New York Giants Training Camp Preview: WR Isaiah McKenzie

When the New York Giants were seeking a familiar face to add to their receiving corps for the 2024 season, they went out and recruited veteran pass catcher Isaiah McKenzie to join the competition. 

McKenzie, an eighth-year pro out of Georgia, spent the start of his NFL career as a special teams guy with the Denver Broncos, earning his most considerable dosage of snaps on the team’s punt return unit. 

He did appear in 87 total snaps on the offensive side of the ball in 2017, but Denver’s deep receivers room limited him, and it yielded him only four receptions on 12 targets in that stretch of activity.

The former fifth-round pick was traded to Buffalo during the following season, where he would see his usage as a slot receiver begin to develop. McKenzie played in at least 156 receiving snaps in each of his five seasons with the Bills, four of which came under Brian Daboll’s leadership as offensive coordinator and three notching at least 27 receptions 254 yards and an average catch of 9.4 yards. 

The slot man’s breakout performance came in the 2022 season when he recorded a career-high 42 receptions on 62 targets for 423 yards and four touchdowns. Even at a more diminutive stature, he was the third-most targeted receiver on the Bills offense due to his high catch percentage and was a critical weapon in the quick route game, helping to establish a winning pace on Buffalo drives.

McKenzie is a speedy and shifty receiver with good hands and the ability to change directions in a dime to get to the empty spaces and convert important balls that extend drives. He can secretly become a huge explosive threat on special teams, where his vision and athleticism really came to life in college with six touchdown returns, including five on punt, from 2014-2016. 

McKenzie is joining a loaded receivers room in East Rutherford with several other talented playmakers already in the fold. This makes taking a special teams role the likeliest outcome for him to make the roster in 2024. 

Height: 5-7
Weight: 173 lbs.
Exp.: 8 Years
College: Georgia
How Acquired: FA-24

After five years with the Bills, McKenzie took his talents to the Indianapolis Colts and returned to being primarily a special teams contributor. He saw 109 snaps in both the kick and punt return teams and was more efficient in the former area, averaging a solid 25.3 yards per attempt and a long return of 42 yards. 

McKenzie was very good at protecting the football on his possessions. He muffed just two punts the entire 2023 season which marked his sixth consecutive campaign with under that many turnovers in a single year. He only has nine muffs to his name in his eight-year NFL tenure and isn’t afraid to make the smart play and secure the fair catch before putting the possession in harm’s way. 

As such, McKenzie was rarely a thought in the Colts’ offensive game plan. In 13 appearances last fall, McKenzie found 14 targets and caught 11 of them for 82 yards and an average of 7.5 yards. He was no threat to the endzone in that span, something he could look to return to in the third phase of football if he makes the Giants roster.