This Giants Player Projected to Receive an Early Contract Extension

The New York Giants have been heavily criticized for letting homegrown (Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney) talent leave in free agency last year. On the other hand, they have also extended guys like Andrew Thomas and Dexter Lawrence II to long-term contracts.

Who might be next to receive an extension? In the opinion of Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac, receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, might be next in line for a contract extension this offseason, with Ginnitti predicting a two-year, $15 million deal for Robinson.

Robinson entered the league as the second-round pick by the Giants in the 2022 NFL Draft. He showed promise in his rookie year, finishing with 227 yards and a touchdown on 23 receptions in six games before suffering an ACL injury.

He rehabbed and returned the following season, finishing the season with 60 receptions for 525 yards and two touchdowns.

The 24-year-old endured the best campaign of his career, even with limited quarterback play this season. He recorded career-highs in catches (93), yards (699), and touchdowns (three).

His 93 catches are the most in Giants history by a player who has not led the team in receptions since 2018. The former mark of 77 was set by Odell Beckham, Jr., who finished behind team leader Saquon Barkley.

Robinson also finished as the team lead among the wideouts in missed tackles forced (20) and was second in contested catch rate (58.6%). He also managed to rack up 361 yards after the catch (YAC).

New York Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (17) runs after making a catch against the Minnesota Vikings. — Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (17) runs after making a catch against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half at MetLife Stadium. | John Jones-Imagn Images

Oftentimes, he was overshadowed by rookie Malik Nabers. Last year's first-round pick led the team in catches (109), yards (1,204), and touchdowns (7) this season. But together, they formed a solid, dependable duo.

The 202 combined catches by Nabers and Robinson are 34 more than the previous record for a Giants duo – 168 by Barkley and Beckham recorded six years ago.

There are some limitations to his game. Robinson isn't a huge target at 5-8 and 185 pounds. He often ends up hidden on deeper routes. He also mainly operates in the slot position, where he is a precise route runner.

Robinson, whose arm length (27⅝") puts him in the zero percentile range according to MockDraftable, averaged just 7.7 yards per reception when working from the slot. That put him 15th out of 15 receivers with a minimum of 57 slot targets despite having the second-most slot targets among that group.

He also had a career-high in drops, with six, and his overall target rating was a career-low (79.4).

Robinson has a base salary of $1.82 million and a cap hit of $2.6 million this season. The Giants don’t have to extend his contract this year, but with general manager Joe Schoen having pledged when he was hired to draft, develop, and retain homegrown talent, it will be interesting to see if Robinson gets a contract before his potential value has a chance to skyrocket after this coming season.

This Giants Player Projected to Receive an Early Contract Extension

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