nicks wasn’t as tall as Burress or Golladay). And he’s going to be an instant update to a lackluster Giants offense.

SEE ALSO

New York Giants Free Agency Updates
New York Giants 2021 Free Agent Scorecard

Scouting Report

Here’s what All Lions Publisher John Maakaron told us last month about Golladay.

For a player expected to perform at a high level in 2020, wide receiver Kenny Golladay's injury-riddled season was among the many disappointments for a Lions team that went 5-11.
In five games, he secured 20 receptions for 338 yards and two touchdowns. His season ended with a hip injury following the loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
There is a rumor that he reportedly turned down a contract offer of $16 million per season before the 2020 season. It is uncertain at this time what his contract demands are, but it's hard not to imagine him looking to be compensated, similar to what top wideouts in the league are earning.
A Giants team should be interested in a player of Golladay's caliber but must proceed with extreme caution. Many teams are now shying away from signing wideouts to big-time, lengthy contracts due to the position's depth via the NFL draft.
Besides injury concerns, there are also concerns regarding his ability to consistently separate from defenders, as his statistical separation numbers could be better.

Where He Fits

Golladay becomes the team's new No 1 receiver, something the Giants have been missing since Odell Beckham Jr, and the tall target Daniel Jones has probably been secretly yearning for.

Now that the Giants now have their No. 1 receiver gives them flexibility in the draft in that they’re not necessarily locked into taking a receiver from an otherwise deep class (tight end Kyle Pitts would be the only offensive skill player that would realistically warrant an exception).

Golladay’s presence (along with that of John Ross) should also allow the Giants to unlock more of those deep downfield routes that they really weren't able to run last year.

These include the No. 8 route (post), which attacks the safeties deep down the field, and the No. 9 route (“fly” or “go”), a route where the receiver just bursts down the field running as fast as possible, looks to separate.