The New York Giants will play their 2026 season opener this Sunday night at home against the Dallas Cowboys. They appear to be prepared after a busy summer and a rough-and-tumble training camp under new head coach John Harbaugh.
So, why, in this day and age of passing and the quarterback, are they carrying just four wide receivers on their roster?
Big Blue recently parted ways with veteran Darius Slayton, cutting him after seven seasons with the team. The move helped their salary cap situation slightly, enough to put them back in the black for the start of the season, as the NFL requires.
But the cutting of Slayton raises questions about who will catch the football this year.
The Giants have four wideouts to speak of five days before the season opener. Malik Nabers, who is returning from a complex knee injury and has yet to prove he can play in a game. Odell Beckham Jr. is on his comeback tour and is a nice story, but he has a long injury history and did not play in the NFL in 2025. His ability to play an entire game is still unknown.
Free agent Darnell Mooney has never played a game in a Giants uniform, but has played in offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s system when the two were in Chicago. Then there is rookie Malachi Fields, who the team has high hopes for. They are also expected to elevate Braxton Berrios from the practice squad for Sunday’s game, but he will likely contribute mainly on special teams.
The primary reason to go with four or five wideouts is fairly simple. The Giants plan to run the ball, with a short passing game to supplement. Harbaugh ran traditionally conservative offenses in Baltimore. Last year, the Ravens ran the ball 53 percent of their offensive snaps, the only team in the NFL to run more than pass.
A run-first philosophy makes sense with the running back room they have: Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Devin Singletary, and newcomer Najee Harris. All four can run the ball from scrimmage and catch the ball out of the backfield. In addition, the Giants signed Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard to pave the way.
The Giants also have four tight ends on their roster, led by free-agent Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson. The Giants want to get those two in space to create mismatches. We’ve already seen them click with quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Something to keep in mind when you look at #Giants scarce WR room
TE Isaiah Likely is ‘WR2.’ He will be 2nd in targets and catches. And used in slot, while Ricard, Johnson, Manhertz doing traditional TE duties
If Malik Nabers plays 17 games, no worries. If he plays 10…
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) September 7, 2026
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Another reason they are carrying so few wideouts is that their conservative approach on offense will rein in Dart, who has a penchant for going off script and putting his health in peril. While the Giants don’t want to clip Dart’s wings too much, they don’t want to see him make repeated trips to the blue medical tent this year, as he did as a rookie last season.
Plus, Dart’s downfield throwing accuracy has the coaches concerned. They are working with him to improve on this aspect of his game, but until then, the route tree could be truncated.
Jaxson Dart was 16-for-50 on throws 20+ yards last year. 32%.
32nd of 36 qualifying QBs in deep-ball accuracy.
That could be the difference between him being GOOD or GREAT.
If the deep ball improves, he could take things to a whole different level. pic.twitter.com/v80YiZuGnD
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) June 10, 2026
If they don’t plan on taking a lot of deep shots this year, it makes sense not to carry all those wide receivers. But whether they continue with only four remains to be seen.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Will New York Giants continue to operate with limited WR depth?
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