Isaiah Likely Must Step Up for New York Giants in 2026
If there's one thing we can say without contradiction about the 2026 New York Giants, it's that there will be a lot of tight ends on the field.
Per Sumer Sports, the Baltimore Ravens, the former home of new Giants head coach John Harbaugh, ran the sixth most two-tight ends sets in the NFL from 2022-2025, with a significant uptick over the last two seasons. And the Kansas City Chiefs, the former home of offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, ran the NFL's most two-tight end sets over that time.
While the Giants hadn't done that as much as other teams from 2022-2024, 2025 saw its own increase in two-tight end sets - from 17.40% in 2024 to 32.81% last season. The primary co-conspirators in 2025 were Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson, but there's some new blood in Big Blue to try and generate more explosive plays with more tight ends on the field.
It's probably a wise move. Per Sports Info Solutions, with two tight ends on the field last season, Giants quarterbacks (primarily rookie Jaxson Dart, with a side of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston) completed 91 of 140 passes for 1,245 yards, 693 air yards, seven touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 106.3 - ninth-best in the league. When you rank 22nd in Offensive DVOA as the Giants did in 2025, you'll look at any port in a storm from a personnel perspective.
That's one reason the Giants signed former Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely to a three-year, $40 million contract with $27 million guaranteed in the offseason. Harbaugh is obviously more than familiar with Likely's oeuvre - the Coastal Carolina alum, selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, caught all 146 of his 198 targets for 1,744 yards and 17 touchdowns for Harbaugh's Ravens.
"He's a playmaking football player," Harbaugh said after the deal was struck. "I think Jaxson is going to really like him running the routes and being in his line of vision. He's got a big catch radius. He can make plays after he makes the catch.
"He can get upfield. He can make people miss. He can run people over. He's a very good perimeter blocker. You'll see that. That'll be good for our run game. All those things he brings to the table."
As for Likely, who is coming off his least productive NFL season (27 catches on 34 targets for 307 yards and one touchdown), he's just happy to be in a new environment.
"I feel like New York was just the best place for me to pick to be able to blossom, show my talents, and show that I'm a top tight end in this league now," Likely said in March. "Really just being able to just express everything, showing New York that you get everything out of Isaiah Likely from here."
Isaiah Likely's big plays for the @Ravens in 2025.
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) June 20, 2026
The @giants are hoping for a lot more of this. pic.twitter.com/XKeOfze7qH
Likely can blossom in the right offense; he did his best work in 2024 with 49 catches on 65 targets for 603 yards and seven touchdowns. It was thought that it was the beginning of something big, but between injuries and offensive schisms, that didn't happen. Now, he'll have every opportunity to become the best version of himself with offensive minds that will clear the path for him to be on the field as often as possible.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 4:50 AM.