Despite his game ending with an ejection, New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney is getting new recognition from around the league after his week 5 performance. Toney had a breakout game and exploded for 189 yards on 10 receptions, which was enough to get him noticed by Pro Football Focus and named to their team of the week. Not only that, but Toney was also named their rookie of the week for week 5.
Rookie of the Week: WR Kadarius Toney, New York Giants
Toney was a featured piece of the Giants offense against the Dallas Cowboys, generating 13 targets on 24 routes. The former Florida Gator took advantage of the opportunity by producing a 93.3 receiving grade and averaging 7.88 yards per route run — both of which are top-five single-game marks among rookie wide receivers since 2010.
Toney’s combination of balance, agility and explosiveness makes him almost impossible to tackle. The first-year pass-catcher shed three tackles on 10 catches and averaged 8.9 yards after the catch per reception.
It’s the second straight game where Toney has elevated his performance after a quiet start to the season. Much of that has to do with receiving a higher usage in the offense. Toney only played in 8% of offensive snaps in week 1 and 28% in week 2, leading to the impression that he hadn’t broken into the rotation. While Toney played more in week 3, he was only able to manage getting 3 targets.
But in the last two weeks, Toney was targeted 9 and 13 times respectively. His usage is likely to remain high, considering the other injuries the Giants have at the wide receiver position. The team has already been missing Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton since week 4, and now Kenny Golladay is included in the mix of injured receivers.
It’s not a good situation for the Giants as a whole. But with that being said, we may be witnessing the rise of a new star and that situation only accelerates the timeline for the Giants beginning to rely on Toney.