Giants Wide Receiver Calvin Austin III: The Good, The Great, and The Ugly

When the New York Giants allowed Wan'Dale Robinson to leave for the Tennessee Titans in free agency, it wasn't because they didn't have a need for a good slot receiver. It was simply that they couldn't afford Robinson's services.

Over the first week of free agency, the Giants worked to replace the contributions Robinson made.

One of the places they looked was in Pittsburgh, where Calvin Austin III spent his 2025 season.

Despite being one of the smaller receivers in all of the NFL, Austin has created a reputation for being an explosive deep threat from the slot position.

Let's take a look at the good, the great, and the ugly of one of the New York Giants' newest receivers.

The Good: Return Ability

The Good of new #NYGiants receiver Calvin Austin III is his punt return ability. pic.twitter.com/OMQbOiuJSX
— Coach Gene Clemons (@geneclemons) March 15, 2026

Austin is an underrated punt returner who clearly has the explosiveness and straight-line speed to hit a home run. He also has just enough movement to make a guy running full speed miss or try to arm-tackle him.

The mark of a good returner is not the ability to hit the home run touchdown return every time, but to consistently gain ground when there is the opportunity to put your team in better field position.

Austin has that ability, and it has not been taken advantage of as much in Pittsburgh. In New York, however, he should have an opportunity to compete for more reps as a return man in both the punt and kick return game.

The Great: Vertical Speed

The Great of new #NYGiants receiver Calvin Austin III is the vertical speed. pic.twitter.com/w65NbIUOUV
— Coach Gene Clemons (@geneclemons) March 15, 2026

Say what you want about Austin, but you can’t say that he lacks speed. When he gets a release and is able to threaten the third level, defensive backs are paying close attention.

He embodies the phrase "If he's even, he's leaving" and poses a legitimate problem for defenses at the third level.

Whether it is pushing vertically from the slot and threatening the hashes or breaking into corner routes, he's able to get behind the defense consistently and give the quarterback the ability to throw the ball out for him to go and chase it down.

His speed is not only a weapon for completing passes, but it also opens up the intermediate and underneath areas for Austin when defenders play too far off him. When he runs deep, it opens those areas up for the other receivers around him as well.

His speed is always a threat to defenses whenever he is on the field.

The Ugly: Lack of physicality in blocking

The Ugly of new #NYGiants receiver Calvin Austin III is his physicality as a blocker. His lack of size probably plays a big role in that. pic.twitter.com/vJtD9DILbq
— Coach Gene Clemons (@geneclemons) March 15, 2026

Austin is one of the smallest football players in the NFL. He is listed at 5-foot-9 and 162 pounds, which suggests a mediocre high school wide receiver rather than an NFL player thriving.

While he has been able to carve out a lane and be effective as a pass receiver, he is not as effective as a blocker. There are several instances of him ricocheting off defenders while trying to block them.

He just does not have enough weight behind him to move bodies; he is going to lose the size battle every time. That represents a deficit on the perimeter, or even at the edges of the tackle box.

In most cases, he won't be put in a situation where he has to block, but this also limits his ability to be on the field and effective in play-action situations, which would be a great advantage for him with his speed.

Coach's Corner

Austin must lean into being the explosive slot player who always keeps the third level occupied. This offseason, he'll need to improve his endurance to answer the call to work deep on a play-by-play basis.

Because the Giants have other receivers they're going to lean on to work the short and intermediate areas, guys like Austin, Darius Slayton, and now Darnell Mooney will be the ones they send deep regularly to occupy the secondary while Malik Nabors, Isaiah Likely, and the running backs work the short and intermediate game.

Austin can't get worn down or tired; he has to keep his fitness high enough to continuously stretch the field, making safeties nervous.

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