There is plenty of hype circulating around the New York Giants‘ sixth overall pick, Malik Nabers, and his unbelievable skill set. Over the first eight days of training camp, Nabers has put the Giants’ secondary in the spin cycle, regularly demoralizing and tantalizing them.
While all the attention is certainly focused on Nabers, third-year slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson shouldn’t be overlooked. Robinson suffered an ACL tear during his rookie season but returned in 2023 to haul in 60 receptions on 76 targets, good for an impressive 78.9% completion rate, including 525 yards and one touchdown. He only managed to return in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers but quickly became an important variable in the Giants’ offense.
Wan’Dale Robinson Could Break Out for the Giants’ Offense
Despite the fact that the Giants had one of the worst units in football, Wan’Dale was a lone bright spot, regularly hauling in four or more targets per game, with his best performance coming against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 18. He caught five receptions for 85 yards.
Robinson played 78.2% of his snaps in the slot, but he believes he can play all five skill positions, which gives him substantial value in how the Giants utilize his alignment.
“I’d say I play all five skill positions,” he said. “For offense, it’s really important for guys to be able to be mixed and matched, and obviously you want to get the right matchups and things like that. The more you can handle, the better. Coach Dabes will call those plays and the more he’ll call.”
Robinson is quietly effective when running deeper route concepts, but he’s most impactful in space. Last year, 291 of his 525 yards came after the catch, amounting to more than 50%. The Giants will try to get him in space and let him operate after the catch primarily, which likely lends itself to more short and intermediate routes.
Using the Attention Nabers Commands
The influence that Nabers will have on the opposing secondaries should draw plenty of attention away from other players, not to mention Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt. The Giants have one of the more underrated receiver units in the league, and Robinson could be a breakout candidate, especially if Daniel Jones leans on his short passing game if the offensive line goes through early season struggles.
In addition, Wan’Dale added a bit of weight this off-season to improve his strength and ability to break tackles.
“Malik can play in all different spots outside, inside,” Robinson told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “I feel like a lot of us can do all those similar things. That just allows us to all move around in a lot of different places and do a lot of different things to get a lot of different mismatches.