How the NY Giants will deploy TE Isaiah Likely in their new offensive scheme

The New York Giants opened up the 2026 free agency period by giving promising quarterback Jaxson Dart a massive target, signing former Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely to a three-year, $40 million deal (up to $47.5 million with incentives).

The move reunites Likely with head coach John Harbaugh, but the true intrigue lies in how offensive coordinator Matt Nagy plans to deploy the 25-year-old playmaker. Leaving Baltimore means Likely is no longer playing second fiddle to Mark Andrews. He is now positioned to be a focal point of the Giants’ passing attack.

Giants New TE Isaiah Likely’s Playing Style: Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

Elite Catch Radius and Hands: Likely is not a traditional inline tight end; he is a move tight end who wins with athleticism, spatial awareness, and contested-catch ability. Over the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined, Likely dropped only two passes.

Yards After Catch (YAC): At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Likely is a difficult player to bring down in the open field. He turns short-area targets into explosive plays by running through arm tackles, making him a YAC weapon. When the ball is in his area, he secures it. Advanced metrics show an incredibly low 2.0% drop rate over his 2023 and 2024 campaigns. He adjusts to poorly thrown balls and provides a massive safety net for a young quarterback.

Red Zone Threat: With 15 career touchdowns on relatively low volume, he has proven to be a highly efficient scorer when the field condenses.

Weaknesses

Inline Blocking: While he is a willing blocker who regularly saw action in Baltimore’s heavy 12 and 22 personnel packages, he does not have the sheer anchor strength to consistently win at the point of attack against edge rushers. However, he is a quality blocker on wide zone runs when aligned in the slot.

Recent Injury History: A foot injury derailed his 2025 season and limited his production. He also had minor ball security issues during that returning stretch, making his health a focal point for 2026.

Likely is Less of a Theo Johnson Upgrade and More of a Wan’Dale Robinson Replacement

Alignment: The Ultimate Jumbo Slot (Replacing Wan’Dale Robinson)

For the Giants, the slot receiver position is undergoing a philosophical shift. Instead of relying on a smaller, shiftier presence like Wan’Dale Robinson, who they just lost in free agency, the Giants are transitioning to a “jumbo slot” model.

In Baltimore, Likely was moved all over the formation to create mismatches. Over his last two fully healthy stretches, he spent over 41% to 54% of his snaps in the slot, while also lining up in-line, out wide, and occasionally in the backfield.

In 2026, Likely will play alongside Theo Johnson, the Giants’ current starting tight end, who they drafted in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Johnson plays primarily inline and will continue to do so, pairing up nicely with Likely in the team’s 12-personnel packages that will often feature two inline tight ends or a jumbo slot.

Replacing Robinson with a player of Likely’s stature creates immediate personnel headaches for opposing defenses. If a defense puts a nickel cornerback on Likely, he wins with size and catch radius. If they walk a linebacker out to the slot, he wins with pure route-running speed and agility. This alignment flexibility ensures Jaxson Dart has a physically dominant target to exploit the middle of the field.

The Travis Kelce Blueprint in Matt Nagy’s Offense

Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy spent 2023 through 2025 as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, orchestrating a passing game that flowed through Travis Kelce. While it is unfair to expect anyone to be the next Kelce, Likely possesses the exact structural traits to replicate that role in Nagy’s system.

In Kansas City, Nagy utilized his star tight end as a pre-snap motion weapon—a chess piece designed to identify man or zone coverage and find the soft spots underneath the safeties. Likely operated in a similar role under Todd Monken in Baltimore, frequently going in motion to clear out linebackers. Under Nagy, Likely will be tasked with running the option routes and middle-of-the-field crossers that made the Chiefs’ offense so lethal.

Kelce frequently splits his time between being an inline tight end and a slot receiver, just as Likely has done throughout his career. Kelce had 306 snaps in the slot in 2025 with 397 snaps inline and 171 snaps wide.

Escaping the Shadow of Mark Andrews

The primary reason Likely has yet to put up elite counting stats is simple: Mark Andrews. Even when the Ravens utilized heavy multi-tight end sets, Andrews commanded the lion’s share of the targets.

Despite the lack of sheer volume, Likely was incredibly efficient. He maximized his limited opportunities, particularly during his breakout 2024 season. Entering his prime at 25 years old, free from a timeshare, and stepping into an offensive scheme tailor-made for his exact skill set, Isaiah Likely is poised for a massive leap in production.

By Anthony Rivardo

Anthony Rivardo is the COO of Empire Sports Media and the host of Fireside Giants, a New York Giants ... More about Anthony Rivardo