Giants unlocking fourth-year receiver’s potential with revamped role in the offense

The New York Giants’ offense is aiming to be more explosive this season. To achieve that goal, they will need to take more shots downfield.

Last season, the Giants had to deal with poor and conservative quarterback play, limiting the ceiling of their offense and preventing their playmakers from making explosive plays.

However, entering 2025, it is a new era for the Giants — one that features an aggressive and accurate downfield-passing quarterback room with Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart.

Fourth-year wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this revamped quarterback room.

The Giants utilized Wan’Dale Robinson in a new role in Saturday’s preseason game

According to Pro Football Focus, in Saturday’s preseason game, Robinson’s only target was 12 yards down the field. Half of his snaps occurred when lined up out wide, and he played in three of the six first-team snaps out of 12 personnel.

This is a clear change of usage from last season when Robinson played almost exclusively out of three-receiver sets, playing less than 10% of 12 personnel snaps and never in 21 personnel.

He also played 78.2% of his snaps out of the slot, which is among the highest rates in the league. His 5.1-yard average depth of target was the lowest for wide receivers with at least 50 targets last season, per PFF’s Nathan Jahnke.

The Giants made it clear in this game that they are planning on expanding Robinson’s role in the offense. He will no longer be a checkdown merchant, constantly hovering around the line of scrimmage for dump-off passes and mild gains.

Instead, the Giants want to make Robinson a more effective passing weapon downfield.

He received a career-high 140 targets last season, totaling 93 receptions, but only 699 yards (7.5 yards per reception). For the volume of targets and touches he received, his yardage total was far too low.

But that should change in 2025 as the Giants find new ways to create production for Robinson.