New York Giants Wide Receiver Wan’Dale Robinson returned from injury last week in a big way. The rookie out of Kentucky secured three of four targets for 37 yards and a touchdown. Robinson had been out with a knee injury since Week 2. However, he provided a much needed spark for the Giants receiving corps.
Sunday Observations and College Profile
Robinson’s 4 targets were tied for most at the WR position for the Giants on Sunday. He only played on 15 snaps, but received a target on about 25% of those snaps. This is obviously not sustainable, but if that target rate were to be applied to Darius Slayton’s team-leading 45 snaps from Sunday, Robinson would have wound up with 11 targets. Daniel Jones threw the ball 27 times, so those 11 targets would have been good for a 40% target share. Which is what his target share in college was. No seriously, Robinson had a 39% target share in his last season at Kentucky, so he is no stranger to getting a lot of looks from his QB. Talent demands the ball, and this guy has it in spades.
That target share extrapolation from Sunday’s game is hyperbole, but you get the point – the Giants want to get the ball to Robinson so he can make electric plays. Big Blue may ease their second-round rookie back into action, but when he’s out there, they want to get him involved. At just 5’8″, he may not be built for it in the NFL, but he was used a ton in the running game in college. He put up 691 yards and 4 TDs on the ground in 3 seasons… as a wide receiver!
Opportunity Moving Forward
The competition around him is scarce as well. Unfortunately, Sterling Shepard tore his ACL and is done for the year. Kenny Golladay is collecting his checks from the sideline. Kadarius Toney is often injured and the new coaching staff doesn’t seem inclined to rush him back onto the field. Darius Slayton is a nice receiver, but he’s not a difference maker. Marcus Johnson, Richie James, and David Sills are all unappealing for fantasy purposes. I’m sure they’re all nice guys though.
Wan’Dale Robinson is the clear option at receiver for the Giants, and should be rostered in all leagues by now. Heck, I have him in half of mine. His opponent this week (Jaguars) were just lit up through the air by Matt Ryan, so a Top 20 performance from the rookie is not out of the question. In Week 9, the Giants get Seattle, and then the bye week. But after that, the schedule opens up nicely. In Weeks 10-16, the Giants play Houston, Detroit, Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia, Washington again, and then Minnesota (in the dome). Five out of those seven matchups are against defenses currently in the bottom half of the league when it comes to most fantasy points allowed to the WR position. Meaning they give up a lot of points to wide receivers. Fire him up.
I cannot overstate how excited I am to see how the rest of Robinson’s rookie season pans out. If you can, try to acquire him on the cheap, before the inevitable breakout happens.