Giants Might Have Their First Star in 20 Years at This Position

While the New York Giants' 28-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night was more about the best performance of Jaxson Dart's career (and the Giants ending their Cowboys curse) more than anything else, we also cannot overlook that a star may be on the rise for New York.

That potential star is tight end Isaiah Likely.

Likely led the Giants with eight catches for 78 yards and a couple of touchdowns in the affair. He also came up with a gigantic first-down grab late in the fourth quarter to help seal the game for New York.

While we can't get too far ahead of ourselves, it's entirely possible the Giants may now have their first legitimate star at the tight end position since Jeremy Shockey two decades ago.

Yes, plenty of decent tight ends have come through the Meadowlands since then, but you'd be kidding yourself to say that New York has had a true standout at that spot since.

Evan Engram could have been, but his injury history — not to mention his penchant for dropping passes — ultimately derailed his tenure in the Big Apple.

Likely, however, always seemed to have untapped potential.

The 26-year-old spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens, where he lived in the shadow of Mark Andrews.

Likely was productive during his time with the Ravens, accumulating 135 receptions for 1,568 yards and 15 touchdowns. But with Andrews grabbing a stranglehold on the No. 1 tight end role, Likely was never going to be a full-time target for Lamar Jackson.

There had been some speculation that Baltimore could trade Andrews in order to free up Likely, but it never happened.

Well, now, the Giants are reaping the benefits, as Likely's versatility in the passing game — not to mention his willingness to block, and do so effectively — was on full display in New York's Week 1 victory.

Suddenly, the questions surrounding the Giants' receiving corps do not seem as pressing. Malik Nabers looks healthy, running back Devin Singletary has turned into New York's de facto pass-catching weapon out of the backfield and Likely is quickly developing into Dart's security blanket.

Would some extra depth at wide receiver still be nice? Absolutely, especially in case of another injury (the Giants have already lost Calvin Austin III for the season). But perhaps the addition of Likely will compensate for those deficiencies.

Don't get me wrong: there were still some areas of concern for New York, but the biggest variable heading into 2026 was the progression of Dart and how the offense would fare in his second season.

Thanks to Likely, we now have an early idea of what things could look like.