WR Wan’Dale Robinson aiming for big season in Year 3

Will the real Wan’Dale Robinson please stand up for the New York Giants in 2024?

Let’s discuss Robinson as we continue player-by-player profiles of the Giants’ 90-man roster.

The skinny

Height: 5-foot-8
Weight: 185
Opening day age: 23
Position: Wide receiver
Experience: 2
Contract: Year 3 of four-year, $8,185,166 rookie deal | 2024 cap hit: $2,232,318 | Guaranteed at signing: $5,791,409

Career to date

The Giants surprised many by selecting Robinson in Round 2 (43rd overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. They left wide receivers like George Pickens and Romeo Doubs on the board to do so, saying they had a plan for the diminutive slot receiver.

We have only seen flashes of what Robinson can do over his first two seasons. A torn ACL suffered in a breakout nine-catch, 100-yard Week 10 game vs. the Detroit Lions in 2022 sidelined him until early in 2023.

That injury, combined with the offensive line and quarterback issues that plagued the Giants last season, has made it such that we have only seen glimpses of Robinson’s potential.

Robinson had 60 catches for 525 yards last season, averaging only 8.8 yards per catch. In two seasons, he has averaged only 9.1 yards on 87 receptions. He averages 4.0 receptions per game over his first 21 NFL games.

2024 outlook

Over the final two games of the 2023 season, Robinson caught 11 passes (5.5 per game) for 140 yards (12.7 yards per catch).

That is the kind of play the Giants are hoping from from the 23-year-old, and the kind of play Robinson hopes to deliver now that he feels fully healthy.

After delivering a five-catch, 85-yard (17.0 yards per catch) performance in the season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles that included a 33-yard catch-and-run, Robinson said there was “no doubt” it was the best he had felt since before his injury.

“This is definitely probably the best that I’ve felt,” he said.

The Giants hope that the addition of wide receiver Malik Nabers, the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, will create additional space and opportunities for Robinson, Jalin Hyatt and Darius Slayton.

With good health and a better overal offensive situation — fingers crossed for both — perhaps Robinson will show in Year 3 why the Giants drafted him earlier than many thought he would be selected.