NY Giants' Lack of Receiver Depth Exposed in 2025 After Malik Nabers Injury

The New York Giants' receiving corps just wasn’t the same once Malik Nabers went down in Week 4 with his season-ending ACL injury, even though WAn’Dale Robinson stepped up to consume most of the targets that might have otherwise gone to Nabers.

The first thing that stood out about the wideouts was that, once Nabers was done, there was really no one in the group who put opposing defensive coordinators in fear of drawing double teams.

As we noted in our write-up of the tight ends, the receivers almost became an afterthought in the offense, as the passing game began to lean more heavily into 12- and 13-personnel in the passing game.

Of the Giants' receivers with at least 100 routes run (Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, NAbers, and Jalin Hyatt), only one receiver–Robinson–had a catch percentage rate of 65% or better. In contrast, the others all fell under the 60% mark per NextGen Stats.

Not very impressive.

The catch rate on balls of 20+ air yards? The best mark was Slayton's (40.3%), and even that was still below the CROE (Catch Rate Over Expected).

Again, not impressive.

Tight windows? Other than Gunner Olszewski (50%), the next-closest receiver to his percentage was Robinson at 40.5%.

And what about dropped passes? Of the Giants’ 24 drops (tied for 10th in the league, by the way), 13 were by the wide receivers, with Slayon leading the group with six.

In a nutshell, the Giants need better production from their receivers moving forward, and that starts with adding more firepower at the position, lest opponents realize they can hone in on Nabers and not have to worry about anyone else in the group.

Onto our player-by-player evals.

Malik Nabers

The team’s top receiver suffered a serious knee injury in Week 4, finishing the season with 18 catches for 271 yards and 2 TDs, this, after a sterling 109-catch, 1,204-yard, 7-TD rookie season that took the league by storm.

Nabers will likely need the entire summer to fully rehab the knee surgery, and make no mistake, the offense felt his absence. Look for the Giants to use a Day 1 or Day 2 pick in the NFL draft on a receiver to complement Nabers and give their franchise quarterback someone to throw to.

Wan’Dale Robinson

Robinson was finally given the chance this year to run something other than 5-yard button hooks, and boy, did his game blossom.

His reception total went down – from last year’s 92 to 91 this year – but his yardage total jumped from 699 to 1,014.

Robinson’s intermediate game opened the doors for the offense to attack the places on the field that had been ignored in Robinson’s first 3 seasons. He ran precise routes, he read the defense, he had fewer drops, and he made yards after the catch.

His diminutive size did limit the offense at times, but he played tough in the 16 games he appeared in.

A pending free agent, will the Giants pony up the big bucks that Robinson’s productive season will certainly attract? We say no to overpaying any slot receiver. They’re typically easy to find (look at Gunner Olszewski and his catching eight balls for 102 yards in Week 18).

We think the team’s resources should be used to target the offensive line or the defensive back seven. We would let Robinson walk.

Darius Slayton

Despite all his failings, Slayton, who has two more years left on his contract, was third on the team with 37 catches and second on the team in receiving yardage with 538.

Love him or hate him, he’s always available–he has never played fewer than 13 games in any of his seven NFL seasons–he can still run, and he averages 15 yards per catch every year.

Giants fans may hate to admit it, but Slayton offers decent depth as a No. 4 or 5 wideout at best.

Just don’t ask him to play tough, fight for a ball, or make a play when it's needed. Also, don’t ask him to play special teams, make yards after the catch, or catch the ball away from his body.

The best he will do is make you a play when the pressure is off.

Isaiah Hodgins

This former Giant was plucked off the Steelers' practice squad in mid-November and almost immediately given a uniform.

In his first game with the Giants, Hodgins caught 5 balls for 57 yards to lead the team.

That production and his blocking ability got Hodgins plenty of snaps the rest of the way, but the production disappeared, and the blocking wasn’t so good.

Look for the Giants to try harder to build some depth in their receiver room for 2026, and not invite Hodgins back.

Lil’Jordan Humphrey

It was a slightly questionable move not to sign Humphrey to the 53-man roster. Humphrey pretty much was buried in favor of Brian Daboll's favorite, Ray-Ray McCloud.

Humphrey later went back to Denver, and the Giants tried to replace him with Hodgins, only to discover that Humphrey was bigger, more physical, a better blocker, and could make the occasional downfield catch.

It was one of many head-scratching moves this team made in 2025.

Jalin Hyatt

Speaking of head-scratching moves, it’s clear that this draft bust of the current administration never really fit in on this team, so why they continued to use a roster spot on him is just crazy.

The healthy Hyatt only suited up in eight games for a team desperate for receiver help, often being passed over for practice squad players with a lesser draft pedigree.

When he did play, Hyatt was responsible for two of Jaxson Dart’s 5 interceptions with his lazy route-running.

Despite great deep speed, Hyatt is a poor deep receiver because he slows down while tracking the ball in flight and rarely tracks it well when he isn’t crumbling like a deck of cards under contact.

He caught 5 balls for 35 yards in 2025. He still has another year left on his contract. We can’t imagine he’d be back as it’s time to cut the cord.

Gunner Olszewski

The team’s reliable return man got all of Wan’Dale Robinson’s snaps in Week 18, and boy did he take advantage.

Olszewski caught eight balls for 102 yards on the day, looking like he’d played with Jaxson Dart for years.

The quarterback and slot receiver were so much on the same page that every one of Dart’s throws was more accurate than to any other receiver he’s thrown to all year.

Dart seems to love throwing to Olszewski, a connection that started in the preseason. Olszewski may be 29 years old and has never caught more than five balls in any of his previous six seasons, but it sure makes one ponder how difficult it is to play the slot with a quarterback like Dart hitting you in stride all over the field.

We also know how dangerous it is to put any kind of stock in a Week 18 meaningless game performance, but Olszewski looked comfortable out there, seeing the game the same way that Dart saw it.

Beaux Collins

This rookie undrafted free agent made the team out of training camp, played in 9 games, caught just 2 passes, and never made an impact.

A neck injury sent him to IR, where he finished the year. A big receiver who can also play specials, Collins will certainly be invited back next summer to compete for a depth spot at receiver.

Dalen Cambre

Also signed as an undrafted free agent, Cambre played in the team’s final seven games as a special teamer, getting a handful of routes to run, but the ball never went his way.

A college special teamer and raw receiver, Cambre will certainly be signed to a futures contract and invited back to compete next summer. He has decent size, good straight line speed, and is very aggressive on specials.

Ryan Miller

The Giants claimed Miller off of Tampa Bay’s practice squad in early December, but never gave him a uniform in their final three games.

Miller is a 25-year-old former small-school college tight end who is now a slot/possession receiver and a good special-teams player.

He actually started three games for the Bucs in 2025, catching two passes, one for a touchdown. He’s a pending free agent.

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