Draft or Free Agency? How Should Giants Address Receiver?

Amid all the negative realities of their dismal 2025 season, the New York Giants surely recognized how bereft their wide receiving corps was without the dominant abilities of receiver Malik Nabers drawing away defensive attention on every snap he took on the field.

With Nabers sidelined only a quarter of the way into the season with an ACL tear, the Giants needed to call upon a different face in the position group to assume the role of the team’s top target, and Wan’Dale Robinson was the player who did that as he built a strong connection with Jaxson Dart.

Robinson, the franchise’s second-longest tenured receiver after Darius Slayton, cast all doubts about his ability to be a top-flight playmaker in the league aside as he recorded his first 1,000-yard season and second with over 90 catches on 140 targets and four touchdowns.

He also proved that he could become more of a long-range threat even out of the slot, posting his first season with an average catch greater than 10.0 yards and finishing in the top 15 with 392 yards after the catch.

What better timing for the undersized former second-round pick to have a breakout effort, as Robinson is heading to his first free agency as a pro and is set to welcome competitive ($17.64 million projected market value) offers from a number of opposing franchises for his services next fall.

That creates a big problem for the Giants' offense if and when Robinson walks out the door with a large payday for another franchise.

Nabers is no guarantee to be ready to suit up for Week 1, and the loss of Robinson would open up a noticeable hole at the No. 2 receiver spot that wasn’t being commanded by any other player in their arsenal.

The Giants want to supply Dart with the most functional offense in 2026, including the best collection of weapons he can get the football to, and make the unit in line with the league's more explosive groups. Injuries were a problem this season, and they can’t carry over into the next if the team wants to be a contender.

Either via the draft or the free agent signing frenzy next month, the Giants will likely be busy searching for Dart’s newest playmaker. The only question that remains is whether they can afford to reel him in as a big fish or an option off of the NFL’s clearance rack.

Potential Draft Option

Dec 6, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) looks on in the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers during the 2025 Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

With the Giants owning a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, they are in a prime spot to land one of the 2026 class’s best receiver prospects, and one that easily fits what they are looking for is Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate.

Tate has been a frequent candidate in most mock drafts to this point, as he had one of the highest-graded aerial resumes in college football, posting 51 receptions for 875 yards and nine touchdowns that finished second on the school’s offensive leaderboard.

Not only does he boast excellent size and strong hands (85.7% contested completion rate) to haul in the toughest of catches, but Tate is also another example of a true vertical threat that can run just about any route, stretch the field, and get separation to create big plays for any offense.

In his targets that went at least 20 yards downfield, Tate was nearly flawless for the Buckeyes with 10 catches on 13 targets for 433 yards and six of his total touchdowns.

He isn’t the best receiver at breaking free from tackles to add extra yardage, but he is almost a surefire bet to bring the ball down with him so long as it lands in his catch radius.

Adding the elite Big 10 playmaker wouldn’t necessarily satisfy the Giants' need for a replacement in the slot, but it would give Jaxson Dart a pair of perimeter targets that could cause trouble for opposing defenses to slow down.

If Nabers isn’t back by the first game, Tate has enough to be a trusted option from the jump while the Giants iron out the rest of their supporting cast.

The top of the first round has a couple of other prospects that the Giants could consider if Tate gets snatched up before the No. 5 pick.

With the Raiders all but set on drafting quarterback Fernando Mendoza and a demand for edge rushers and offensive linemen in that range, there is a good chance the Giants will have their choice and pursue Tate as a cheap rookie.

New York doesn’t have the healthiest salary cap situation in place to splurge on a pricy veteran, which is partly why Wan’Dale Robinson could be finding a new home in a new city this offseason.

That isn’t the worst-case scenario for the Giants, as they could recruit Tate and then tab a slot receiver later in the draft or in the secondary wave of free agency, where those players are a dime a dozen.

Potential Pending Free Agent Option

Dec 21, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) reacts after a touchdown during the first half against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

We know what the readers are thinking when they see this choice for a potential answer to the Giants’ need at the receiver position. Don’t be surprised if the team takes a look at Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans, who just became an intriguing option ahead of free agency.

After making the decision to return to the field for his 13th NFL season, Evans will be one of the most attractive players on the open market with his experience and penchant for being a difference-maker near the endzone.

In his first 12 seasons, the 32-year-old has collected over 1,000 receiving yards eleven times and scored double-digit touchdowns in six of them. His career resume stands at 866 catches for 13,052 yards (15.1 average) and 75 total touchdowns, making him a very reliable and impactful weapon even at his age.

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As for wanting a second vertical receiver to pair with Malik Nabers, signing Evans would give the Giants a scary duo with a blend of size and speed who have made their names off being deep ball hunters.

Evans has never averaged less than 12.3 yards per catch in his career and graded well in deep passing targets, where he hauled in four touchdowns on such throws in the 2024 season.

The one concern with Evans is his injury status from this past season. He missed nine games in 2025 with two separate injuries–first being a collarbone and second a hamstring–and recorded the lowest statistics of his NFL tenure, just 30 catches on 61 targets for 368 yards and three touchdowns.

Even after a downward season, Evans is projected to carry a $13.31 million market value into free agency, which is the seventh highest in the position, per Spotrac. That is a slightly smaller fee than what Wan’Dale Robinson could garner, but the Giants would likely have to clear some extra cap space to make a short-term deal work with the veteran All-Pro.

Following a shortened season in which he wasn’t as impactful, and amid questions about the future of the Buccaneers’ offense, Evans might be willing to cut a deal on a cheaper contract to prove he is still an elite pass catcher in another city.

The Giants want to be a contender in year one of John Harbaugh’s leadership, and that element could be intriguing to many of the best free agents in the league. The question is whether that is enough to sway Evans away from his loyalty to Tampa Bay as the only franchise he’s played for?

Best Route: Draft or Free Agency?

The key to the Giants’ impending direction at wide receiver is the expectation from the top to build a more explosive offense that takes advantage of Jaxson Dart’s capable arm. Dart ranked second among rookie gunslingers in deep passing attempts and yards, yet lacked the best pieces to capitalize on the other end.

While Wan’Dale Robinson stepped up and built a strong connection with his young quarterback as the 2025 season progressed, the need to replace him with another elite slot receiver isn’t much of a concern, as is the Giants’ poor cap situation that will get ironed out in the weeks leading into free agency and the draft.

The Giants would surely want to bring Robinson back if they could afford it, but it might make more sense to push that money into finding a second perimeter threat while signing a cheaper option with decent production from a vast pool to fill the former player’s inside role.

More than that, Joe Schoen still has to decide whether he wants to prioritize using the team’s future-created funds to stabilize the offensive line, which made a huge jump this season, or to keep Cor’Dale Flott at an important starting position in the defensive secondary.

That feels like more of the destined approach from the Giants’ front office, leaving the smartest route for addressing the receiving corps being the draft, where the organization has a coveted pick and a solid chance to reel in their choice of the three top prospects in this year’s class who can upgrade the offensive huddle for cheap long-term.