Where Will WR Calvin Austin III Find a Role in Giants Offense?

While they were hardly a position group short of bodies last season, the New York Giants receiving corps was largely a disappointing bunch that didn't live up to the expectations placed on them at the start of the 2025 campaign.

Paired first with veteran moonball specialist Russell Wilson and eventually rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who wasn't shy about showing the league that he could sling the football–Dart ranked 13th in deep passing attempts last season–the Giants' aerial offense was projected to be attack vertically with regularity and putting pressure on opposing secondaries.

Instead, the unit's promise was grounded before it could really take off. It started in Week 4 when the Giants lost their star receiver Malik Nabers to a season-ending ACL injury that took away what might have been a second consecutive 1,000-yard season brewing for the 2024 first-round pick.

After losing Nabers, the Giants had to look to the remaining pass catchers in their ranks to continue their explosive aspirations, only to have many of their players' production come up short.

Wan'Dale Robinson was a surprise as he ascended into his first 1,000-yard campaign out of the slot while the rest of New York's core couldn't muster up more than 538 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Nabers, who recently underwent a second procedure in the aftermath of his knee injury, is a major question mark as the offseason rolls on, and Robinson left for a bigger payday with the Tennessee Titans in free agency, leaving the Giants focused on beefing up their receiver room with capable weapons for Dart to connect with in 2026.

Fifth-year pro Calvin Austin III, who signed with the Giants on the heels of Robinson's exit, was the franchise's first real answer to addressing last year's weakness.

He is slightly smaller than his predecessor but brings versatility, playing both in the slot and on the perimeter, where he flashes speed and improved route-running to stretch the field and make catches.

Austin's size doesn't just mean he'll be slotted right into the void left by Robinson on the inside, though.

There is a chance the Giants will look to utilize his skill set in different ways across their offense, providing the quarterback with a new version of that reliable option that No. 17 suddenly became in the absence of Nabers.

How that role takes shape could take until the end of the summer and the start of the 2026 season to figure out, but there should be little doubt that Austin will be a critical contributor in what the Giants hope to accomplish through the air this season as they aim to be more explosive.

Calvin Austin III, WR

Height: 5-foot-9
Weight: 162 lbs
Exp: 5 Years
School: Memphis
How Acquired: FA-26

2025 in Review

New York Giants wide receiver Calvin Austin III as a member of the Steelers in 202 | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

In a Pittsburgh Steelers offense whose receiving production was best split among players from three different positions, Calvin Austin was the second-best contributor flanking from the outside.

He finished fourth on the Steelers' leaderboard with 31 catches for 372 yards (12.0 average) and three touchdowns, and all those stats were the second-highest of his NFL career.

As he has throughout his first three pro seasons, Austin split his reps between the slot (157 snaps) and the outside (166 snaps).

Austin was a good catch-and-run option for the Steelers, netting 129 yards after the catch (4.2 per reception), but could also extend the field for intermediate targets (10.5-yard average distance of target).

The 27-year-old receiver rarely dropped passes thrown in his direction, with just three all season, but his muffled targets did result in three interceptions against Pittsburgh’s offense, which was rather good at protecting the football.

On his nine contested targets, Austin hauled in four of them to add to his 13-of-26 in his career for an even 50% success rate as an aggressive receiver.

Contract/Cap Info

Calvin Austin signed a one-year deal with the Giants over the offseason worth $1.5 million against the team’s 2026 salary cap.

The contract includes a base salary of $1.2 million and $450,000 of guaranteed money, which comes from a prorated signing bonus ($250,000) and a workout bonus ($50,000).

If Austin were to part ways with the Giants following the post-June 1 transaction deadline, the Giants would accrue $450,000 in dead money charges while bringing back $1,050,000 in cap savings.

2026 Preview

New York Giants wide receiver Calvin Austin II | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

When the Giants signed Calvin Austin at the onset of free agency, it felt like he was destined to become their newest answer at the slot receiver position following Wan’Dale Robinson’s departure in free agency.

Not long after, the team signed former Falcons wideout Darnell Mooney, another player with impressive speed and versatility who could bring the same intangibles as Austin.

It could lead to a camp competition for the starting job at the slot position, but the Giants might have other plans to utilize the latter veteran elsewhere.

The Giants’ receiver room has taken some early hits with the uncertain status of Malik Nabers in Week 1 and the loss of Gunner Olszewski to a season-ending Achilles injury suffered during team OTA’s.

They could push Austin to the perimeter with Darius Slayton and use him as a quick yardage option for Jaxson Dart.

If Austin wants to become more than that, he’ll need to do a little more to shore up his hands so as to avoid falling into the case of the drops that have impacted the Giants’ unit over the past couple of seasons.

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