Tag: Isaiah Hodgins

Giants fans traveled well, took over State Farm Stadium in Week 2

New York Giants fans traveled well in Week 2, taking over State Farm Stadium in Glendale during a 31-28 comeback win vs. Arizona Cardinals.

The New York Giants’ comeback victory over the Arizona Cardinals on the road on Sunday was aided by a large gaggle of Giants fans who traveled out to the desert for the game.

“That played into it greatly,” wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins said after the game. “Giants fans travel like crazy. That was one of my better experiences just witnessing how deep they travel and I was just surprised that even pre-game to see how many Giants fans were out there. Salute to them and all the loyal fans out there, they definitely helped us.”

The fans were rewarded with a 31-28 win, the biggest comeback by the Giants since 1949.

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Studs and duds from Giants’ Week 2 win vs. Cardinals

Here’s a look at the studs and duds (and studly duds) from a 31-28 comeback victory for the New York Giants over the Cardinals in Week 2.

The New York Giants trailed by 20 points at halftime and 21 points early in the second half but managed to rally and complete a historic upset of the Arizona Cardinals to pick up their first win of the 2023 regular season.

The comeback was spurred on by quarterback Daniel Jones, who totaled nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns on the night — nearly all of it coming over the final quarter and a half.

With the win, the Giants essentially saved their season. However, the run will be shortlived as they have a quick turnaround and a Thursday night matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.

Here’s a look at some studs and duds (and studly duds) from the game.

Fantasy football: 6 sleeper wide receivers for 2023 NFL season

Here are some sleeper wide receivers to keep an eye on in fantasy football this season.

Football season has returned!

The 2023 NFL season will kick off later this week when the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

Before the regular season begins, fantasy football drafts will be wrapping up in the coming days and fantasy managers will all have the same question — who are the sleepers to target this year?

This week, we will be publishing sleepers at tight end, wide receiver, quarterback and running back for 2023. Today, we’re looking at WR.

Each player is listed in order of his average draft spot relative to his position. We consider a “sleeper” to be a player who we expect to outperform his ADP during the season.

Giants have a problem at wide receiver and that’s a good thing

The New York Giants have more solid wide receivers than they have available spots, and that’s a good problem to have.

The New York Giants have a number of options at slot receiver this season, a situation made even more competitive after two veterans logged in solid showings Friday night in Detroit.

Cole Beasley caught all four of his targets for a total of 33 yards and Jamison Crowder reeled in both of his for 32 yards.

The Giants signed each veteran this offseason as insurance after the receiver cupboard ran bare last season due to injuries, forcing the team to sign players off the street.

One of the players they brought in last fall was Isaiah Hodgins, who provided the Giants with a huge boost down the stretch as they drove toward the playoffs.

On Friday night, Hodgins — a prospective starter on the outside — caught one pass for 13 yards to remind everyone that he’s still very much in the plans.

Head coach Brian Daboll put Hodgins in for 18 snaps in the game, some early on and then again later in the game.

“I thought it was good for him,” Daboll said. “He was a practice squad player for a while there and came on with us late, so I thought it was good to get him some reps early on with Tyrod (Taylor).”

The Giants’ wide receiver room is a very crowded one this summer and when the music stops on August 29 for final cuts there won’t be enough chairs. Several will be going home, or at the least, to the practice squad.

Sterling Shepard is back, along with Darius Slayton and Hodgins. They, along with third-rounder Jalin Hyatt and free agent Parris Campbell, are all shoe-ins to make the roster.

That leaves perhaps three open spots on the 53-man roster. With Beasley and Crowder stepping up, that number could be reduced to just one. Several players will have two games to make their cases.

Heralded rookie Bryce Ford-Wheaton did not have an impressive debut, failing to reel in any of his three targets and dropping a sure reception that hit him squarely in the chest.

The ever-reliable David Sills V made the most of his time, catching two passes for 36 yards, including one for a 22-yard gain. Sills is a long shot to make the team. The 27-year-old has been with the Giants since 2019, either on the active roster or the practice squad.

Kalil Pimpleton continues to play well, catching both of his chances for a total of 15 yards. He can also contribute on special teams as a returner.

Jaydon Mickens had a six-yard reception in the game, but he appears to be headed to the practice squad (at best).

Collin Johnson, who missed all of 2022 with an Achilles injury, left the game with a knee issue. The 6-foot-6 former Texas standout had been having a solid camp.

As of Saturday, Daboll did not have an updated status on Johnson’s injury.

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Giants fall to Lions: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to the Lions, 21-16, on Friday and here’s a look at our winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.

Editor’s note: Upon reviewing the game, we changed the entry for Deonte Banks, adding detail on what was a bang-bang play and difficult to read in real-time. Giants Wire writers disagreed (and still disagree) on what transpired.

The New York Giants opened the 2023 preseason on Friday night against the Detroit Lions and neither team played their key starters. There were a few spot starters on both sides but predominantly, the game featured depth players.

Accordingly, it was a rather ugly performance for each team. There was more bad than good, and neither coach is going to be particularly happy on Saturday morning.

Here are some winners, losers, and in-betweens from Fright night’s Giants’ victory/defeat.

CBS Sports predicts a breakout season for Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins

A recent article by CBS Sports tabbed New York Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins as the team’s breakout player for 2023.

The New York Giants have quite a number of players on their roster who could ‘break out’ in 2023. In fact, with all the new faces and young players on the roster, it’s very likely they will have more than one.

In a piece by CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin predicting the breakout player for each team for the upcoming season, wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins was chosen as the player for the Giants.

New York brought in Darren Waller to give Daniel Jones a better option in the passing game. But Waller has played just 20 of 34 possible games over the past two seasons. What if he can’t be counted on to stay healthy anymore? In that case, Hodgins looks like the best game in town. He brought in 33 receptions for 351 yards and four scores in just eight games with the Giants last season. Extrapolate that to 17 games and it’s a 70-746-8.5 receiving line. For a former sixth-round pick who was waived in the middle of last season after mostly being on the practice squad prior to that, it would be a heck of a come-up.

Rubin makes some salient points in favor of Hodgins, who many thought was last year’s breakout player even in the small sample size that they saw.

Hodgins is undoubtedly in the plans, but he’ll have to compete for touches in a very crowded field, with the Giants having a lot of mouths to feed on offense now.

They will be looking to stretch the field with the likes of speedster wide receivers Jalin Hyatt and Parris Campbell, as well as try to put the ball into the hands of their higher-paid players, such as tight end Darren Waller and running back Saquon Barkley.

There’s also veteran wideouts Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, two Jones favorites.

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Giants’ Isaiah Hodgins: ‘We are not satisfied’ after 2022 season

New York Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins wants more for himself and the team going into 2023.

Mid-season, the New York Giants found themselves thin at receiver. It was then that General Manager Joe Schoen had to get creative with the Giants being tight for salary cap space.

Schoen added wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins in early November, a player he and head coach Brian Daboll were very familiar with from their days in Buffalo.

Hodgins quickly became one of Daniel Jones’ favorite targets for the remainder of the season and was a catalyst in the team’s playoff berth, leading to his getting a new contract this offseason to return to Big Blue.

Although this is Hodgins’ first training camp with the team, he already feels comfortable while knowing the value of his play in system last season:

“I feel very comfortable in the offense and the scheme,” Hodgins said. “Just being able to take a different approach to my game and knowing that I’m not just thrown into the fire like I was last year. (I) kind of get to work on some mental stuff for me. Kind of like looking at coverages and disguising stuff and seeing stuff that I give away and stuff that I can work on in my game. So, I’m trying to take that next step myself.

“It was really beneficial,” he added. “Just being able to compete against top teams, to play in huge games and playoff games and be able to be in the grit and grind with this team. Coming back from being down or a big divisional game. It was good to be able to see the character in that locker room and whether we take a hit or whether we’re winning big games, just never change and keep working throughout the week. I definitely love the guys in the locker room, and it made me feel more a part of the team being in those moments with them.”
Even with Hodgins being all the Giants could have hoped for and more last season, he hopes to eclipse his performance from last season:

“I try to push myself to forget it completely about last year and just sit there and take it day by day and really eclipse what I did last year,” he said. “That’s our goal, we are not satisfied with that.”

This offseason, the Giants added a plethora of weapons including Darren Waller, Parris Campbell and Jalin Hyatt. Even with the additions, it’s likely Hodgins will be featured and continue to build chemistry with Daniel Jones.

Considering defenses will be heavily focused on Saquon Barkley and Darren Waller and given Hodgins a full offseason to work with the team, he could be primed for a big leap this season.

Giants have logjam at wide receiver

The New York Giants will bring at least 15 wide receivers into training camp and half of those won’t make the 53-man roster.

The New York Giants will be taking 15 wide receivers to training camp this week, leading to the question — what is the plan?

Are they just throwing options against the wall to see what sticks? Or are they simply creating competition to see who will rise, or are they safeguarding themselves in case of a repeat of last year when they suffered an unusually high number of injuries?

It could be a little of both. The team found themselves shorthanded last season and they don’t want to get caught short again.

The unit will be run again by assistant coach Mike Groh and he will have a diverse group of players of all shapes, sizes and skill sets who possess a varied level of NFL experience.

Of the 15 players, perhaps eight of them will make the team’s final 53-man roster, and — if things go right — one or two of them could end up leading the team in targets and/or catches.

But that will be difficult. The Giants’ big move this offseason on offense was the trade for former Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller. He is expected to be heavily involved in the passing game.

So is running back Saquon Barkley, when he returns from his ‘holdout.’ Barkley has been the Giants’ best receiver when healthy the past few years and there’s no reason to stop throwing him the football.  Between he and Waller, there will be fewer opportunities for the wideouts, unless something changes.

So, what should fans expect this summer at wide receiver?

Expect the veterans to get the benefit of the doubt, at least in the beginning. That means initial work for Sterling Shepard, who is returning from another lost season due to injury, and Darius Slayton. Toss in Isaiah Hodgins and Wan’Dale Robinson (when he’s ready), along with free agents Parris Campbell, Jamison Crowder, Jeff Smith, Cole Beasley, and rookie Jalin Hyatt.

The Giants will try to forge a serviceable unit out of those names. They are top-heavy on slot receivers it seems so they might thin the herd there in favor of some outside options.

The others will all have to have monster camps to even be considered. Collin Johnson, David Sills and rookie Bryce Ford-Wheaton are interesting names to watch but where do they fit? Jaydon Mickens, Makai Polk and Kalil Pimpleton are long shots and will have to show special teams prowess to stick.

Wide receiver will be a heavily contested unit this summer and will be a fun one to follow.

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Giants’ Isaiah Hodgins praises Daniel Jones’ work ethic

New York Giants WR Isaiah Hodgins says Daniel Jones is the hardest-working quarterback he’s ever seen and knows that will pay off in 2023.

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When the New York Giants suddenly found themselves thin at wide receiver in the middle of the season last year, general manager Joe Schoen brought Isaiah Hodgins over from the Buffalo Bills.

Hodgins made the most of his opportunity and as the season went on, his chemistry with Daniel Jones grew.

Hodgins was recently a guest on the ‘2nd Wind‘ podcast and talked about working with Jones, particularly praising his quarterback’s work ethic.

“I’m not going to lie, I definitely didn’t expect his work ethic to be what it was,”  Hodgins said. “Like, usually, with quarterbacks — they’re top guys but they’re not like the hardest workers. DJ is definitely up there. He’s always grinding, doing whatever he can to take care of his body, lift. He’ll be in the weight room power cleaning crazy weights, 275-whatever, doing all this middle of the season. Like, first one in there at 5:30, 5:45 — I sort of have to push myself like, ‘okay, I’m going to get here before him. Like, I’ve got to wake up at 5:30 and get here’ because I just see that and it inspires me.”

That inspiration has led to an improving trust and a growing chemistry.

“I think the chemistry part, it came with how often we worked in between periods and in between practices and after practice. He does that with all the guys,” Hodgins said. “He’s so critical and technical about himself that he’s like, ‘Yo, come over here. I need to work on this throw, let’s run this route’ and if he makes a bad throw, he’s like, ‘Can you run it for me one more time? my bad.’ And I’m like, ‘this is my third deep route, I can’t keep going’ and he’s just like, ‘Come on, I’ve gotta get it right.’ Then, in the game, that’s how he’s able to put it on the money because he’s done that throw a thousand times.

“I’ve got high expectations for DJ, just because I’ve seen the work, man.”

Hodgins compared his grind and perseverance through the days of being a practice squad player and knowing eventually the hard work was going to pay off. He sees the same for Jones.

“That’s the same mindset,” Hodgins said. “I see DJ has. He works so hard and I just know, it paid off at the end of last year and I know this year, next few years to come, he’s going to show he really is a franchise quarterback.”

Hodgins’ praise of Jones is telling given his time with Josh Allen in Buffalo.

Clearly, there is chemistry and trust between Hodgins and Jones and that is likely to continue after their first full offseason together in Mike Kafka’s offense.

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Rankings: Who is the best wide receiver in the NFC East?

We’re ranking the top wide receivers in the NFC East and here’s where Philadelphia Eagles A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith landed

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There’s been a changing of the guard in the NFC East quarterback hierarchy, and a major part of Jalen Hurts passing Dak Prescott centers around his dynamic duo at wide receiver.

The NFL’s most competitive division has elite talent at the wide receiver spot, with every team except the Giants have a bonafide trio of players to rely on.

With training camp quickly approaching for all 32 NFL teams, we’re ranking the best wide receivers in the NFC East from top to bottom.