The New York Giants are in hot pursuit of free agent wide receiver Kenny Golladay. Most Giants fans think this is the player they should be spending their free agent money on.
Golladay is a 6-foot-4, 214-pound wideout who — when healthy — can be a game-changing presence.
The operative word there is ‘healthy.’ Golladay missed 11 games last year with hamstring and hip issues and is now seeking a substantial contract. Former Giant great Tiki Barber is advising against his old team taking a risk on Golladay.
“It’s stupid, but somebody is going to give [a big contract] to him,” Barber said, via NJ Advance Media. “He played five games last year and had one great season.
“To me, there’s not even a question of what the Giants should do with their first-round pick this year. Get one of those [receivers] and develop him along with the rest of this young offense.”
Barber is right. Golladay has only played 16 games once in his four year career with Detroit. It was 2019 when he was named to the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL in receiving touchdowns (11) and averaged 18.3 yards per catch. That is the Golladay the Giants hope they are getting.
But there’s more to signing Golladay than meets the eye. The Giants’ third-year quarterback, Daniel Jones, needs a wide receiver who can both leverage his size and make the contested catches. Golladay can do that.
Highest PFF receiving grades on contested targets since 2017:
🥇 Kenny Golladay – 96.8
🥈 Allen Robinson – 95.1
🥉 DeAndre Hopkins – 94.6 pic.twitter.com/7BaROgsgBO— PFF (@PFF) March 11, 2021
Jones throws into tight windows and needs his receivers to stick and fight for the football. No one does that better than Golladay.
Most receiving yards on contested catches last season
1. Kenny Golladay – 429
2. DeVante Parker – 400
3. Mike Williams – 384
4. Julio Jones – 380 pic.twitter.com/qIHwSNozHI— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) June 17, 2020
Golloday’s 16.77 yard per reception is also the highest in the NFL since 2017 (min.150 catches). It will all come down to whether the Giants believe he is healthy and can stay healthy and, of course, how much it will cost them.
